Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Costa Rica

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.

Lisbon
🇵🇹 Portugal
$2,203
/mo nomad
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
$1,735
/mo nomad
🙂 Solo nomad: Lisbon is 16% cheaper than Costa Rica without rent, and 26.9% more expensive with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Lisbon is 7.5% cheaper than Costa Rica without rent, and 16% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Lisbon
Costa Rica
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$17.01 €15.18
$11.78 ₡5,312
44.40%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$62.7 €56.0
$55.5 ₡25.0K
12.87%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.42 €10.19
$10.72 ₡4,831
6.53%
Cappuccino
$3.09 €2.76
$4.49 ₡2,023
-31.18%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.37 €2.11
$2.33 ₡1,051
1.72%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.66 €1.48
$1.81 ₡815
-8.29%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.46 €3.09
$3.23 ₡1,455
7.12%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.29 €2.93
$4.42 ₡1,992
-25.57%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Lisbon
Costa Rica
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.17 €1.04
$2.30 ₡1,037
-49.13%
White Bread (500g)
$1.87 €1.66
$3.55 ₡1,600
-47.32%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.52 €1.36
$2.71 ₡1,221
-43.91%
Eggs
$3.88 €3.46
$4.05 ₡1,825
-4.20%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$12.87 €11.49
$9.92 ₡4,473
29.74%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$7.94 €7.08
$10.49 ₡4,729
-24.31%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$17.63 €15.73
$13.56 ₡6,111
30.01%
Apples (1kg)
$2.26 €2.01
$5.13 ₡2,312
-55.95%
Banana (1kg)
$1.76 €1.57
$1.68 ₡758
4.76%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.88 €1.68
$3.63 ₡1,639
-48.21%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.47 €2.20
$3.24 ₡1,463
-23.77%
Potato (1kg)
$1.86 €1.66
$3.40 ₡1,534
-45.29%
Onion (1kg)
$2.07 €1.85
$3.09 ₡1,394
-33.01%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.39 €1.24
$1.11 ₡501
25.23%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.81 €0.73
$2.64 ₡1,192
-69.32%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$6.89 €6.15
$5.43 ₡2,446
26.89%
Wine (Bottle)
$5.53 €4.93
$15.63 ₡7,048
-64.62%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.33 €1.19
$2.75 ₡1,238
-51.64%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.17 €1.93
$3.27 ₡1,472
-33.64%
🚌 Getting Around
Lisbon
Costa Rica
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$2.24 €2.00
$1.07 ₡480
109.35%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$45.14 €40.29
$65.3 ₡29.4K
-30.86%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.00 €3.57
$2.18 ₡981
83.49%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.07 €0.95
$2.03 ₡916
-47.29%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$16.53 €14.75
$8.82 ₡3,977
87.41%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.26 €2.02
$1.53 ₡688
47.71%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$33.5K €29.9K
$32.8K ₡14.8M
2.24%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$40.5K €36.1K
$36.0K ₡16.2M
12.53%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Lisbon
Costa Rica
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$164 €146
$93.4 ₡42.1K
75.15%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$18.54 €16.55
$30.19 ₡13.6K
-38.59%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$33.21 €29.64
$57.1 ₡25.7K
-41.79%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Lisbon
Costa Rica
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$46.01 €41.06
$65.1 ₡29.3K
-29.31%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$18.80 €16.78
$22.13 ₡9,976
-15.05%
Cinema Ticket
$9.47 €8.45
$8.09 ₡3,645
17.06%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Lisbon
Costa Rica
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$690 €615
$740 ₡333.8K
-6.86%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$16.9K €15.0K
$12.6K ₡5.7M
34.30%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Lisbon
Costa Rica
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$105 €93.4
$75.5 ₡34.0K
38.68%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$45.27 €40.40
$54.6 ₡24.6K
-17.09%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$99.0 €88.3
$127 ₡57.4K
-22.28%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$124 €111
$107 ₡48.3K
15.56%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Lisbon
Costa Rica
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,583 €1,413
$833 ₡375.3K
90.16%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,209 €1,079
$641 ₡289.1K
88.52%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,833 €2,528
$1,776 ₡800.8K
59.50%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,964 €1,753
$1,191 ₡536.9K
64.93%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$7,643 €6,821
$2,437 ₡1.1M
213.59%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$4,431 €3,954
$1,631 ₡735.2K
171.70%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Lisbon
Costa Rica
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,573 €1,403
$1,033 ₡465.8K
52.19%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.79
9.56
-60.36%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 4, 2026

Last update for Costa Rica: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Lisbon
$1.2K
Costa Rica
$641 47% $568
Groceries & Markets
Lisbon
$272
Costa Rica
$379 39.4% $107
Eating Out
Lisbon
$247
Costa Rica
$222 10.3% $26
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Lisbon
$215
Costa Rica
$181 16.1% $35
Clothing & Footwear
Lisbon
$168
Costa Rica
$164 2.2% $3.7
Sport & Entertainment
Lisbon
$65
Costa Rica
$81 25.1% $16
Getting Around
Lisbon
$63
Costa Rica
$82 29.1% $18
Good to know
🇵🇹 Lisbon
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
🕒 Local time
10:43 10:43 AM
03:43 3:43 AM
7 h behind Lisbon
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
545,923 Capital
5,044,197
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

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

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 505 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Lisbon Costa Rica 8,020 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Lisbon
  • Costa Rica

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 other spots: cost of living compared

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