Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Alajuela

For one person, living is cheaper in Alajuela: $1,006 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
48

Cost of Living Index in Alajuela
Learn more

Alajuela Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Alajuela

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,006

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Alajuela

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Lisbon and in Alajuela actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $1,006 in Alajuela.

Lisbon $2,206
Alajuela $1,006

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $1,609 in Alajuela.

Lisbon $3,276
Alajuela $1,609

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $2,212 in Alajuela.

Lisbon $4,346
Alajuela $2,212

Living in Lisbon is roughly 119% more expensive than in Alajuela, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 63% above, Alajuela is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.00

$12.08 ₡5,439

39.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.3

$43.28 ₡19.5K

41.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.77

$10.98 ₡4,947

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.71

$4.52 ₡2,034

-32.52%

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

$2.28 €2.03

$2.52 ₡1,134

-9.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$1.79 ₡808

-6.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.06

$3.02 ₡1,359

13.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.48

$3.91 ₡1,760

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.02

$2.35 ₡1,057

-51.06%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.11 ₡500

70.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$2.15 ₡967

-30.23%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.66

$3.45 ₡1,553

19.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.57

$10.59 ₡4,769

22.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.16

$10.28 ₡4,630

-21.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €15.92

$14.10 ₡6,351

26.88%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$2.16 ₡972

5.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.64 ₡739

6.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$2.15 ₡970

-15.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$3.91 ₡1,762

-31.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.57

$2.23 ₡1,003

-20.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.72

$2.17 ₡976

-10.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$1.03 ₡462

41.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$0.98 ₡444

-22.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.92

$5.41 ₡2,436

23.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.02

$19.63 ₡8,844

-71.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.41 ₡636

-8.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.90

$0.98 ₡440

118.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.05

$0.77 ₡347

198.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.17

$129 ₡58.1K

-65.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.54

$1.81 ₡814

119.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$1.84 ₡829

-65.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.84

$8.03 ₡3,619

135.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.50 ₡674

52.00%

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

$33.4K €29.7K

$33.3K ₡15.0M

0.14%

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

$38.5K €34.3K

$28.1K ₡12.7M

37.11%

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

$158 €141

$80.0 ₡36.0K

97.69%

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

$17.54 €15.61

$30.46 ₡13.7K

-42.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.75

$58.8 ₡26.5K

-46.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.73

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.89

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.52

$7.68 ₡3,460

24.74%

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

$674 €599

$972 ₡438.0K

-30.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.7K

$18.8K ₡8.5M

-0.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €90.9

$71.5 ₡32.2K

42.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €40.85

$55.2 ₡24.8K

-16.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.0

$128 ₡57.8K

-20.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$73.1 ₡32.9K

66.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,460

$753 ₡339.4K

117.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,057

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,514

$1,411 ₡635.8K

100.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,796

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €6,973

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,183

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,501

$2,060 ₡928.1K

-18.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

8.62

-55.68%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Alajuela: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Alajuela

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Alajuela

$306 30.5% 11.6% $32

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Alajuela

$224 22.3% 8.7% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Alajuela

$169 16.8% 18.2% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Alajuela

$148 14.7% 11.8% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Alajuela

$15 * 1.5% 75.9% $48

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Alajuela

$143 14.2% 137% $83

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 $1,641 in Lisbon and $753 in Alajuela. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Alajuela pays 22% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $43 in Alajuela. Groceries flip the comparison at $275 vs $306, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇷 Alajuela

🕒 Local time

02:03 2:03 AM

20:03 8:03 PM

6 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

50,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.97 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 507 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.97 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Alajuela 8,020 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Alajuela

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

Lisbon vs Alajuela: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Alajuela is about 54% cheaper overall, especially in leisure, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 18% lower in Lisbon. 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: $1,641 in Lisbon versus $753 in Alajuela. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Lisbon runs roughly 66% less than in Alajuela. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $674 in Lisbon versus $972 in Alajuela. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,006 in Alajuela versus $2,206 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Alajuela but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Alajuela 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.