Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zamboanga and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Zamboanga: $734 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $17,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in Zamboanga
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Zamboanga Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Zamboanga

🇵🇭 Philippines

$734

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $734 in Zamboanga versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Zamboanga $734
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,106 in Zamboanga versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Zamboanga $1,106
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,478 in Zamboanga versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Zamboanga $1,478
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Zamboanga 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: Zamboanga is 46% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.31 ₱83.6

$16.65 €14.95

-92.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.01 ₱1,023

$61.7 €55.5

-74.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.32 ₱212

$11.36 €10.20

-70.77%

Cappuccino

$2.01 ₱128

$2.97 €2.67

-32.32%

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

$0.84 ₱53.6

$2.29 €2.06

-63.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.40 ₱25.33

$1.74 €1.56

-77.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.43 ₱91.6

$3.40 €3.06

-57.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 ₱130

$3.31 €2.97

-38.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.78 ₱114

$1.16 €1.04

53.45%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 ₱90.1

$1.91 €1.72

-26.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.10 ₱70.2

$1.51 €1.36

-27.15%

Eggs

$1.50 ₱95.9

$4.02 €3.61

-62.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.18 ₱651

$12.94 €11.62

-21.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.98 ₱255

$7.77 €6.98

-48.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$3.28 ₱210

$17.76 €15.95

-81.53%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 ₱198

$2.30 €2.07

35.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.18 ₱75.4

$1.73 €1.56

-31.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.72 ₱238

$1.86 €1.67

100.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.13 ₱72.5

$2.59 €2.33

-56.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 ₱78.2

$1.82 €1.64

-32.97%

Onion (1kg)

$2.50 ₱160

$1.97 €1.77

26.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.86 ₱55.2

$1.47 €1.32

-41.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ₱31.53

$0.72 €0.65

-31.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.66 ₱170

$6.58 €5.91

-59.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.06 ₱260

$5.61 €5.04

-27.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 ₱82.1

$1.36 €1.22

-5.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 ₱125

$2.14 €1.92

-8.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.21 ₱13.30

$2.33 €2.10

-90.99%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$14.20 ₱907

$44.68 €40.14

-68.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.75 ₱48.14

$3.85 €3.46

-80.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 ₱14.15

$1.07 €0.96

-79.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.62 ₱104

$16.46 €14.79

-90.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.00 ₱64.1

$2.20 €1.98

-54.55%

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

$20.0K ₱1.3M

$34.2K €30.7K

-41.48%

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

$17.5K ₱1.1M

$38.7K €34.8K

-54.69%

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

$118 ₱7,556

$161 €145

-26.64%

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

$15.99 ₱1,021

$18.41 €16.54

-13.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.02 ₱3,004

$32.74 €29.41

43.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.45 ₱2,265

$44.55 €40.02

-20.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.16 ₱330

$19.10 €17.16

-72.98%

Cinema Ticket

$5.19 ₱331

$9.60 €8.62

-45.94%

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

$129 ₱8,256

$668 €600

-80.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,770 ₱496.5K

$17.6K €15.8K

-55.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$32.17 ₱2,056

$102 €91.6

-68.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$20.70 ₱1,323

$44.46 €39.94

-53.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$69.3 ₱4,424

$98.5 €88.5

-29.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$55.4 ₱3,536

$124 €111

-55.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$254 ₱16.2K

$1,608 €1,445

-84.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$167 ₱10.7K

$1,190 €1,069

-85.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$334 ₱21.3K

$2,812 €2,526

-88.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$350 ₱22.3K

$2,013 €1,808

-82.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,716 ₱173.6K

$7,839 €7,042

-65.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,102 ₱70.4K

$4,576 €4,110

-75.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$186 ₱11.9K

$1,575 €1,415

-88.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.92

3.85

79.74%

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

Last update for Zamboanga: October 27, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Zamboanga

$182 24.8%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 49.4% $90

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zamboanga

$181 24.7%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 17.2% $31

Accommodation & Living

Zamboanga

$167 22.7%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 614% $1K

Clothing & Footwear

Zamboanga

$80 10.9%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 108% $86

Eating Out

Zamboanga

$61 8.3%

Lisbon

$243 11% 300% $182

Sport & Entertainment

Zamboanga

$46 6.3%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 39.1% $18

Getting Around

Zamboanga

$17 2.3%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 274% $46

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $254 in Zamboanga and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 8.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $16 in Zamboanga vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $182 vs $272 per month, with Zamboanga cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Zamboanga

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

06:12 6:12 AM

22:12 10:12 PM

8 h behind Zamboanga

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 63.89 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.13 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Zamboanga Lisbon 12,880 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Zamboanga
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

Zamboanga vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $734 in Zamboanga and $2,210 in Lisbon, so Zamboanga is about 67% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 88% lower in Zamboanga. 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: $254 in Zamboanga versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $129 in Zamboanga versus $668 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 49% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $734 in Zamboanga versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Zamboanga but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Zamboanga 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.

Expats usually find Zamboanga gentler on the wallet – expenses run 67% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.