Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mutare and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Mutare: $788 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $17,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Mutare, Zimbabwe
Lisbon, Portugal
Mutare
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
$788
/mo nomad
Lisbon
🇵🇹 Portugal
$2,210
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $788 in Mutare versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

  • Mutare $788
  • Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,219 in Mutare versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

  • Mutare $1,219
  • Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,649 in Mutare versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

  • Mutare $1,649
  • Lisbon $4,341

Living in Mutare costs roughly 64% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mutare is 42% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Mutare
Lisbon
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$9.85 ZWL 262
$16.65 €14.95
-40.84%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$44.40 ZWL 1,180
$61.7 €55.5
-28.09%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$4.42 ZWL 118
$11.36 €10.20
-61.09%
Cappuccino
$1.26 ZWL 33.54
$2.97 €2.67
-57.58%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.78 ZWL 20.65
$2.29 €2.06
-65.94%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.47 ZWL 12.45
$1.74 €1.56
-72.99%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.27 ZWL 33.67
$3.40 €3.06
-62.65%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.82 ZWL 48.43
$3.31 €2.97
-45.02%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Mutare
Lisbon
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.24 ZWL 32.82
$1.16 €1.04
6.90%
White Bread (500g)
$0.99 ZWL 26.28
$1.91 €1.72
-48.17%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.32 ZWL 35.07
$1.51 €1.36
-12.58%
Eggs
$1.92 ZWL 51.0
$4.02 €3.61
-52.24%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$2.92 ZWL 77.6
$12.94 €11.62
-77.43%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.93 ZWL 105
$7.77 €6.98
-49.42%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$5.06 ZWL 135
$17.76 €15.95
-71.51%
Apples (1kg)
$2.03 ZWL 54.1
$2.30 €2.07
-11.74%
Banana (1kg)
$1.63 ZWL 43.30
$1.73 €1.56
-5.78%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.05 ZWL 54.5
$1.86 €1.67
10.22%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.01 ZWL 26.90
$2.59 €2.33
-61.00%
Potato (1kg)
$1.68 ZWL 44.57
$1.82 €1.64
-7.69%
Onion (1kg)
$1.01 ZWL 26.92
$1.97 €1.77
-48.73%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.49 ZWL 12.92
$1.47 €1.32
-66.67%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.99 ZWL 26.23
$0.72 €0.65
37.50%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$1.22 ZWL 32.49
$6.58 €5.91
-81.46%
Wine (Bottle)
$6.07 ZWL 161
$5.61 €5.04
8.20%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.18 ZWL 31.24
$1.36 €1.22
-13.24%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.67 ZWL 44.32
$2.14 €1.92
-21.96%
🚌 Getting Around
Mutare
Lisbon
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.72 ZWL 19.14
$2.33 €2.10
-69.10%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$27.43 ZWL 729
$44.68 €40.14
-38.61%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$2.93 ZWL 77.8
$3.85 €3.46
-23.90%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.05 ZWL 54.5
$1.07 €0.96
91.59%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.12 ZWL 136
$16.46 €14.79
-68.89%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.87 ZWL 49.70
$2.20 €1.98
-15.00%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.6K ZWL 574.6K
$34.2K €30.7K
-36.75%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24.3K ZWL 644.7K
$38.7K €34.8K
-37.34%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Mutare
Lisbon
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$50.6 ZWL 1,345
$161 €145
-68.60%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$15.24 ZWL 405
$18.41 €16.54
-17.22%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$59.9 ZWL 1,593
$32.74 €29.41
83.08%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Mutare
Lisbon
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$40.31 ZWL 1,071
$44.55 €40.02
-9.52%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$5.08 ZWL 135
$19.10 €17.16
-73.40%
Cinema Ticket
$9.82 ZWL 261
$9.60 €8.62
2.29%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Mutare
Lisbon
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$145 ZWL 3,845
$668 €600
-78.33%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$8,600 ZWL 228.5K
$17.6K €15.8K
-51.18%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Mutare
Lisbon
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$10.09 ZWL 268
$102 €91.6
-90.11%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$9.34 ZWL 248
$44.46 €39.94
-78.99%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$24.86 ZWL 661
$98.5 €88.5
-74.76%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$20.32 ZWL 540
$124 €111
-83.57%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Mutare
Lisbon
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$349 ZWL 9,281
$1,608 €1,445
-78.28%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$254 ZWL 6,741
$1,190 €1,069
-78.68%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$753 ZWL 20.0K
$2,812 €2,526
-73.22%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$400 ZWL 10.6K
$2,013 €1,808
-80.15%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$247 ZWL 6,559
$7,839 €7,042
-96.85%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
-
$4,576 €4,110
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Mutare
Lisbon
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$251 ZWL 6,658
$1,575 €1,415
-84.09%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
13.69
3.85
255.58%

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

Last update for Mutare: 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
Mutare
$254
Lisbon
$1.2K 369% $936
Groceries & Markets
Mutare
$154
Lisbon
$272 76.6% $118
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Mutare
$126
Lisbon
$212 68.8% $87
Eating Out
Mutare
$122
Lisbon
$243 98.6% $120
Sport & Entertainment
Mutare
$60
Lisbon
$64 6.3% $3.8
Getting Around
Mutare
$43
Lisbon
$63 45.4% $20
Clothing & Footwear
Mutare
$29
Lisbon
$166 471% $137

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $349 in Mutare and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 6.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $44 in Mutare vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $154 vs $272 per month, with Mutare cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇿🇼 Mutare
🇵🇹 Lisbon
🕒 Local time
19:40 7:40 PM
17:40 5:40 PM
2 h behind Mutare
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
188,243
545,923 Capital
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to ZWL – Zimbabwean Dollar Converter

Zimbabwean Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 26.57 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.76 USD). 1 EUR = 29.58 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.38 EUR).

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

On the map
Between locations
  • Mutare Lisbon 7,750 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Mutare
  • 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
Mutare vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Mutare and in Lisbon?
Mutare and Lisbon differ by about 180% in total monthly costs ($788 vs $2,210 including rent). Mutare is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city has better-paying jobs?
On paper, salaries run 84% lower in Mutare. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.
How do apartment prices compare in Mutare and in Lisbon?
Rent for a central apartment: $349 in Mutare versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
What is the difference in childcare costs between Mutare and Lisbon?
Childcare runs $145 in Mutare versus $668 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Supermarket bills run roughly 77% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
Which city is more doable on $1,000 per month?
At $788 in Mutare versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Mutare but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Mutare the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
How does quality of life compare between Mutare and Lisbon?
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.
Where should expats move: Mutare or Lisbon?
Expats usually find Mutare gentler on the wallet – expenses run 64% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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