Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Suzhou and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Suzhou: $861 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Suzhou
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Suzhou Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Suzhou

🇨🇳 China

$861

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $861 in Suzhou versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Suzhou $861
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,479 in Suzhou versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Suzhou $1,479
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,096 in Suzhou versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Suzhou $2,096
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Suzhou costs roughly 61% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Suzhou is 36% below, Lisbon is 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.20 ¥28.06

$16.50 €14.67

-74.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.41 ¥203

$61.3 €54.5

-50.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.30 ¥35.42

$11.27 €10.02

-52.97%

Cappuccino

$3.35 ¥22.35

$3.06 €2.72

9.48%

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

$0.69 ¥4.64

$2.26 €2.01

-69.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.41 ¥2.77

$1.73 €1.54

-76.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.20 ¥14.66

$3.39 €3.02

-35.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.50 ¥30.04

$3.40 €3.02

32.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ¥13.02

$1.12 €1.00

74.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.98 ¥13.21

$1.86 €1.65

6.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 ¥8.64

$1.53 €1.36

-15.69%

Eggs

$1.75 ¥11.72

$3.96 €3.53

-55.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.49 ¥117

$12.76 €11.35

37.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.49 ¥23.32

$7.90 €7.02

-55.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.44 ¥56.3

$16.97 €15.09

-50.27%

Apples (1kg)

$2.03 ¥13.57

$2.27 €2.02

-10.57%

Banana (1kg)

$1.23 ¥8.19

$1.75 €1.55

-29.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.34 ¥8.97

$1.85 €1.64

-27.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.43 ¥9.55

$2.57 €2.28

-44.36%

Potato (1kg)

$0.69 ¥4.62

$1.86 €1.65

-62.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.18 ¥7.85

$2.02 €1.80

-41.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.82 ¥5.51

$1.44 €1.28

-43.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.60 ¥3.98

$0.82 €0.73

-26.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.59 ¥30.64

$6.56 €5.83

-30.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.75 ¥58.4

$5.62 €5.00

55.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 ¥7.31

$1.28 €1.14

-14.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 ¥13.73

$2.07 €1.84

-0.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.38 ¥2.56

$2.35 €2.09

-83.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.71 ¥305

$44.18 €39.29

3.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.70 ¥11.36

$3.99 €3.55

-57.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 ¥2.56

$1.09 €0.97

-65.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.06 ¥67.2

$16.64 €14.80

-39.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 ¥8.95

$2.28 €2.03

-41.23%

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

$19.5K ¥130.0K

$33.7K €30.0K

-42.18%

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

$18.2K ¥121.7K

$39.3K €34.9K

-53.61%

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

$98.3 ¥657

$167 €149

-41.29%

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

$12.97 ¥86.6

$18.80 €16.72

-31.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.25 ¥75.1

$33.09 €29.43

-66.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.27 ¥222

$46.01 €40.92

-27.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.75 ¥125

$19.19 €17.07

-2.29%

Cinema Ticket

$5.99 ¥40.02

$9.84 €8.75

-39.13%

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

$1,250 ¥8,347

$677 €602

84.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.1K ¥147.6K

$16.9K €15.0K

30.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.0 ¥347

$101 €90.0

-48.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.23 ¥269

$45.76 €40.70

-12.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.4 ¥557

$100.0 €88.9

-16.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ¥573

$123 €109

-30.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$447 ¥2,982

$1,614 €1,435

-72.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ¥1,283

$1,197 €1,065

-83.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,066 ¥7,115

$2,862 €2,545

-62.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$606 ¥4,049

$1,990 €1,770

-69.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,508 ¥36.8K

$7,577 €6,739

-27.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,752 ¥18.4K

$4,307 €3,831

-36.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,345 ¥8,983

$1,588 €1,412

-15.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.53

3.85

-8.31%

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

Last update for Suzhou: October 11, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Suzhou

$219 25.4%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 23.2% $51

Accommodation & Living

Suzhou

$192 22.3%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 523% $1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Suzhou

$123 14.2%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 79% $97

Clothing & Footwear

Suzhou

$118 13.7%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 41.5% $49

Eating Out

Suzhou

$114 13.3%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 112% $128

Getting Around

Suzhou

$51 5.9%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 23.9% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Suzhou

$45 5.3%

Lisbon

$66 3% 45.1% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $447 in Suzhou and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 18% 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 Suzhou vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $219 vs $269 per month, with Suzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Suzhou

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

20:53 8:53 PM

13:53 1:53 PM

7 h behind Suzhou

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

12,748,262

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.51 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Suzhou Lisbon 10,650 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Suzhou
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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

Suzhou vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Suzhou and Lisbon differ by about 158% in total monthly costs ($861 vs $2,223 including rent). Suzhou is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 18% 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: $447 in Suzhou versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,250 in Suzhou 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 23% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $861 in Suzhou versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Suzhou but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Suzhou 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, Suzhou 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 Suzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 158% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.