Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Vilcabamba and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Vilcabamba: $943 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $15,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

46

Cost of Living Index in Vilcabamba
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Vilcabamba Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index

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Vilcabamba

🇪🇨 Ecuador

$943

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $943 in Vilcabamba versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Vilcabamba $943
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,400 in Vilcabamba versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Vilcabamba $1,400
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,857 in Vilcabamba versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Vilcabamba $1,857
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Vilcabamba costs roughly 57% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Vilcabamba is 31% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.53 $3.53

$16.65 €14.95

-78.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.95 $29.95

$61.7 €55.5

-51.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.06 $8.06

$11.36 €10.20

-29.05%

Cappuccino

$2.20 $2.20

$2.97 €2.67

-25.93%

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

$0.97 $0.97

$2.29 €2.06

-57.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.07 $1.07

$1.74 €1.56

-38.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.03 $2.03

$3.40 €3.06

-40.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.45 $3.45

$3.31 €2.97

4.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.04 $1.04

$1.16 €1.04

-10.34%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 $1.79

$1.91 €1.72

-6.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 $1.47

$1.51 €1.36

-2.65%

Eggs

$2.48 $2.48

$4.02 €3.61

-38.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.29 $8.29

$12.94 €11.62

-35.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.14 $5.14

$7.77 €6.98

-33.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.24 $7.24

$17.76 €15.95

-59.23%

Apples (1kg)

$1.87 $1.87

$2.30 €2.07

-18.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.10 $1.10

$1.73 €1.56

-36.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.21 $1.21

$1.86 €1.67

-34.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.13 $1.13

$2.59 €2.33

-56.37%

Potato (1kg)

$0.93 $0.93

$1.82 €1.64

-48.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 $1.09

$1.97 €1.77

-44.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.81 $0.81

$1.47 €1.32

-44.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 $1.02

$0.72 €0.65

41.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 $5.22

$6.58 €5.91

-20.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.20 $11.20

$5.61 €5.04

99.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 $1.64

$1.36 €1.22

20.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 $2.78

$2.14 €1.92

29.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 $0.34

$2.33 €2.10

-85.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.40 $1.40

$3.85 €3.46

-63.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.23 $1.23

$1.07 €0.96

14.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.09 $10.09

$16.46 €14.79

-38.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.68 $0.68

$2.20 €1.98

-69.09%

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

$22.9K $22.9K

$34.2K €30.7K

-33.10%

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

$29.8K $29.8K

$38.7K €34.8K

-23.15%

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

$34.34 $34.34

$161 €145

-78.70%

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

$13.49 $13.49

$18.41 €16.54

-26.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.53 $36.53

$32.74 €29.41

11.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.19 $30.19

$44.55 €40.02

-32.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.60 $16.60

$19.10 €17.16

-13.09%

Cinema Ticket

$6.34 $6.34

$9.60 €8.62

-33.96%

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

$341 $341

$668 €600

-48.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,293 $6,293

$17.6K €15.8K

-64.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.1 $61.1

$102 €91.6

-40.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.77 $44.77

$44.46 €39.94

0.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.3 $92.3

$98.5 €88.5

-6.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.6 $72.6

$124 €111

-41.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$383 $383

$1,608 €1,445

-76.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 $381

$1,190 €1,069

-67.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$618 $618

$2,812 €2,526

-78.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$572 $572

$2,013 €1,808

-71.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,295 $1,295

$7,839 €7,042

-83.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,087 $1,087

$4,576 €4,110

-76.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$448 $448

$1,575 €1,415

-71.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.09

3.85

162.08%

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

Last update for Vilcabamba: 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

Vilcabamba

$381 40.4%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 212% $809

Groceries & Markets

Vilcabamba

$200 21.2%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 36.5% $73

Clothing & Footwear

Vilcabamba

$122 12.9%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 36.2% $44

Eating Out

Vilcabamba

$104 11%

Lisbon

$243 11% 133% $139

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Vilcabamba

$84 9%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 152% $128

Sport & Entertainment

Vilcabamba

$43 4.6%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 48.7% $21

Getting Around

Vilcabamba

$8.9 * 0.9%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 610% $54

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 $383 in Vilcabamba and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 3.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $30 in Vilcabamba vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $200 vs $272 per month, with Vilcabamba cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇨 Vilcabamba

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

12:39 12:39 PM

17:39 5:39 PM

5 h ahead of Vilcabamba

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.898 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Vilcabamba Lisbon 8,600 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Vilcabamba
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

Vilcabamba vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Vilcabamba and Lisbon differ by about 134% in total monthly costs ($943 vs $2,210 including rent). Vilcabamba is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 72% lower in Vilcabamba. 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: $383 in Vilcabamba versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 36% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $943 per month in Vilcabamba versus $2,210 in Lisbon – a 134% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Vilcabamba is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Vilcabamba 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.

It comes down to priorities – Vilcabamba wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.