Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Quito and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Quito: $978 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

48

Cost of Living Index in Quito
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Quito Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Quito

🇪🇨 Ecuador

$978

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $978 in Quito versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Quito $978
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,586 in Quito versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Quito $1,586
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,194 in Quito versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Quito $2,194
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Quito costs roughly 56% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Quito is 28% below, Lisbon is 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.08 $6.08

$16.50 €14.67

-63.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.5 $55.5

$61.3 €54.5

-9.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.61 $7.61

$11.27 €10.03

-32.48%

Cappuccino

$3.40 $3.40

$3.06 €2.72

11.11%

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

$1.37 $1.37

$2.26 €2.01

-39.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.09 $1.09

$1.73 €1.54

-36.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.43 $3.43

$3.39 €3.02

1.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.06 $6.06

$3.40 €3.02

78.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 $1.14

$1.12 €1.00

1.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.60 $1.60

$1.86 €1.65

-13.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 $1.58

$1.53 €1.36

3.27%

Eggs

$2.12 $2.12

$3.96 €3.53

-46.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.58 $6.58

$12.76 €11.35

-48.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.51 $5.51

$7.90 €7.02

-30.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.65 $7.65

$16.97 €15.09

-54.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 $2.24

$2.27 €2.02

-1.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.19 $1.19

$1.75 €1.55

-32.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.33 $1.33

$1.85 €1.64

-28.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.13 $1.13

$2.57 €2.28

-56.03%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 $1.24

$1.86 €1.65

-33.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 $1.02

$2.02 €1.80

-49.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.92 $0.92

$1.44 €1.28

-36.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 $1.05

$0.82 €0.73

28.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.16 $6.16

$6.56 €5.83

-6.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.07 $10.07

$5.62 €5.00

79.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 $1.58

$1.28 €1.14

23.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.09 $3.09

$2.07 €1.84

49.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.36 $0.36

$2.35 €2.09

-84.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.37 $21.37

$44.18 €39.30

-51.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.53 $1.53

$3.99 €3.55

-61.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 $1.49

$1.09 €0.97

36.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.84 $9.84

$16.64 €14.81

-40.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.81 $0.81

$2.28 €2.03

-64.47%

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

$21.3K $21.3K

$33.7K €30.0K

-36.89%

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

$27.9K $27.9K

$39.3K €35.0K

-29.00%

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

$28.75 $28.75

$167 €149

-82.83%

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

$17.86 $17.86

$18.80 €16.72

-5.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.20 $28.20

$33.09 €29.43

-14.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.08 $46.08

$46.01 €40.93

0.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.76 $17.76

$19.19 €17.07

-7.45%

Cinema Ticket

$6.34 $6.34

$9.84 €8.75

-35.57%

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

$739 $739

$677 €602

9.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,909 $8,909

$16.9K €15.1K

-47.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.0 $71.0

$101 €90.1

-29.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.4 $50.4

$45.76 €40.70

10.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 $114

$100.0 €88.9

14.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 $107

$123 €109

-12.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$491 $491

$1,614 €1,436

-69.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 $309

$1,197 €1,065

-74.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$932 $932

$2,862 €2,545

-67.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$540 $540

$1,990 €1,770

-72.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,759 $1,759

$7,577 €6,740

-76.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$715 $715

$4,307 €3,831

-83.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$594 $594

$1,588 €1,412

-62.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.12

3.85

162.86%

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

Last update for Quito: October 10, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Quito

$309 31.6%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 288% $888

Groceries & Markets

Quito

$198 20.3%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 36.1% $71

Clothing & Footwear

Quito

$154 15.8%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 7.9% $12

Eating Out

Quito

$151 15.5%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 59.9% $91

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Quito

$75 7.7%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 193% $145

Sport & Entertainment

Quito

$59 6%

Lisbon

$66 3% 11.8% $6.9

Getting Around

Quito

$32 3.3%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 98.2% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $491 in Quito and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 167% 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: $55.0 in Quito vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $198 vs $269 per month, with Quito cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇨 Quito

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

10:40 10:40 AM

16:40 4:40 PM

6 h ahead of Quito

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,671,191 Capital

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.889 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Quito Lisbon 8,250 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Quito
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

Quito vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Quito and Lisbon differ by about 127% in total monthly costs ($978 vs $2,223 including rent). Quito is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 167% 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: $491 in Quito versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $739 in Quito versus $677 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 Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $978 in Quito versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Quito but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Quito 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, Quito 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 Quito gentler on the wallet – expenses run 127% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.