Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Vacoas and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Vacoas: $744 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $17,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Vacoas
🇲🇺 Mauritius
$744
/mo nomad
Lisbon
🇵🇹 Portugal
$2,223
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $744 in Vacoas versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

  • Vacoas $744
  • Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,097 in Vacoas versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

  • Vacoas $1,097
  • Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,449 in Vacoas versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

  • Vacoas $1,449
  • Lisbon $4,319

Living in Vacoas costs roughly 67% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Vacoas is 45% below, Lisbon is 65% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Vacoas
Lisbon
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$5.89 MUR 277
$16.50 €14.67
-64.30%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$31.22 MUR 1,470
$61.3 €54.5
-49.03%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$6.20 MUR 292
$11.27 €10.03
-44.99%
Cappuccino
$2.61 MUR 123
$3.06 €2.72
-14.71%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.12 MUR 52.9
$2.26 €2.01
-50.44%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.63 MUR 29.80
$1.73 €1.54
-63.58%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.56 MUR 121
$3.39 €3.02
-24.48%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.71 MUR 175
$3.40 €3.02
9.12%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Vacoas
Lisbon
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.45 MUR 68.5
$1.12 €1.00
29.46%
White Bread (500g)
$0.73 MUR 34.35
$1.86 €1.65
-60.75%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.15 MUR 54.1
$1.53 €1.36
-24.84%
Eggs
$2.28 MUR 107
$3.96 €3.53
-42.42%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$2.70 MUR 127
$12.76 €11.35
-78.84%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$2.55 MUR 120
$7.90 €7.02
-67.72%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$11.16 MUR 525
$16.97 €15.09
-34.24%
Apples (1kg)
$2.56 MUR 120
$2.27 €2.02
12.78%
Banana (1kg)
$2.15 MUR 101
$1.75 €1.55
22.86%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.44 MUR 67.9
$1.85 €1.64
-22.16%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.03 MUR 143
$2.57 €2.28
17.90%
Potato (1kg)
$0.99 MUR 46.66
$1.86 €1.65
-46.77%
Onion (1kg)
$0.96 MUR 45.20
$2.02 €1.80
-52.48%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.73 MUR 34.16
$1.44 €1.28
-49.31%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.67 MUR 31.34
$0.82 €0.73
-18.29%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$6.18 MUR 291
$6.56 €5.83
-5.79%
Wine (Bottle)
$6.20 MUR 292
$5.62 €5.00
10.32%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.44 MUR 67.8
$1.28 €1.14
12.50%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.33 MUR 110
$2.07 €1.84
12.56%
🚌 Getting Around
Vacoas
Lisbon
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.32 MUR 62.2
$2.35 €2.09
-43.83%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$44.18 €39.30
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.27 MUR 201
$3.99 €3.55
7.02%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.18 MUR 150
$1.09 €0.97
191.74%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$4.33 MUR 204
$16.64 €14.81
-73.98%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.34 MUR 62.9
$2.28 €2.03
-41.23%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$28.9K MUR 1.4M
$33.7K €30.0K
-14.12%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$31.3K MUR 1.5M
$39.3K €35.0K
-20.38%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Vacoas
Lisbon
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$44.98 MUR 2,117
$167 €149
-73.14%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$10.35 MUR 487
$18.80 €16.72
-44.95%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$24.84 MUR 1,169
$33.09 €29.43
-24.93%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Vacoas
Lisbon
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$25.74 MUR 1,212
$46.01 €40.93
-44.06%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$19.19 €17.07
-
Cinema Ticket
$5.12 MUR 241
$9.84 €8.75
-47.97%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Vacoas
Lisbon
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$125 MUR 5,897
$677 €602
-81.51%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$7,480 MUR 352.1K
$16.9K €15.1K
-55.79%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Vacoas
Lisbon
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$31.95 MUR 1,504
$101 €90.1
-68.44%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$37.68 MUR 1,774
$45.76 €40.70
-17.66%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$63.2 MUR 2,976
$100.0 €88.9
-36.78%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$47.93 MUR 2,257
$123 €109
-60.96%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Vacoas
Lisbon
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$265 MUR 12.5K
$1,614 €1,436
-83.56%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$220 MUR 10.4K
$1,197 €1,065
-81.62%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$471 MUR 22.2K
$2,862 €2,545
-83.55%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$236 MUR 11.1K
$1,990 €1,770
-88.15%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
-
$7,577 €6,740
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
-
$4,307 €3,831
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Vacoas
Lisbon
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$690 MUR 32.5K
$1,588 €1,412
-56.56%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
6.67
3.85
73.25%

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

Last update for Vacoas: 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
Vacoas
$220
Lisbon
$1.2K 444% $977
Groceries & Markets
Vacoas
$177
Lisbon
$269 52.6% $93
Eating Out
Vacoas
$124
Lisbon
$242 94.8% $118
Clothing & Footwear
Vacoas
$81
Lisbon
$166 105% $85
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Vacoas
$80
Lisbon
$219 174% $139
Sport & Entertainment
Vacoas
$36
Lisbon
$66 82.6% $30
Getting Around
Vacoas
$25 *
Lisbon
$63 147% $38

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $265 in Vacoas and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 130% 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: $31.00 in Vacoas vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $177 vs $269 per month, with Vacoas cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇲🇺 Vacoas
🇵🇹 Lisbon
🕒 Local time
15:47 3:47 PM
12:47 12:47 PM
3 h behind Vacoas
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
115,289
545,923 Capital
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MUR – Mauritian Rupee Converter

Mauritian Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 47.08 MUR (100 MUR = 2.12 USD). 1 EUR = 52.93 MUR (100 MUR = 1.89 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

On the map
Between locations
  • Vacoas Lisbon 9,540 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Vacoas
  • 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
Vacoas vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Vacoas and in Lisbon?
Vacoas and Lisbon differ by about 199% in total monthly costs ($744 vs $2,223 including rent). Vacoas is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city has better-paying jobs?
On paper, salaries run 130% 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.
How do apartment prices compare in Vacoas and in Lisbon?
Rent for a central apartment: $265 in Vacoas versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Supermarket bills run roughly 53% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
Which city is more expensive overall: Vacoas or Lisbon?
All in, you'll spend $744 per month in Vacoas versus $2,223 in Lisbon – a 199% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
Which city is more doable on $1,000 per month?
At $744 in Vacoas versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Vacoas but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Vacoas the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
How does quality of life compare between Vacoas and Lisbon?
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.
Is Vacoas or Lisbon safer for residents?
Safety-wise, Vacoas 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.
Where should expats move: Vacoas or Lisbon?
Expats usually find Vacoas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 199% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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