Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zeist and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,223 a month against $2,745 in Zeist, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

134

Cost of Living Index in Zeist
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Zeist Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Zeist

🇳🇱 Netherlands

$2,745

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,745 in Zeist versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Zeist $2,745
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,809 in Zeist versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Zeist $3,809
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,873 in Zeist versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Zeist $4,873
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Zeist is roughly 23% more expensive than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Zeist 103% above, Lisbon 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.98 €19.55

$16.50 €14.67

33.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.4 €71.5

$61.3 €54.5

31.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.37 €11.89

$11.27 €10.03

18.63%

Cappuccino

$4.39 €3.91

$3.06 €2.72

43.46%

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

$3.72 €3.31

$2.26 €2.01

64.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.38 €3.01

$1.73 €1.54

95.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.72 €5.09

$3.39 €3.02

68.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.11 €4.54

$3.40 €3.02

50.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 €1.27

$1.12 €1.00

27.68%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 €1.98

$1.86 €1.65

19.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 €2.36

$1.53 €1.36

73.86%

Eggs

$4.71 €4.19

$3.96 €3.53

18.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.69 €12.18

$12.76 €11.35

7.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.94 €12.40

$7.90 €7.02

76.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.74 €16.67

$16.97 €15.09

10.43%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 €2.32

$2.27 €2.02

14.98%

Banana (1kg)

$2.38 €2.12

$1.75 €1.55

36.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.85 €1.64

13.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 €3.79

$2.57 €2.28

66.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.76 €1.56

$1.86 €1.65

-5.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.02 €1.80

-7.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 €1.15

$1.44 €1.28

-9.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 €0.95

$0.82 €0.73

30.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.08 €12.52

$6.56 €5.83

114.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.71 €5.97

$5.62 €5.00

19.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 €1.16

$1.28 €1.14

2.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 €2.38

$2.07 €1.84

28.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.40 €3.02

$2.35 €2.09

44.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$91.9 €81.7

$44.18 €39.30

107.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.68 €3.27

$3.99 €3.55

-7.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.00 €1.78

$1.09 €0.97

83.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.89 €19.47

$16.64 €14.81

31.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.41 €2.14

$2.28 €2.03

5.70%

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

$40.6K €36.1K

$33.7K €30.0K

20.42%

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

$38.0K €33.8K

$39.3K €35.0K

-3.17%

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

$242 €215

$167 €149

44.59%

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

$25.85 €23.00

$18.80 €16.72

37.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.70 €41.54

$33.09 €29.43

41.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.04 €36.51

$46.01 €40.93

-10.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.61 €22.78

$19.19 €17.07

33.45%

Cinema Ticket

$15.43 €13.73

$9.84 €8.75

56.81%

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

$2,454 €2,183

$677 €602

262.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,949 €7,071

$16.9K €15.1K

-53.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$95.4 €84.9

$101 €90.1

-5.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.27 €34.94

$45.76 €40.70

-14.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.3 €80.3

$100.0 €88.9

-9.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 €89.4

$123 €109

-18.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,426 €1,268

$1,614 €1,436

-11.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,415 €1,258

$1,197 €1,065

18.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,365 €2,104

$2,862 €2,545

-17.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,900 €1,690

$1,990 €1,770

-4.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,478 €5,762

$7,577 €6,740

-14.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,584 €4,967

$4,307 €3,831

29.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,216 €3,750

$1,588 €1,412

165.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.65

3.85

-5.19%

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

Last update for Zeist: October 11, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Zeist

$1.4K 51.5%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 15.4% $218

Groceries & Markets

Zeist

$342 12.5%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 21.3% $73

Eating Out

Zeist

$336 12.2%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 27.9% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zeist

$315 11.5%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 30.3% $95

Clothing & Footwear

Zeist

$146 5.3%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 13.6% $20

Getting Around

Zeist

$119 4.3%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 47.1% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Zeist

$72 2.6%

Lisbon

$66 3% 8.6% $6.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,426 in Zeist and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zeist pays 166% 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: $80.0 in Zeist vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $342 vs $269 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇱 Zeist

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

12:33 12:33 PM

11:33 11:33 AM

1 h behind Zeist

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

65,987

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Zeist Lisbon 1,860 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

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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

Zeist vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Zeist and Lisbon differ by about 23% in total monthly costs ($2,745 vs $2,223 including rent). Lisbon is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 166% higher in Zeist, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,426 in Zeist versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,454 in Zeist 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 27% higher in Zeist. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,223 in Lisbon versus $2,745 in Zeist, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in Zeist. The gap between the two cities makes Lisbon 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, Zeist 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 Lisbon gentler on the wallet – expenses run 23% less than in Zeist. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.