Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ndola and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Ndola: $719 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $17,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in Ndola
Learn more

Ndola Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index

Jump to prices

Ndola

🇿🇲 Zambia

$719

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $719 in Ndola versus $2,202 in Lisbon.

Ndola $719
Lisbon $2,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,721 in Ndola versus $3,274 in Lisbon.

Ndola $1,721
Lisbon $3,274

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,723 in Ndola versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Ndola $2,723
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Ndola costs roughly 67% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ndola is 47% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.58 ZMW 111

$17.04 €15.15

-67.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.02 ZMW 597

$62.3 €55.4

-51.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.00 ZMW 99.4

$11.02 €9.80

-54.63%

Cappuccino

$2.76 ZMW 54.8

$3.12 €2.78

-11.54%

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

$0.52 ZMW 10.25

$2.27 €2.02

-77.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.24 ZMW 4.73

$1.74 €1.55

-86.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.22 ZMW 24.31

$3.42 €3.04

-64.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 ZMW 44.02

$3.74 €3.33

-40.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 ZMW 32.92

$1.17 €1.04

41.03%

White Bread (500g)

$1.18 ZMW 23.56

$1.86 €1.66

-36.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 ZMW 42.31

$1.54 €1.37

38.31%

Eggs

$1.56 ZMW 31.07

$4.06 €3.61

-61.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.15 ZMW 202

$12.91 €11.49

-21.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.18 ZMW 123

$7.90 €7.03

-21.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.71 ZMW 133

$17.64 €15.69

-61.96%

Apples (1kg)

$1.47 ZMW 29.27

$2.26 €2.01

-34.96%

Banana (1kg)

$2.41 ZMW 48.00

$1.75 €1.55

37.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.74 ZMW 74.3

$1.89 €1.68

97.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ZMW 30.72

$2.56 €2.27

-39.84%

Potato (1kg)

$2.53 ZMW 50.4

$1.85 €1.64

36.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 ZMW 35.84

$1.97 €1.75

-8.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 ZMW 21.93

$1.45 €1.29

-24.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ZMW 11.60

$0.77 €0.69

-24.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.09 ZMW 61.5

$6.71 €5.97

-53.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.83 ZMW 196

$5.67 €5.04

73.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 ZMW 28.97

$1.37 €1.22

6.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.35 ZMW 46.73

$2.11 €1.88

11.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 ZMW 14.29

$2.32 €2.07

-68.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.57 ZMW 51.2

$3.95 €3.51

-34.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 ZMW 30.41

$1.05 €0.93

45.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.03 ZMW 100

$17.15 €15.26

-70.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 ZMW 26.78

$2.19 €1.95

-38.36%

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

$7,392 ZMW 147.0K

$33.8K €30.0K

-78.12%

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

$26.9K ZMW 534.7K

$38.3K €34.0K

-29.74%

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

$80.2 ZMW 1,596

$164 €146

-51.02%

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

$10.45 ZMW 208

$18.48 €16.43

-43.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.2 ZMW 1,098

$32.96 €29.32

67.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

Cinema Ticket

$6.04 ZMW 120

$9.75 €8.67

-38.05%

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

$135 ZMW 2,692

$684 €608

-80.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.3K ZMW 324.7K

$17.6K €15.7K

-7.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.64 ZMW 470

$104 €92.3

-77.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.39 ZMW 306

$46.20 €41.09

-66.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$45.69 ZMW 909

$99.7 €88.7

-54.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.4 ZMW 1,421

$125 €111

-42.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$177 ZMW 3,526

$1,589 €1,414

-88.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$148 ZMW 2,948

$1,169 €1,040

-87.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$370 ZMW 7,365

$2,851 €2,536

-87.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,482 ZMW 29.5K

$1,993 €1,773

-25.67%

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)

$596 ZMW 11.9K

$1,600 €1,423

-62.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

653.25%

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

Last update for Ndola: October 18, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Ndola

$223 31.1%

Lisbon

$273 12.4% 22.2% $50

Accommodation & Living

Ndola

$148 20.6%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1% 689% $1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ndola

$146 20.3%

Lisbon

$215 9.8% 47.5% $69

Eating Out

Ndola

$106 14.8%

Lisbon

$247 11.2% 133% $141

Clothing & Footwear

Ndola

$70 9.8%

Lisbon

$168 7.7% 140% $98

Getting Around

Ndola

$13 * 1.8%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 381% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Ndola

$12 * 1.7%

Lisbon

$65 3% 441% $53

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 $177 in Ndola and $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 168% 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: $30.00 in Ndola vs $62.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $223 vs $273 per month, with Ndola cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇲 Ndola

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

07:43 7:43 AM

06:43 6:43 AM

1 h behind Ndola

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

455,194

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Zambian Kwacha ZMW ZK

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZMW = 5.03 USD

100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to ZMW – Zambian Kwacha Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇲 Zambian Kwacha (ZK)

Zambian Kwacha exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 19.89 ZMW (100 ZMW = 5.03 USD). 1 EUR = 22.36 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ZMW in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ndola Lisbon 6,960 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Ndola
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

Ndola vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ndola and Lisbon differ by about 206% in total monthly costs ($719 vs $2,202 including rent). Ndola is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 168% 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: $177 in Ndola versus $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 22% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $719 per month in Ndola versus $2,202 in Lisbon – a 206% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $719 in Ndola versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Ndola but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Ndola 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, Ndola 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 Ndola gentler on the wallet – expenses run 206% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.