Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Queenstown and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,210 a month against $2,370 in Queenstown, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. The total is higher in Queenstown despite lower rent and utilities.

115

Cost of Living Index in Queenstown
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Queenstown Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Queenstown

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,370

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,370 in Queenstown versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Queenstown $2,370
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,764 in Queenstown versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Queenstown $3,764
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,158 in Queenstown versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Queenstown $5,158
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Queenstown is roughly 7% more expensive than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Queenstown 74% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.26 NZ$30.77

$16.65 €14.95

3.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.8 NZ$155

$61.7 €55.5

40.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.76 NZ$17.39

$11.36 €10.20

-14.08%

Cappuccino

$3.28 NZ$5.84

$2.97 €2.67

10.44%

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

$2.29 NZ$4.08

$2.29 €2.06

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 NZ$3.71

$1.74 €1.56

19.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.75 NZ$12.02

$3.40 €3.06

98.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.19 NZ$11.04

$3.31 €2.97

87.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.14 NZ$3.81

$1.16 €1.04

84.48%

White Bread (500g)

$1.96 NZ$3.49

$1.91 €1.72

2.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 NZ$3.17

$1.51 €1.36

17.88%

Eggs

$5.80 NZ$10.33

$4.02 €3.61

44.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.53 NZ$15.21

$12.94 €11.62

-34.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.16 NZ$18.11

$7.77 €6.98

30.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.81 NZ$28.18

$17.76 €15.95

-10.98%

Apples (1kg)

$2.92 NZ$5.21

$2.30 €2.07

26.96%

Banana (1kg)

$2.40 NZ$4.28

$1.73 €1.56

38.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.89 NZ$6.94

$1.86 €1.67

109.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.50 NZ$9.80

$2.59 €2.33

112.36%

Potato (1kg)

$3.55 NZ$6.33

$1.82 €1.64

95.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.84 NZ$3.28

$1.97 €1.77

-6.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.42 NZ$4.31

$1.47 €1.32

64.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.97 NZ$3.50

$0.72 €0.65

173.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$27.67 NZ$49.31

$6.58 €5.91

320.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.24 NZ$16.47

$5.61 €5.04

64.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.50 NZ$8.02

$1.36 €1.22

230.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.63 NZ$11.81

$2.14 €1.92

209.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.88 NZ$3.35

$2.33 €2.10

-19.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$128 NZ$229

$44.68 €40.14

187.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.69 NZ$4.80

$3.85 €3.46

-30.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.92 NZ$3.43

$1.07 €0.96

79.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.48 NZ$52.5

$16.46 €14.79

79.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.70 NZ$3.03

$2.20 €1.98

-22.73%

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

$26.7K NZ$47.5K

$34.2K €30.7K

-22.04%

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

$22.5K NZ$40.1K

$38.7K €34.8K

-41.85%

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

$111 NZ$197

$161 €145

-31.44%

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

$28.93 NZ$51.6

$18.41 €16.54

57.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.8 NZ$92.4

$32.74 €29.41

58.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.9 NZ$99.6

$44.55 €40.02

25.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.64 NZ$47.47

$19.10 €17.16

39.48%

Cinema Ticket

$11.17 NZ$19.91

$9.60 €8.62

16.35%

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

$983 NZ$1,752

$668 €600

47.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,685 NZ$13.7K

$17.6K €15.8K

-56.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$60.0 NZ$107

$102 €91.6

-41.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.90 NZ$83.6

$44.46 €39.94

5.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.0 NZ$162

$98.5 €88.5

-7.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$137 NZ$245

$124 €111

11.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,523 NZ$2,714

$1,608 €1,445

-5.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,162 NZ$2,072

$1,190 €1,069

-2.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,918 NZ$5,200

$2,812 €2,526

3.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,294 NZ$4,089

$2,013 €1,808

13.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,612 NZ$13.6K

$7,839 €7,042

-2.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,271 NZ$9,395

$4,576 €4,110

15.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,054 NZ$5,443

$1,575 €1,415

93.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.12

3.85

58.96%

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

Last update for Queenstown: October 25, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Queenstown

$1.2K 49%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 2.4% $28

Groceries & Markets

Queenstown

$369 15.6%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 26.2% $97

Eating Out

Queenstown

$270 11.4%

Lisbon

$243 11% 10.3% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Queenstown

$191 8.1%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 11% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Queenstown

$151 6.4%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 9.9% $15

Getting Around

Queenstown

$148 6.3%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 57.4% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Queenstown

$78 3.3%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 18.5% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,523 in Queenstown and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Queenstown pays 94% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $87 in Queenstown vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $369 vs $272 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Queenstown

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

09:46 9:46 AM

20:46 8:46 PM

13 h behind Queenstown

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,450

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.561 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.561 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 EUR).

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

USD to NZD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Queenstown Lisbon 19,290 km ≈ 25 h nonstop flight

From you

Queenstown
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

Queenstown vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,370 in Queenstown and $2,210 in Lisbon, so Lisbon is about 7% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 94% higher in Queenstown, 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: $1,523 in Queenstown versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $983 in Queenstown 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 36% higher in Queenstown. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Lisbon gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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

It comes down to priorities – Lisbon wins on affordability, Queenstown on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.