Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Curridabat

For one person, living is cheaper in Curridabat: $1,660 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 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
82

Cost of Living Index in Curridabat
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Curridabat Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Curridabat

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,660

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Curridabat

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 Curridabat actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $1,660 in Curridabat.

Lisbon $2,206
Curridabat $1,660

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $2,756 in Curridabat.

Lisbon $3,276
Curridabat $2,756

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $3,852 in Curridabat.

Lisbon $4,346
Curridabat $3,852

Living in Lisbon is roughly 33% more expensive than in Curridabat, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 63% above, Curridabat 23% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.08

$11.14 ₡5,010

51.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.6

$55.8 ₡25.1K

9.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.82

$9.64 ₡4,334

13.90%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.73

$4.42 ₡1,987

-31.00%

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

$2.28 €2.04

$2.04 ₡916

11.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$1.40 ₡629

20.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.07

$3.40 ₡1,528

1.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.49

$2.95 ₡1,326

32.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.03

$2.34 ₡1,051

-50.85%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.69

$3.07 ₡1,379

-38.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$2.51 ₡1,128

-40.24%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.68

$3.54 ₡1,591

16.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.63

$10.83 ₡4,870

20.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.19

$10.62 ₡4,775

-24.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €16.00

$13.90 ₡6,251

28.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.03

$4.99 ₡2,246

-54.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.60 ₡719

8.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$4.69 ₡2,111

-61.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.40

$3.95 ₡1,778

-31.90%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.58

$3.94 ₡1,771

-55.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.73

$3.76 ₡1,690

-48.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.11 ₡499

31.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$3.13 ₡1,410

-75.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.95

$6.02 ₡2,707

10.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.04

$20.10 ₡9,039

-71.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$2.87 ₡1,291

-55.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$3.59 ₡1,612

-40.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.06

$1.23 ₡554

86.99%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.36

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.56

$2.25 ₡1,013

76.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$1.81 ₡812

-64.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.92

$7.94 ₡3,569

138.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.55 ₡699

47.10%

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

$33.4K €29.8K

$33.4K ₡15.0M

-0.19%

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

$38.5K €34.4K

$41.3K ₡18.6M

-6.72%

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

$158 €141

$96.4 ₡43.4K

64.05%

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

$17.54 €15.68

$35.56 ₡16.0K

-50.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.89

$60.6 ₡27.2K

-48.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.92

$59.4 ₡26.7K

-24.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.97

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.56

$7.56 ₡3,401

26.72%

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

$674 €602

$997 ₡448.2K

-32.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.7K

$19.2K ₡8.6M

-2.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$73.1 ₡32.9K

39.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €41.04

$56.7 ₡25.5K

-19.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.4

$128 ₡57.7K

-20.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$134 ₡60.4K

-9.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,467

$793 ₡356.7K

106.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,062

$590 ₡265.5K

101.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,526

$1,860 ₡836.6K

51.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,805

$1,447 ₡650.7K

39.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €7,007

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,204

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,508

$492 ₡221.1K

243.16%

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 Curridabat: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Curridabat

$590 35.6% 50.3% $597

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Curridabat

$402 24.2% 46.3% $127

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Curridabat

$208 12.5% 15.3% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Curridabat

$193 11.6% 6.9% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Curridabat

$177 10.6% 5.4% $9

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Curridabat

$75 4.5% 16.8% $11

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Curridabat

$16 * 1% 73.2% $44

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 $793 in Curridabat. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 3.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $56 in Curridabat. Groceries flip the comparison at $275 vs $402, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇷 Curridabat

🕒 Local time

19:35 7:35 PM

13:35 1:35 PM

6 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

33,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.894 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Curridabat 8,010 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Curridabat

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 Curridabat: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Curridabat is about 25% cheaper overall, especially in transport and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 3.4 times higher, 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: $1,641 in Lisbon versus $793 in Curridabat. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $674 in Lisbon versus $997 in Curridabat. 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 $56 versus $61 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, Lisbon and Curridabat 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.