Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Curridabat and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Curridabat: $1,715 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $5,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

82

Cost of Living Index in Curridabat
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Curridabat Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Curridabat

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,715

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,715 in Curridabat versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Curridabat $1,715
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,692 in Curridabat versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Curridabat $2,692
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,669 in Curridabat versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Curridabat $3,669
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Curridabat costs roughly 22% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Curridabat 26% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 ₡4,840

$16.65 €14.87

-35.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.0 ₡24.3K

$61.7 €55.2

-12.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.71 ₡4,366

$11.36 €10.14

-14.52%

Cappuccino

$4.42 ₡1,987

$2.97 €2.65

48.82%

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

$1.95 ₡876

$2.29 €2.04

-14.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 ₡634

$1.74 €1.56

-18.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.20 ₡1,437

$3.40 €3.04

-5.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.99 ₡1,343

$3.31 €2.96

-9.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.42 ₡1,089

$1.16 €1.03

108.62%

White Bread (500g)

$3.11 ₡1,400

$1.91 €1.71

62.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.44 ₡1,096

$1.51 €1.35

61.59%

Eggs

$3.40 ₡1,531

$4.02 €3.59

-15.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.86 ₡4,882

$12.94 €11.56

-16.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.25 ₡4,610

$7.77 €6.94

31.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.04 ₡6,312

$17.76 €15.86

-20.95%

Apples (1kg)

$5.04 ₡2,268

$2.30 €2.06

119.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 ₡716

$1.73 €1.55

-8.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.88 ₡2,196

$1.86 €1.66

162.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.84 ₡1,728

$2.59 €2.31

48.26%

Potato (1kg)

$3.88 ₡1,744

$1.82 €1.63

113.19%

Onion (1kg)

$3.72 ₡1,673

$1.97 €1.76

88.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ₡484

$1.47 €1.31

-26.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.07 ₡1,382

$0.72 €0.65

326.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.78 ₡2,598

$6.58 €5.88

-12.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.74 ₡8,879

$5.61 €5.01

251.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.78 ₡1,249

$1.36 €1.22

104.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.54 ₡1,590

$2.14 €1.91

65.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.36 ₡610

$2.33 €2.08

-41.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €39.91

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.47 ₡1,110

$3.85 €3.44

-35.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 ₡694

$1.07 €0.96

43.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.58 ₡3,857

$16.46 €14.70

-47.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 ₡674

$2.20 €1.97

-31.82%

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

$34.2K ₡15.4M

$34.2K €30.5K

-0.03%

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

$41.3K ₡18.6M

$38.7K €34.6K

6.60%

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

$95.3 ₡42.8K

$161 €144

-40.92%

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

$35.16 ₡15.8K

$18.41 €16.44

90.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$60.3 ₡27.1K

$32.74 €29.24

84.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$72.8 ₡32.7K

$44.55 €39.79

63.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.06

Cinema Ticket

$7.92 ₡3,561

$9.60 €8.57

-17.50%

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

$969 ₡435.7K

$668 €596

45.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.1K ₡7.7M

$17.6K €15.7K

-2.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.6 ₡31.8K

$102 €91.1

-30.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.4 ₡25.3K

$44.46 €39.72

26.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$131 ₡58.7K

$98.5 €88.0

32.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 ₡58.8K

$124 €110

5.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡354.4K

$1,608 €1,437

-51.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 ₡288.9K

$1,190 €1,063

-46.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,916 ₡861.4K

$2,812 €2,512

-31.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,265 ₡568.8K

$2,013 €1,798

-37.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,002

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,087

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ₡221.8K

$1,575 €1,407

-68.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

3.85

123.90%

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

Last update for Curridabat: October 25, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Curridabat

$642 37.5%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 85.2% $548

Groceries & Markets

Curridabat

$399 23.3%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 31.7% $127

Eating Out

Curridabat

$204 11.9%

Lisbon

$243 11% 19.1% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Curridabat

$191 11.1%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 11.4% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Curridabat

$175 10.2%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 5% $8.8

Sport & Entertainment

Curridabat

$89 5.2%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 28.1% $25

Getting Around

Curridabat

$16 * 0.9%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 305% $48

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $788 in Curridabat and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 3.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $54 in Curridabat vs $62 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $399 vs $272, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Curridabat

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

04:00 4:00 AM

10:00 10:00 AM

6 h ahead of Curridabat

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

33,000

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 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 November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 503 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.893 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Curridabat Lisbon 8,010 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Curridabat
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

Curridabat vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Curridabat is about 22% cheaper overall, especially in transport and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 69% lower in Curridabat. 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: $788 in Curridabat versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $969 in Curridabat versus $668 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Curridabat – a meal for two runs $54 versus $62 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $2,500 a month, though Curridabat gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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, Curridabat and Lisbon are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Curridabat wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.