Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zurich and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,223 a month against $4,451 in Zurich, rent and utilities included – about $26,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

217

Cost of Living Index in Zurich
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Zurich Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Zurich

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$4,451

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,451 in Zurich versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Zurich $4,451
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $6,817 in Zurich versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Zurich $6,817
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $9,184 in Zurich versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Zurich $9,184
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Zurich is roughly 100% more expensive than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Zurich 230% above, Lisbon 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$34.71 CHF 28.59

$16.50 €14.67

110.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$144 CHF 119

$61.3 €54.5

135.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$17.69 CHF 14.57

$11.27 €10.03

56.97%

Cappuccino

$6.91 CHF 5.69

$3.06 €2.72

125.82%

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

$5.86 CHF 4.83

$2.26 €2.01

159.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.15 CHF 4.24

$1.73 €1.54

197.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.70 CHF 7.99

$3.39 €3.02

186.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.28 CHF 6.82

$3.40 €3.02

143.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.20 CHF 1.81

$1.12 €1.00

96.43%

White Bread (500g)

$3.78 CHF 3.11

$1.86 €1.65

103.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.68 CHF 3.03

$1.53 €1.36

140.52%

Eggs

$8.54 CHF 7.03

$3.96 €3.53

115.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$27.22 CHF 22.42

$12.76 €11.35

113.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$27.67 CHF 22.79

$7.90 €7.02

250.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$61.7 CHF 50.8

$16.97 €15.09

263.41%

Apples (1kg)

$4.14 CHF 3.41

$2.27 €2.02

82.38%

Banana (1kg)

$2.68 CHF 2.21

$1.75 €1.55

53.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.54 CHF 2.91

$1.85 €1.64

91.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.45 CHF 3.67

$2.57 €2.28

73.15%

Potato (1kg)

$2.54 CHF 2.09

$1.86 €1.65

36.56%

Onion (1kg)

$2.21 CHF 1.82

$2.02 €1.80

9.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.52 CHF 2.07

$1.44 €1.28

75.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 CHF 1.02

$0.82 €0.73

51.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.62 CHF 8.75

$6.56 €5.83

61.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.83 CHF 11.39

$5.62 €5.00

146.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 CHF 2.19

$1.28 €1.14

107.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.18 CHF 2.62

$2.07 €1.84

53.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.39 CHF 4.44

$2.35 €2.09

129.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$106 CHF 87.2

$44.18 €39.30

139.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.93 CHF 6.54

$3.99 €3.55

98.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.50 CHF 3.71

$1.09 €0.97

312.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$89.4 CHF 73.6

$16.64 €14.81

437.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 CHF 1.87

$2.28 €2.03

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

$39.0K CHF 32.1K

$33.7K €30.0K

15.80%

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

$39.5K CHF 32.6K

$39.3K €35.0K

0.60%

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

$276 CHF 227

$167 €149

64.89%

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

$36.80 CHF 30.31

$18.80 €16.72

95.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.0 CHF 46.10

$33.09 €29.43

69.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$91.3 CHF 75.2

$46.01 €40.93

98.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$60.0 CHF 49.43

$19.19 €17.07

212.71%

Cinema Ticket

$24.81 CHF 20.43

$9.84 €8.75

152.13%

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

$3,505 CHF 2,887

$677 €602

417.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$41.7K CHF 34.3K

$16.9K €15.1K

146.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$139 CHF 115

$101 €90.1

37.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.3 CHF 48.04

$45.76 €40.70

27.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$166 CHF 137

$100.0 €88.9

66.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$260 CHF 214

$123 €109

111.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,916 CHF 2,402

$1,614 €1,436

80.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 CHF 1,901

$1,197 €1,065

92.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,918 CHF 4,874

$2,862 €2,545

106.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,092 CHF 3,370

$1,990 €1,770

105.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$26.8K CHF 22.1K

$7,577 €6,740

253.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$16.2K CHF 13.4K

$4,307 €3,831

277.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$7,928 CHF 6,529

$1,588 €1,412

399.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.07

3.85

-46.23%

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

Last update for Zurich: 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

Zurich

$2.3K 51.9%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 48.1% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Zurich

$671 15.1%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 59.9% $402

Eating Out

Zurich

$523 11.7%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 53.7% $280

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zurich

$369 8.3%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 40.5% $150

Clothing & Footwear

Zurich

$281 6.3%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 40.7% $114

Getting Around

Zurich

$158 3.6%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 60.1% $95

Sport & Entertainment

Zurich

$141 3.2%

Lisbon

$66 3% 53.4% $75

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,916 in Zurich and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zurich pays 399% 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: $144 in Zurich vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $671 vs $269 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Zurich

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

11:29 11:29 AM

10:29 10:29 AM

1 h behind Zurich

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

443,037

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.824 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.926 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

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

USD to CHF in detail →

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Between locations

Zurich Lisbon 1,720 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Zurich
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

Zurich vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Zurich and Lisbon differ by about 100% in total monthly costs ($4,451 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 399% higher in Zurich, 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: $2,916 in Zurich versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $3,505 in Zurich 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 149% higher in Zurich. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,223 in Lisbon versus $4,451 in Zurich, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in Zurich. 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, Zurich 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 100% less than in Zurich. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.