Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Matamoros and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Matamoros: $1,223 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $11,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Matamoros
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Matamoros Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Matamoros

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,223

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,223 in Matamoros versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Matamoros $1,223
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,913 in Matamoros versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Matamoros $1,913
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,604 in Matamoros versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Matamoros $2,604
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Matamoros costs roughly 45% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Matamoros is 10% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.16 MX$228

$16.65 €14.94

-26.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.10 MX$921

$61.7 €55.4

-20.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.21 MX$135

$11.36 €10.19

-36.53%

Cappuccino

$3.04 MX$57.1

$2.97 €2.66

2.36%

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

$1.24 MX$23.30

$2.29 €2.05

-45.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.89 MX$16.77

$1.74 €1.56

-48.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.26 MX$42.44

$3.40 €3.05

-33.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.03 MX$75.6

$3.31 €2.97

21.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.36 MX$25.59

$1.16 €1.04

17.24%

White Bread (500g)

$2.25 MX$42.26

$1.91 €1.71

17.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.66 MX$31.13

$1.51 €1.36

9.93%

Eggs

$2.42 MX$45.45

$4.02 €3.61

-39.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.39 MX$139

$12.94 €11.61

-42.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.01 MX$132

$7.77 €6.98

-9.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.98 MX$243

$17.76 €15.94

-26.91%

Apples (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.81

$2.30 €2.07

1.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 MX$26.18

$1.73 €1.55

-19.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.08 MX$38.97

$1.86 €1.67

11.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 MX$28.96

$2.59 €2.32

-40.54%

Potato (1kg)

$1.98 MX$37.18

$1.82 €1.63

8.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.69 MX$31.71

$1.97 €1.77

-14.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.42 MX$26.69

$1.47 €1.32

-3.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.46

$0.72 €0.65

66.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.50 MX$84.4

$6.58 €5.91

-31.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.37 MX$194

$5.61 €5.03

84.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 MX$30.53

$1.36 €1.22

19.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.49 MX$65.5

$2.14 €1.92

63.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.67 MX$12.52

$2.33 €2.09

-71.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.10 MX$489

$44.68 €40.09

-41.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.59 MX$48.64

$3.85 €3.45

-32.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.66 MX$31.21

$1.07 €0.96

55.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.36 MX$194

$16.46 €14.77

-37.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 MX$23.30

$2.20 €1.97

-43.64%

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

$26.8K MX$502.6K

$34.2K €30.7K

-21.60%

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

$23.8K MX$446.3K

$38.7K €34.7K

-38.54%

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

$60.0 MX$1,124

$161 €145

-62.81%

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

$23.23 MX$436

$18.41 €16.52

26.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.06 MX$470

$32.74 €29.37

-23.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.46 MX$665

$44.55 €39.97

-20.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.94 MX$374

$19.10 €17.14

4.40%

Cinema Ticket

$4.54 MX$85.2

$9.60 €8.61

-52.71%

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

$212 MX$3,979

$668 €599

-68.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,551 MX$85.3K

$17.6K €15.8K

-74.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.0 MX$1,032

$102 €91.5

-46.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.19 MX$641

$44.46 €39.90

-23.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.6 MX$1,755

$98.5 €88.4

-4.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.2 MX$1,653

$124 €111

-28.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$611 MX$11.5K

$1,608 €1,443

-62.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$475 MX$8,912

$1,190 €1,068

-60.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,087 MX$20.4K

$2,812 €2,523

-61.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$818 MX$15.3K

$2,013 €1,806

-59.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,171 MX$40.7K

$7,839 €7,034

-72.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,200 MX$22.5K

$4,576 €4,106

-73.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,413

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.31

3.85

193.77%

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

Last update for Matamoros: October 27, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Matamoros

$475 38.9%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 150% $715

Groceries & Markets

Matamoros

$250 20.4%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 8.9% $22

Eating Out

Matamoros

$183 15%

Lisbon

$243 11% 32.3% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Matamoros

$122 10%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 36% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Matamoros

$108 8.9%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 96.2% $104

Sport & Entertainment

Matamoros

$45 3.6%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 43.1% $19

Getting Around

Matamoros

$40 3.2%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 59.3% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $611 in Matamoros and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $49 in Matamoros vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $250 vs $272 per month, with Matamoros cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Matamoros

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

07:41 7:41 AM

12:41 12:41 PM

5 h ahead of Matamoros

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

510,739

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.75 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.92 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.897 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Between locations

Matamoros Lisbon 8,110 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Matamoros
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

Matamoros vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,223 in Matamoros and $2,210 in Lisbon, so Matamoros is about 45% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,835 in Matamoros 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $611 in Matamoros versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $212 in Matamoros versus $668 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 9% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Matamoros is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

Expats usually find Matamoros gentler on the wallet – expenses run 45% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.