Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mbeya and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Mbeya: $426 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $21,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

21

Cost of Living Index in Mbeya
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Mbeya Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Mbeya

🇹🇿 Tanzania

$426

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $426 in Mbeya versus $2,202 in Lisbon.

Mbeya $426
Lisbon $2,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $656 in Mbeya versus $3,274 in Lisbon.

Mbeya $656
Lisbon $3,274

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $887 in Mbeya versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Mbeya $887
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Mbeya costs roughly 81% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mbeya is 69% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.68 TZS 59.4K

$62.3 €55.4

-63.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.77 TZS 20.4K

$11.02 €9.80

-29.49%

Cappuccino

$1.52 TZS 3,989

$3.12 €2.78

-51.28%

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

$0.37 TZS 958

$2.27 €2.02

-83.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.37 TZS 964

$1.74 €1.55

-78.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.72 TZS 1,882

$3.42 €3.04

-78.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

Milk (1 liter)

$0.55 TZS 1,435

$1.17 €1.04

-52.99%

White Bread (500g)

$0.93 TZS 2,430

$1.86 €1.66

-50.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.92 TZS 2,414

$1.54 €1.37

-40.26%

Eggs

$2.32 TZS 6,067

$4.06 €3.61

-42.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.80 TZS 9,949

$12.91 €11.49

-70.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.72 TZS 9,734

$7.90 €7.03

-52.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$3.30 TZS 8,643

$17.64 €15.69

-81.29%

Apples (1kg)

$1.15 TZS 3,003

$2.26 €2.01

-49.12%

Banana (1kg)

$0.78 TZS 2,051

$1.75 €1.55

-55.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.99 TZS 2,581

$1.89 €1.68

-47.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.73 TZS 1,917

$2.56 €2.27

-71.48%

Potato (1kg)

$0.97 TZS 2,538

$1.85 €1.64

-47.57%

Onion (1kg)

$0.78 TZS 2,053

$1.97 €1.75

-60.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.56 TZS 1,465

$1.45 €1.29

-61.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 TZS 1,883

$0.77 €0.69

-6.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.14 TZS 2,998

$6.71 €5.97

-83.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.72 TZS 9,744

$5.67 €5.04

-34.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.78 TZS 2,045

$1.37 €1.22

-43.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.16 TZS 3,038

$2.11 €1.88

-45.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.40 TZS 1,036

$2.32 €2.07

-82.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.10 TZS 2,891

$3.95 €3.51

-72.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.85 TZS 4,834

$1.05 €0.93

76.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.61 TZS 6,831

$17.15 €15.26

-84.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 TZS 3,204

$2.19 €1.95

-44.29%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

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

$38.3K €34.0K

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

$23.68 TZS 62.0K

$164 €146

-85.54%

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

$18.83 TZS 49.3K

$18.48 €16.43

1.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.09 TZS 120.7K

$32.96 €29.32

39.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.78 TZS 98.9K

$45.87 €40.80

-17.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

Cinema Ticket

$9.50 TZS 24.9K

$9.75 €8.67

-2.56%

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

$191 TZS 500.6K

$684 €608

-72.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,129 TZS 3.0M

$17.6K €15.7K

-93.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$11.42 TZS 29.9K

$104 €92.3

-88.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$9.23 TZS 24.2K

$46.20 €41.09

-80.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$19.08 TZS 50.0K

$99.7 €88.7

-80.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$26.12 TZS 68.4K

$125 €111

-79.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$114 TZS 297.4K

$1,589 €1,414

-92.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$76.4 TZS 200.0K

$1,169 €1,040

-93.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$187 TZS 491.0K

$2,851 €2,536

-93.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$112 TZS 292.3K

$1,993 €1,773

-94.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$191 TZS 501.5K

$1,600 €1,423

-88.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

237.66%

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

Last update for Mbeya: October 19, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Mbeya

$115 26.9%

Lisbon

$273 12.4% 138% $158

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mbeya

$89 20.8%

Lisbon

$215 9.8% 143% $127

Accommodation & Living

Mbeya

$76 17.9%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1% 1431% $1.1K

Sport & Entertainment

Mbeya

$57 13.3%

Lisbon

$65 3% 15.1% $8.6

Eating Out

Mbeya

$48 * 11.3%

Lisbon

$247 11.2% 414% $199

Clothing & Footwear

Mbeya

$30 7%

Lisbon

$168 7.7% 469% $139

Getting Around

Mbeya

$12 * 2.8%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 428% $51

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 $114 in Mbeya and $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 736% 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: $23.00 in Mbeya vs $62.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $115 vs $273 per month, with Mbeya cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇿 Mbeya

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

18:15 6:15 PM

16:15 4:15 PM

2 h behind Mbeya

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

541,603

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Tanzanian Shilling TZS Sh

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 TZS = 3.82 USD

10,000 TZS = 3.4 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to TZS – Tanzanian Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇿 Tanzanian Shilling (Sh)

Tanzanian Shilling exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 2,619 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.82 USD). 1 EUR = 2,944 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.4 EUR).

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

USD to TZS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mbeya Lisbon 6,890 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Mbeya
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

Mbeya vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mbeya and Lisbon differ by about 417% in total monthly costs ($426 vs $2,202 including rent). Mbeya is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 736% 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: $114 in Mbeya versus $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 138% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $426 per month in Mbeya versus $2,202 in Lisbon – a 417% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $426 in Mbeya versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Mbeya but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Mbeya 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, Mbeya 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 Mbeya gentler on the wallet – expenses run 417% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.