Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Matagalpa and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Matagalpa: $810 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $17,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Matagalpa
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Matagalpa Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Matagalpa

🇳🇮 Nicaragua

$810

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Matagalpa 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 Matagalpa and in Lisbon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $810 in Matagalpa versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Matagalpa $810
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,231 in Matagalpa versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Matagalpa $1,231
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,652 in Matagalpa versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Matagalpa $1,652
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Matagalpa costs roughly 64% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Matagalpa is 40% below, Lisbon is 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.09 NIO 260

$16.50 €14.67

-57.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.36 NIO 929

$61.3 €54.5

-58.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.83 NIO 287

$11.27 €10.03

-30.52%

Cappuccino

$2.63 NIO 96.2

$3.06 €2.72

-14.05%

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

$0.85 NIO 31.19

$2.26 €2.01

-62.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.43 NIO 15.71

$1.73 €1.54

-75.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.22 NIO 44.61

$3.39 €3.02

-64.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 NIO 81.3

$3.40 €3.02

-34.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 NIO 46.23

$1.12 €1.00

12.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.27 NIO 46.35

$1.86 €1.65

-31.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.81 NIO 66.3

$1.53 €1.36

18.30%

Eggs

$2.24 NIO 82.0

$3.96 €3.53

-43.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.68 NIO 98.1

$12.76 €11.35

-79.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.30 NIO 157

$7.90 €7.02

-45.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.69 NIO 245

$16.97 €15.09

-60.58%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 NIO 145

$2.27 €2.02

74.89%

Banana (1kg)

$0.58 NIO 21.15

$1.75 €1.55

-66.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 NIO 64.5

$1.85 €1.64

-4.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.43 NIO 88.9

$2.57 €2.28

-5.45%

Potato (1kg)

$3.91 NIO 143

$1.86 €1.65

110.22%

Onion (1kg)

$2.26 NIO 82.7

$2.02 €1.80

11.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 NIO 40.00

$1.44 €1.28

-24.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 NIO 36.99

$0.82 €0.73

23.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.65 NIO 97.1

$6.56 €5.83

-59.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.13 NIO 371

$5.62 €5.00

80.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 NIO 44.26

$1.28 €1.14

-5.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 NIO 79.7

$2.07 €1.84

5.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.20 NIO 7.16

$2.35 €2.09

-91.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.12 NIO 40.88

$3.99 €3.55

-71.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.28 NIO 46.87

$1.09 €0.97

17.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.74 NIO 247

$16.64 €14.81

-59.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 NIO 50.1

$2.28 €2.03

-39.91%

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

$23.1K NIO 846.8K

$33.7K €30.0K

-31.34%

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

$26.4K NIO 966.5K

$39.3K €35.0K

-32.84%

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

$60.5 NIO 2,216

$167 €149

-63.88%

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

$16.76 NIO 614

$18.80 €16.72

-10.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.63 NIO 1,195

$33.09 €29.43

-1.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

Cinema Ticket

$9.16 NIO 335

$9.84 €8.75

-6.91%

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

$233 NIO 8,517

$677 €602

-65.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,180 NIO 226.3K

$16.9K €15.1K

-63.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.1 NIO 2,163

$101 €90.1

-41.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$64.8 NIO 2,374

$45.76 €40.70

41.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$122 NIO 4,466

$100.0 €88.9

21.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$145 NIO 5,308

$123 €109

18.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$201 NIO 7,358

$1,614 €1,436

-87.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$173 NIO 6,345

$1,197 €1,065

-85.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$305 NIO 11.2K

$2,862 €2,545

-89.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$248 NIO 9,083

$1,990 €1,770

-87.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$203 NIO 7,432

$1,588 €1,412

-87.22%

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 Matagalpa: October 12, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Matagalpa

$197 24.3%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 36.8% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Matagalpa

$176 21.7%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 5.4% $9.5

Accommodation & Living

Matagalpa

$173 21.4%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 591% $1K

Eating Out

Matagalpa

$127 15.7%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 90.2% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Matagalpa

$110 13.6%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 99.7% $110

Sport & Entertainment

Matagalpa

$18 * 2.3%

Lisbon

$66 3% 259% $47

Getting Around

Matagalpa

$8.3 * 1%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 659% $55

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $201 in Matagalpa and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 682% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $25.00 in Matagalpa vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $197 vs $269 per month, with Matagalpa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇮 Matagalpa

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

22:26 10:26 PM

05:26 5:26 AM

7 h ahead of Matagalpa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

159,982

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Nicaraguan Córdoba NIO C$

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 NIO = 2.73 USD

100 NIO = 2.43 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 36.62 NIO (100 NIO = 2.73 USD). 1 EUR = 41.17 NIO (100 NIO = 2.43 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to NIO in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Matagalpa Lisbon 7,970 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Matagalpa
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

Matagalpa vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Matagalpa and Lisbon differ by about 174% in total monthly costs ($810 vs $2,223 including rent). Matagalpa is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 682% lower in Lisbon. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $201 in Matagalpa versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 37% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $810 per month in Matagalpa versus $2,223 in Lisbon – a 174% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $810 in Matagalpa versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Matagalpa but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Matagalpa 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.

Safety-wise, Matagalpa and Lisbon are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Matagalpa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 174% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.