Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu: $708 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $18,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu
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Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu

🇨🇳 China

$708

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $708 in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu $708
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,174 in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu $1,174
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,639 in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu $1,639
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu costs roughly 68% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu is 48% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.71 ¥24.71

$16.65 €14.96

-77.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.88 ¥173

$61.7 €55.5

-58.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.68 ¥31.22

$11.36 €10.20

-58.80%

Cappuccino

$3.18 ¥21.20

$2.97 €2.67

7.07%

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

$0.44 ¥2.94

$2.29 €2.06

-80.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 ¥2.21

$1.74 €1.56

-81.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.88 ¥5.85

$3.40 €3.06

-74.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 ¥9.91

$3.31 €2.97

-54.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 ¥12.12

$1.16 €1.04

56.90%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 ¥7.91

$1.91 €1.72

-37.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.87 ¥5.81

$1.51 €1.36

-42.38%

Eggs

$1.99 ¥13.26

$4.02 €3.61

-50.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.03 ¥127

$12.94 €11.62

47.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.78 ¥25.21

$7.77 €6.99

-51.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.11 ¥40.72

$17.76 €15.96

-65.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.28 ¥15.20

$2.30 €2.07

-0.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 ¥9.32

$1.73 €1.56

-19.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.48 ¥9.89

$1.86 €1.67

-20.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.32 ¥8.82

$2.59 €2.33

-49.03%

Potato (1kg)

$0.92 ¥6.14

$1.82 €1.64

-49.45%

Onion (1kg)

$0.94 ¥6.30

$1.97 €1.77

-52.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.67 ¥4.44

$1.47 €1.32

-54.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ¥3.86

$0.72 €0.65

-19.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.68 ¥24.56

$6.58 €5.92

-44.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.30 ¥88.7

$5.61 €5.04

137.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 ¥5.44

$1.36 €1.22

-39.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.52 ¥10.16

$2.14 €1.92

-28.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 ¥1.92

$2.33 €2.10

-87.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.68 ¥111

$44.68 €40.14

-62.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.96 ¥13.07

$3.85 €3.46

-49.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.36 ¥2.37

$1.07 €0.96

-66.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.05 ¥46.97

$16.46 €14.79

-57.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 ¥8.21

$2.20 €1.98

-44.09%

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

$17.6K ¥117.6K

$34.2K €30.7K

-48.41%

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

$18.1K ¥121.0K

$38.7K €34.8K

-53.14%

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

$18.87 ¥126

$161 €145

-88.30%

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

$10.02 ¥66.8

$18.41 €16.54

-45.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.05 ¥73.7

$32.74 €29.41

-66.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$59.0 ¥393

$44.55 €40.03

32.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.56 ¥104

$19.10 €17.16

-18.53%

Cinema Ticket

$7.46 ¥49.72

$9.60 €8.62

-22.29%

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

$299 ¥1,993

$668 €600

-55.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.7K ¥118.2K

$17.6K €15.8K

0.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.39 ¥303

$102 €91.7

-55.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.76 ¥278

$44.46 €39.95

-6.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$59.8 ¥398

$98.5 €88.5

-39.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.6 ¥397

$124 €111

-51.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$260 ¥1,730

$1,608 €1,445

-83.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$172 ¥1,143

$1,190 €1,069

-85.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$604 ¥4,023

$2,812 €2,527

-78.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$369 ¥2,461

$2,013 €1,809

-81.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,998 ¥20.0K

$7,839 €7,043

-61.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,945 ¥13.0K

$4,576 €4,111

-57.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.5

3.85

-9.09%

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

Last update for Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu: October 25, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu

$216 30.5%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 26% $56

Accommodation & Living

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu

$172 24.2%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 594% $1K

Clothing & Footwear

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu

$93 13.1%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 78.5% $73

Eating Out

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu

$92 13%

Lisbon

$243 11% 163% $150

Sport & Entertainment

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu

$74 10.4%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 13.8% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu

$40 5.6%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 432% $172

Getting Around

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu

$22 3%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 193% $42

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $260 in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $26 in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $216 vs $272 per month, with Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

20:02 8:02 PM

12:02 12:02 PM

8 h behind Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

831,113

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.67 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.42 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

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

USD to CNY in detail →

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Between locations

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu Lisbon 10,670 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu
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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

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu and Lisbon differ by about 212% in total monthly costs ($708 vs $2,210 including rent). Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,063 in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu and $3,315 in Lisbon to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $260 in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $299 in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu 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 26% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $708 in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu 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.

Expats usually find Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 68% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.