Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Timaru and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Timaru: $1,992 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

96

Cost of Living Index in Timaru
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Timaru Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Timaru

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,992

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,992 in Timaru versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Timaru $1,992
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,048 in Timaru versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Timaru $3,048
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,104 in Timaru versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Timaru $4,104
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Timaru costs roughly 10% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Timaru 46% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.41 NZ$25.59

$16.65 €14.91

-13.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 NZ$109

$61.7 €55.3

-0.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.87 NZ$19.29

$11.36 €10.17

-4.31%

Cappuccino

$3.29 NZ$5.84

$2.97 €2.66

10.77%

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

$2.13 NZ$3.78

$2.29 €2.05

-6.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 NZ$3.15

$1.74 €1.56

2.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.70 NZ$10.11

$3.40 €3.05

67.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.12 NZ$10.86

$3.31 €2.96

84.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 NZ$2.04

$1.16 €1.04

-0.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 NZ$3.17

$1.91 €1.71

-6.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.12 NZ$1.99

$1.51 €1.35

-25.83%

Eggs

$5.98 NZ$10.61

$4.02 €3.60

48.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.28 NZ$14.70

$12.94 €11.59

-36.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.21 NZ$16.35

$7.77 €6.96

18.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.69 NZ$29.62

$17.76 €15.91

-6.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 NZ$5.21

$2.30 €2.06

27.39%

Banana (1kg)

$2.42 NZ$4.29

$1.73 €1.55

39.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.17 NZ$5.63

$1.86 €1.66

70.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.25 NZ$9.32

$2.59 €2.32

102.70%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 NZ$3.30

$1.82 €1.63

2.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.85 NZ$3.29

$1.97 €1.76

-6.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.32 NZ$4.13

$1.47 €1.32

57.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 NZ$0.98

$0.72 €0.65

-23.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.06 NZ$37.40

$6.58 €5.90

220.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.57 NZ$9.90

$5.61 €5.02

-0.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 NZ$5.63

$1.36 €1.22

133.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.26 NZ$2.23

$2.14 €1.91

-41.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.94 NZ$3.45

$2.33 €2.09

-16.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$110 NZ$196

$44.68 €40.01

146.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.23 NZ$3.97

$3.85 €3.45

-42.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.79 NZ$3.17

$1.07 €0.96

67.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.93 NZ$51.4

$16.46 €14.74

75.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 NZ$2.76

$2.20 €1.97

-29.09%

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

$28.5K NZ$50.6K

$34.2K €30.6K

-16.70%

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

$22.9K NZ$40.7K

$38.7K €34.7K

-40.74%

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

$113 NZ$201

$161 €144

-29.83%

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

$22.85 NZ$40.58

$18.41 €16.49

24.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.5 NZ$93.2

$32.74 €29.32

60.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.92 NZ$70.9

$44.55 €39.90

-10.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.10

Cinema Ticket

$11.39 NZ$20.22

$9.60 €8.60

18.65%

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

$590 NZ$1,047

$668 €598

-11.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.1K NZ$28.5K

$17.6K €15.8K

-8.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.4 NZ$106

$102 €91.4

-41.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.10 NZ$62.3

$44.46 €39.82

-21.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.0 NZ$162

$98.5 €88.2

-7.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$137 NZ$244

$124 €111

10.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,108 NZ$1,968

$1,608 €1,440

-31.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$921 NZ$1,635

$1,190 €1,066

-22.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,790 NZ$3,179

$2,812 €2,519

-36.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 NZ$2,972

$2,013 €1,803

-16.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,547 NZ$8,073

$7,839 €7,021

-42.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,866 NZ$5,088

$4,576 €4,098

-37.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.07

3.85

83.64%

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

Last update for Timaru: October 26, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Timaru

$921 46.2%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 29.2% $269

Groceries & Markets

Timaru

$302 15.1%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 9.7% $29

Eating Out

Timaru

$244 12.2%

Lisbon

$243 11% 0.5% $1.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Timaru

$188 9.5%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 12.7% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Timaru

$145 7.3%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 14.2% $21

Getting Around

Timaru

$129 6.5%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 51.1% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Timaru

$63 3.2%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 1.6% $1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,108 in Timaru and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61 in Timaru vs $62 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $302 vs $272, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Timaru

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

06:09 6:09 AM

17:09 5:09 PM

13 h behind Timaru

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

28,600

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 1, 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 1, 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

Timaru Lisbon 19,380 km ≈ 25 h nonstop flight

From you

Timaru
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

Timaru vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,992 in Timaru and $2,210 in Lisbon, so Timaru is about 10% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,987 in Timaru 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: $1,108 in Timaru 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 10% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,992 per month in Timaru versus $2,210 in Lisbon – Timaru is about 10% 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, Timaru and Lisbon are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.