Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tulcán and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Tulcán: $842 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Tulcán
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Tulcán Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Tulcán

🇪🇨 Ecuador

$842

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $842 in Tulcán versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Tulcán $842
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,430 in Tulcán versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Tulcán $1,430
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,018 in Tulcán versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Tulcán $2,018
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Tulcán costs roughly 62% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tulcán is 38% below, Lisbon is 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.12 $6.12

$16.50 €14.67

-62.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.1 $55.1

$61.3 €54.5

-10.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.63 $7.63

$11.27 €10.03

-32.30%

Cappuccino

$3.34 $3.34

$3.06 €2.72

9.15%

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

$1.38 $1.38

$2.26 €2.01

-38.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.09 $1.09

$1.73 €1.54

-36.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.54 $3.54

$3.39 €3.02

4.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.98 $5.98

$3.40 €3.02

75.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 $1.14

$1.12 €1.00

1.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 $1.54

$1.86 €1.65

-17.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 $1.50

$1.53 €1.36

-1.96%

Eggs

$2.10 $2.10

$3.96 €3.53

-46.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.50 $6.50

$12.76 €11.35

-49.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.74 $5.74

$7.90 €7.02

-27.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.79 $7.79

$16.97 €15.09

-54.10%

Apples (1kg)

$2.31 $2.31

$2.27 €2.02

1.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.19 $1.19

$1.75 €1.55

-32.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.29 $1.29

$1.85 €1.64

-30.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.08 $1.08

$2.57 €2.28

-57.98%

Potato (1kg)

$1.18 $1.18

$1.86 €1.65

-36.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 $1.03

$2.02 €1.80

-49.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.85 $0.85

$1.44 €1.28

-40.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 $1.07

$0.82 €0.73

30.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.02 $6.02

$6.56 €5.83

-8.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.12 $10.12

$5.62 €5.00

80.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.53 $1.53

$1.28 €1.14

19.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.03 $3.03

$2.07 €1.84

46.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.32 $0.32

$2.35 €2.09

-86.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.15 $19.15

$44.18 €39.30

-56.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.46 $1.46

$3.99 €3.55

-63.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.52 $1.52

$1.09 €0.97

39.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.20 $10.20

$16.64 €14.81

-38.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 $0.83

$2.28 €2.03

-63.60%

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

$21.4K $21.4K

$33.7K €30.0K

-36.60%

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

$28.4K $28.4K

$39.3K €35.0K

-27.59%

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

$28.71 $28.71

$167 €149

-82.86%

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

$18.06 $18.06

$18.80 €16.72

-3.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.53 $28.53

$33.09 €29.43

-13.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.37 $34.37

$46.01 €40.93

-25.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.79 $17.79

$19.19 €17.07

-7.30%

Cinema Ticket

$6.55 $6.55

$9.84 €8.75

-33.43%

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

$229 $229

$677 €602

-66.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,086 $9,086

$16.9K €15.1K

-46.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.4 $70.4

$101 €90.1

-30.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.99 $48.99

$45.76 €40.70

7.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 $115

$100.0 €88.9

15.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 $107

$123 €109

-12.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$343 $343

$1,614 €1,436

-78.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$187 $187

$1,197 €1,065

-84.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$829 $829

$2,862 €2,545

-71.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$394 $394

$1,990 €1,770

-80.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,153 $1,153

$7,577 €6,740

-84.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$813 $813

$4,307 €3,831

-81.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

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 Tulcán: October 10, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Tulcán

$198 23.5%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 36.2% $72

Accommodation & Living

Tulcán

$187 22.2%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 540% $1K

Clothing & Footwear

Tulcán

$154 18.3%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 8.3% $13

Eating Out

Tulcán

$151 18%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 59.9% $91

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tulcán

$75 8.9%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 191% $144

Sport & Entertainment

Tulcán

$47 5.6%

Lisbon

$66 3% 38.4% $18

Getting Around

Tulcán

$29 3.5%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 114% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $343 in Tulcán and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

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

Good to know

🇪🇨 Tulcán

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

23:12 11:12 PM

05:12 5:12 AM

6 h ahead of Tulcán

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

82,734

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Tulcán Lisbon 8,110 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Tulcán
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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

Tulcán vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tulcán and Lisbon differ by about 164% in total monthly costs ($842 vs $2,223 including rent). Tulcán is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,263 in Tulcán and $3,335 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: $343 in Tulcán versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $229 in Tulcán 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 $842 in Tulcán versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Tulcán but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Tulcán 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, Tulcán 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 Tulcán gentler on the wallet – expenses run 164% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.