Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Masaya and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Masaya: $823 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Masaya
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Masaya Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Masaya

🇳🇮 Nicaragua

$823

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Masaya and in Lisbon

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Masaya and in Lisbon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $823 in Masaya versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Masaya $823
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,283 in Masaya versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Masaya $1,283
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,744 in Masaya versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Masaya $1,744
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Masaya costs roughly 63% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Masaya is 40% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.92 NIO 363

$16.65 €14.95

-40.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.43 NIO 1,261

$61.7 €55.5

-44.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.73 NIO 283

$11.36 €10.20

-31.95%

Cappuccino

$2.54 NIO 93.0

$2.97 €2.67

-14.48%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 NIO 33.22

$2.29 €2.06

-60.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.73 NIO 26.84

$1.74 €1.56

-58.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.53 NIO 56.0

$3.40 €3.06

-55.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 NIO 83.6

$3.31 €2.97

-31.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 NIO 44.66

$1.16 €1.04

5.17%

White Bread (500g)

$2.40 NIO 87.8

$1.91 €1.72

25.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.80 NIO 65.8

$1.51 €1.36

19.21%

Eggs

$2.38 NIO 87.3

$4.02 €3.61

-40.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.43 NIO 419

$12.94 €11.62

-11.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.35 NIO 233

$7.77 €6.98

-18.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.68 NIO 281

$17.76 €15.95

-56.76%

Apples (1kg)

$3.95 NIO 145

$2.30 €2.07

71.74%

Banana (1kg)

$0.57 NIO 21.03

$1.73 €1.56

-67.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.84 NIO 67.3

$1.86 €1.67

-1.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.51 NIO 92.0

$2.59 €2.33

-3.09%

Potato (1kg)

$3.91 NIO 143

$1.82 €1.64

114.84%

Onion (1kg)

$2.24 NIO 82.0

$1.97 €1.77

13.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 NIO 39.98

$1.47 €1.32

-25.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.06 NIO 38.67

$0.72 €0.65

47.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.80 NIO 103

$6.58 €5.91

-57.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.85 NIO 544

$5.61 €5.04

164.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 NIO 53.5

$1.36 €1.22

7.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 NIO 79.8

$2.14 €1.92

1.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.60 NIO 58.7

$3.85 €3.46

-58.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.59 NIO 58.2

$1.07 €0.96

48.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.85 NIO 251

$16.46 €14.79

-58.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 NIO 50.5

$2.20 €1.98

-37.27%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$22.7K NIO 832.1K

$34.2K €30.7K

-33.55%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$26.4K NIO 966.7K

$38.7K €34.8K

-31.84%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$154 NIO 5,654

$161 €145

-4.26%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$19.83 NIO 726

$18.41 €16.54

7.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.97 NIO 1,171

$32.74 €29.41

-2.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

Cinema Ticket

$9.06 NIO 332

$9.60 €8.62

-5.62%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$240 NIO 8,800

$668 €600

-64.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,987 NIO 219.3K

$17.6K €15.8K

-66.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.7 NIO 2,184

$102 €91.6

-41.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$64.7 NIO 2,369

$44.46 €39.94

45.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$123 NIO 4,504

$98.5 €88.5

24.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$147 NIO 5,379

$124 €111

18.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.92

3.85

209.61%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Masaya: October 24, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Masaya

$260 31.6%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 4.9% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Masaya

$206 25.1%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 3% $6.2

Clothing & Footwear

Masaya

$177 21.6%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 6.5% $11

Eating Out

Masaya

$152 18.5%

Lisbon

$243 11% 59.8% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Masaya

$18 * 2.2%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 252% $46

Getting Around

Masaya

$9.5 * 1.2%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 563% $54

Accommodation & Living

Masaya

- * 0%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $34 in Masaya vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $260 vs $272 per month, with Masaya cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇮 Masaya

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

15:34 3:34 PM

21:34 9:34 PM

6 h ahead of Masaya

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

178,835

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Nicaraguan Córdoba NIO C$

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 NIO = 2.73 USD

100 NIO = 2.45 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to NIO – Nicaraguan Córdoba Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇮 Nicaraguan Córdoba (C$)

Nicaraguan Córdoba exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 36.62 NIO (100 NIO = 2.73 USD). 1 EUR = 40.77 NIO (100 NIO = 2.45 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to NIO in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Masaya Lisbon 8,050 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Masaya
Lisbon

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Masaya vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $823 in Masaya and $2,210 in Lisbon, so Masaya is about 63% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,234 in Masaya and $3,315 in Lisbon to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Supermarket bills run roughly 5% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $823 per month in Masaya versus $2,210 in Lisbon – Masaya is about 63% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $823 in Masaya versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Masaya but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Masaya the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.