Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nelson and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Nelson: $1,865 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

90

Cost of Living Index in Nelson
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Nelson Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Nelson

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,865

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,865 in Nelson versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Nelson $1,865
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,872 in Nelson versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Nelson $2,872
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,879 in Nelson versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Nelson $3,879
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Nelson costs roughly 16% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Nelson 37% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.72 NZ$24.37

$16.65 €14.91

-17.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.8 NZ$115

$61.7 €55.3

5.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.27 NZ$14.69

$11.36 €10.17

-27.20%

Cappuccino

$3.19 NZ$5.65

$2.97 €2.66

7.41%

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

$1.82 NZ$3.23

$2.29 €2.05

-20.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 NZ$2.93

$1.74 €1.56

-5.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.61 NZ$13.51

$3.40 €3.05

123.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.84 NZ$10.37

$3.31 €2.96

76.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.93 NZ$3.43

$1.16 €1.04

66.38%

White Bread (500g)

$2.19 NZ$3.89

$1.91 €1.71

14.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.96 NZ$3.47

$1.51 €1.35

29.80%

Eggs

$5.85 NZ$10.39

$4.02 €3.60

45.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.13 NZ$16.20

$12.94 €11.59

-29.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.62 NZ$13.53

$7.77 €6.96

-1.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.65 NZ$24.23

$17.76 €15.91

-23.14%

Apples (1kg)

$3.15 NZ$5.60

$2.30 €2.06

36.96%

Banana (1kg)

$2.15 NZ$3.81

$1.73 €1.55

24.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.00 NZ$5.33

$1.86 €1.66

61.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.63 NZ$10.00

$2.59 €2.32

117.37%

Potato (1kg)

$2.07 NZ$3.68

$1.82 €1.63

13.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.23 NZ$2.19

$1.97 €1.76

-37.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.02 NZ$3.59

$1.47 €1.32

37.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 NZ$1.92

$0.72 €0.65

50.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$25.87 NZ$45.93

$6.58 €5.90

293.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.94 NZ$17.64

$5.61 €5.02

77.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.14 NZ$5.58

$1.36 €1.22

130.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 NZ$4.99

$2.14 €1.91

31.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.20 NZ$3.91

$2.33 €2.09

-5.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.01

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.83 NZ$3.25

$3.85 €3.45

-52.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.79 NZ$3.18

$1.07 €0.96

67.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.80 NZ$60.0

$16.46 €14.74

105.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 NZ$2.77

$2.20 €1.97

-29.09%

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

$17.1K NZ$30.3K

$34.2K €30.6K

-50.11%

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

$22.4K NZ$39.7K

$38.7K €34.7K

-42.28%

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

$130 NZ$231

$161 €144

-19.25%

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

$32.93 NZ$58.5

$18.41 €16.49

78.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.70 NZ$77.6

$32.74 €29.32

33.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$101 NZ$179

$44.55 €39.90

125.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.48 NZ$61.2

$19.10 €17.10

80.52%

Cinema Ticket

$11.14 NZ$19.78

$9.60 €8.60

16.04%

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

$458 NZ$813

$668 €598

-31.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.1K NZ$23.3K

$17.6K €15.8K

-25.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.9 NZ$94.0

$102 €91.4

-48.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.57 NZ$50.7

$44.46 €39.82

-35.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 NZ$184

$98.5 €88.2

5.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$143 NZ$253

$124 €111

15.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 NZ$1,817

$1,608 €1,440

-36.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$813 NZ$1,443

$1,190 €1,066

-31.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,755 NZ$3,116

$2,812 €2,519

-37.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,455 NZ$2,582

$2,013 €1,803

-27.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,396 NZ$2,479

$7,839 €7,021

-82.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$852 NZ$1,512

$4,576 €4,098

-81.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,043 NZ$3,627

$1,575 €1,411

29.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

3.85

40.00%

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

Last update for Nelson: October 24, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nelson

$813 43.6%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 46.4% $377

Groceries & Markets

Nelson

$319 17.1%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 14.5% $46

Eating Out

Nelson

$236 12.7%

Lisbon

$243 11% 2.6% $6.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nelson

$207 11.1%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 2.7% $5.5

Clothing & Footwear

Nelson

$148 7.9%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 12.4% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Nelson

$123 6.6%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 48.1% $59

Getting Around

Nelson

$20 * 1.1%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 223% $44

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 $1,023 in Nelson and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nelson pays 30% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $65 in Nelson vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $319 vs $272 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Nelson

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

14:40 2:40 PM

01:40 1:40 AM

13 h behind Nelson

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

51,100

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to NZD – New Zealand Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇿 New Zealand Dollar ($)

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.563 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to NZD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Nelson Lisbon 19,660 km ≈ 25 h nonstop flight

From you

Nelson
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

Nelson vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,865 in Nelson and $2,210 in Lisbon, so Nelson is about 16% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 30% higher in Nelson, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,023 in Nelson versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 15% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,865 per month in Nelson versus $2,210 in Lisbon – Nelson is about 16% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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, Nelson and Lisbon are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.