Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zhuhai and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhuhai: $784 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $17,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Zhuhai
Learn more

Zhuhai Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index

Jump to prices

Zhuhai

🇨🇳 China

$784

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $784 in Zhuhai versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Zhuhai $784
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,305 in Zhuhai versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Zhuhai $1,305
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,825 in Zhuhai versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Zhuhai $1,825
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Zhuhai costs roughly 65% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Zhuhai is 42% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.64 ¥17.58

$16.65 €14.94

-84.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.28 ¥201

$61.7 €55.4

-50.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.22 ¥34.70

$11.36 €10.19

-54.05%

Cappuccino

$3.15 ¥20.93

$2.97 €2.66

6.06%

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

$0.50 ¥3.33

$2.29 €2.05

-78.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 ¥2.17

$1.74 €1.56

-81.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.17 ¥7.80

$3.40 €3.05

-65.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 ¥14.97

$3.31 €2.97

-32.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 ¥10.63

$1.16 €1.04

37.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.30 ¥8.66

$1.91 €1.71

-31.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.13 ¥7.52

$1.51 €1.36

-25.17%

Eggs

$1.69 ¥11.22

$4.02 €3.61

-57.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.33 ¥28.78

$12.94 €11.61

-66.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.21 ¥14.69

$7.77 €6.98

-71.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$3.79 ¥25.19

$17.76 €15.94

-78.66%

Apples (1kg)

$1.26 ¥8.36

$2.30 €2.07

-45.22%

Banana (1kg)

$0.62 ¥4.09

$1.73 €1.55

-64.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.44 ¥2.91

$1.86 €1.67

-76.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 ¥9.89

$2.59 €2.32

-42.47%

Potato (1kg)

$0.73 ¥4.87

$1.82 €1.63

-59.89%

Onion (1kg)

$0.47 ¥3.11

$1.97 €1.77

-76.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.29 ¥1.90

$1.47 €1.32

-80.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 ¥2.89

$0.72 €0.65

-40.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.08 ¥20.48

$6.58 €5.91

-53.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.71 ¥24.64

$5.61 €5.03

-33.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 ¥3.91

$1.36 €1.22

-56.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ¥11.51

$2.14 €1.92

-19.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.13 ¥0.88

$2.33 €2.09

-94.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.75 ¥58.2

$44.68 €40.09

-80.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.46 ¥9.69

$3.85 €3.45

-62.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 ¥2.50

$1.07 €0.96

-64.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.32 ¥48.65

$16.46 €14.77

-55.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 ¥8.53

$2.20 €1.97

-41.82%

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

$15.6K ¥103.9K

$34.2K €30.7K

-54.30%

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

$13.6K ¥90.1K

$38.7K €34.7K

-65.01%

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

$57.5 ¥382

$161 €145

-64.37%

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

$10.13 ¥67.4

$18.41 €16.52

-44.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.37 ¥109

$32.74 €29.37

-50.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$80.9 ¥538

$44.55 €39.97

81.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.87 ¥205

$19.10 €17.14

61.62%

Cinema Ticket

$7.52 ¥50.0

$9.60 €8.61

-21.67%

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

$540 ¥3,591

$668 €599

-19.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.5K ¥163.2K

$17.6K €15.8K

39.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$29.85 ¥199

$102 €91.5

-70.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.51 ¥263

$44.46 €39.90

-11.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.3 ¥481

$98.5 €88.4

-26.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.0 ¥612

$124 €111

-25.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$425 ¥2,826

$1,608 €1,443

-73.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$280 ¥1,864

$1,190 €1,068

-76.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$907 ¥6,033

$2,812 €2,523

-67.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 ¥4,331

$2,013 €1,806

-67.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,496 ¥29.9K

$7,839 €7,034

-42.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,836 ¥18.9K

$4,576 €4,106

-38.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,084 ¥7,212

$1,575 €1,413

-31.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.35

3.85

-12.99%

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

Last update for Zhuhai: October 24, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Zhuhai

$280 35.7%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 325% $910

Groceries & Markets

Zhuhai

$118 15.1%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 131% $154

Clothing & Footwear

Zhuhai

$105 13.4%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 57.8% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Zhuhai

$96 12.2%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 33.5% $32

Eating Out

Zhuhai

$88 11.3%

Lisbon

$243 11% 175% $154

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zhuhai

$84 10.7%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 153% $128

Getting Around

Zhuhai

$13 1.6%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 400% $51

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $425 in Zhuhai and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 45% 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: $30 in Zhuhai vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $118 vs $272 per month, with Zhuhai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Zhuhai

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

00:33 12:33 AM

16:33 4:33 PM

8 h behind Zhuhai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,207,090

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.42 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.897 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Zhuhai Lisbon 10,990 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Zhuhai
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

Zhuhai vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $784 in Zhuhai and $2,210 in Lisbon, so Zhuhai is about 65% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 31% lower in Zhuhai. 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: $425 in Zhuhai versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $540 in Zhuhai 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 131% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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 Zhuhai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 65% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.