Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Costa Rica and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Costa Rica: $1,735 a month against $2,203 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

86

Cost of Living Index in Costa Rica
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Costa Rica Living Index
108

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,735

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,203

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Costa Rica is 19% more expensive than Lisbon without rent, and 21.2% cheaper with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Costa Rica is 8.1% more expensive than Lisbon without rent, and 13.8% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 ₡5,312

$17.01 €15.18

-30.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.5 ₡25.0K

$62.7 €56.0

-11.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.72 ₡4,831

$11.42 €10.19

-6.13%

Cappuccino

$4.49 ₡2,023

$3.09 €2.76

45.31%

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

$2.33 ₡1,051

$2.37 €2.11

-1.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 ₡815

$1.66 €1.48

9.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.23 ₡1,455

$3.46 €3.09

-6.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 ₡1,992

$3.29 €2.93

34.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.30 ₡1,037

$1.17 €1.04

96.58%

White Bread (500g)

$3.55 ₡1,600

$1.87 €1.66

89.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.71 ₡1,221

$1.52 €1.36

78.29%

Eggs

$4.05 ₡1,825

$3.88 €3.46

4.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.92 ₡4,473

$12.87 €11.49

-22.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.49 ₡4,729

$7.94 €7.08

32.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.56 ₡6,111

$17.63 €15.73

-23.09%

Apples (1kg)

$5.13 ₡2,312

$2.26 €2.01

126.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ₡758

$1.76 €1.57

-4.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.63 ₡1,639

$1.88 €1.68

93.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.24 ₡1,463

$2.47 €2.20

31.17%

Potato (1kg)

$3.40 ₡1,534

$1.86 €1.66

82.80%

Onion (1kg)

$3.09 ₡1,394

$2.07 €1.85

49.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 ₡501

$1.39 €1.24

-20.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.64 ₡1,192

$0.81 €0.73

225.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.43 ₡2,446

$6.89 €6.15

-21.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.63 ₡7,048

$5.53 €4.93

182.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.75 ₡1,238

$1.33 €1.19

106.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 ₡1,472

$2.17 €1.93

50.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.07 ₡480

$2.24 €2.00

-52.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.3 ₡29.4K

$45.14 €40.29

44.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.18 ₡981

$4.00 €3.57

-45.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.03 ₡916

$1.07 €0.95

89.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.82 ₡3,977

$16.53 €14.75

-46.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 ₡688

$2.26 €2.02

-32.30%

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

$32.8K ₡14.8M

$33.5K €29.9K

-2.19%

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

$36.0K ₡16.2M

$40.5K €36.1K

-11.13%

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

$93.4 ₡42.1K

$164 €146

-42.91%

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

$30.19 ₡13.6K

$18.54 €16.55

62.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.1 ₡25.7K

$33.21 €29.64

71.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$65.1 ₡29.3K

$46.01 €41.06

41.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.13 ₡9,976

$18.80 €16.78

17.71%

Cinema Ticket

$8.09 ₡3,645

$9.47 €8.45

-14.57%

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

$740 ₡333.8K

$690 €615

7.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.6K ₡5.7M

$16.9K €15.0K

-25.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$75.5 ₡34.0K

$105 €93.4

-27.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.6 ₡24.6K

$45.27 €40.40

20.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 ₡57.4K

$99.0 €88.3

28.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 ₡48.3K

$124 €111

-13.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$833 ₡375.3K

$1,583 €1,413

-47.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$641 ₡289.1K

$1,209 €1,079

-46.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,776 ₡800.8K

$2,833 €2,528

-37.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,191 ₡536.9K

$1,964 €1,753

-39.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,437 ₡1.1M

$7,643 €6,821

-68.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,631 ₡735.2K

$4,431 €3,954

-63.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,033 ₡465.8K

$1,573 €1,403

-34.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.56

3.79

152.24%

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

Last update for Costa Rica: October 5, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Costa Rica

$641 36.7%

Lisbon

$1.2K 54% 88.5% $568

Groceries & Markets

Costa Rica

$379 21.7%

Lisbon

$272 12.1% 28.2% $107

Eating Out

Costa Rica

$222 12.7%

Lisbon

$247 11% 11.5% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Costa Rica

$181 10.3%

Lisbon

$215 9.6% 19.2% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Costa Rica

$164 9.4%

Lisbon

$168 7.5% 2.2% $3.7

Getting Around

Costa Rica

$82 4.7%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 22.5% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Costa Rica

$81 4.6%

Lisbon

$65 2.9% 20.1% $16

Good to know

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

23:48 11:48 PM

06:48 6:48 AM

7 h ahead of Costa Rica

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,044,197

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Costa Rica Lisbon 8,020 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Costa Rica
Lisbon

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

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