Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Xai-Xai and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Xai-Xai: $680 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $18,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Xai-Xai
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Xai-Xai Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index

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Xai-Xai

🇲🇿 Mozambique

$680

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $680 in Xai-Xai versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Xai-Xai $680
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,143 in Xai-Xai versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Xai-Xai $1,143
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,607 in Xai-Xai versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Xai-Xai $1,607
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Xai-Xai costs roughly 69% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Xai-Xai is 50% below, Lisbon is 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.00 MZN 632

$16.50 €14.67

-39.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.2 MZN 3,932

$61.3 €54.5

1.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.29 MZN 461

$11.27 €10.03

-35.31%

Cappuccino

$2.25 MZN 142

$3.06 €2.72

-26.47%

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

$0.86 MZN 54.6

$2.26 €2.01

-61.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.70 MZN 44.08

$1.73 €1.54

-59.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.54 MZN 97.6

$3.39 €3.02

-54.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 MZN 150

$3.40 €3.02

-30.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 MZN 96.1

$1.12 €1.00

35.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.03 MZN 65.4

$1.86 €1.65

-44.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 MZN 101

$1.53 €1.36

3.92%

Eggs

$2.43 MZN 154

$3.96 €3.53

-38.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.25 MZN 1,344

$12.76 €11.35

66.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.69 MZN 360

$7.90 €7.02

-27.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.55 MZN 351

$16.97 €15.09

-67.30%

Apples (1kg)

$1.99 MZN 126

$2.27 €2.02

-12.33%

Banana (1kg)

$0.76 MZN 48.08

$1.75 €1.55

-56.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.63 MZN 103

$1.85 €1.64

-11.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.05 MZN 66.2

$2.57 €2.28

-59.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.01 MZN 63.7

$1.86 €1.65

-45.70%

Onion (1kg)

$0.79 MZN 50.2

$2.02 €1.80

-60.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.93 MZN 58.9

$1.44 €1.28

-35.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.86 MZN 54.5

$0.82 €0.73

4.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.74 MZN 174

$6.56 €5.83

-58.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.08 MZN 638

$5.62 €5.00

79.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 MZN 62.5

$1.28 €1.14

-22.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.28 MZN 81.1

$2.07 €1.84

-38.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.55 MZN 98.0

$3.99 €3.55

-61.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.19 MZN 75.4

$1.09 €0.97

9.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.71 MZN 1,563

$16.64 €14.81

48.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.41 MZN 89.4

$2.28 €2.03

-38.16%

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

$32.1K MZN 2.0M

$33.7K €30.0K

-4.56%

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

$22.8K MZN 1.4M

$39.3K €35.0K

-41.91%

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

$70.5 MZN 4,459

$167 €149

-57.91%

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

$7.86 MZN 497

$18.80 €16.72

-58.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$88.5 MZN 5,597

$33.09 €29.43

167.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

Cinema Ticket

$8.01 MZN 507

$9.84 €8.75

-18.60%

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

$129 MZN 8,179

$677 €602

-80.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,214 MZN 329.8K

$16.9K €15.1K

-69.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.93 MZN 3,158

$101 €90.1

-50.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.0 MZN 3,541

$45.76 €40.70

22.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.1 MZN 4,938

$100.0 €88.9

-21.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.1 MZN 5,065

$123 €109

-34.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

549.35%

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

Last update for Xai-Xai: October 11, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Xai-Xai

$223 32.8%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 20.8% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Xai-Xai

$167 24.5%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 31.5% $53

Eating Out

Xai-Xai

$148 21.7%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 64.2% $95

Clothing & Footwear

Xai-Xai

$119 17.5%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 40% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Xai-Xai

$16 * 2.4%

Lisbon

$66 3% 310% $50

Getting Around

Xai-Xai

$7.5 * 1.1%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 739% $55

Accommodation & Living

Xai-Xai

- * 0%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $62.0 in Xai-Xai vs $61.0 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $223 vs $269, with Xai-Xai cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇿 Xai-Xai

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

01:08 1:08 AM

00:08 12:08 AM

1 h behind Xai-Xai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

116,343

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Mozambican Metical MZN MT

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MZN = 1.58 USD

100 MZN = 1.41 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MZN – Mozambican Metical Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇿 Mozambican Metical (MT)

Mozambican Metical exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 63.25 MZN (100 MZN = 1.58 USD). 1 EUR = 71.11 MZN (100 MZN = 1.41 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MZN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Xai-Xai Lisbon 8,370 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Xai-Xai
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

Xai-Xai vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Xai-Xai and Lisbon differ by about 227% in total monthly costs ($680 vs $2,223 including rent). Xai-Xai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,020 in Xai-Xai 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.

Supermarket bills run roughly 21% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $680 per month in Xai-Xai versus $2,223 in Lisbon – a 227% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $680 in Xai-Xai versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Xai-Xai but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Xai-Xai 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, Xai-Xai 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 Xai-Xai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 227% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.