Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Grecia

For one person, living is cheaper in Grecia: $1,506 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $8,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index
73

Cost of Living Index in Grecia
Learn more

Grecia Living Index

Jump to prices

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Grecia

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,506

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Grecia

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,506 in Grecia.

Lisbon $2,210
Grecia $1,506

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $2,101 in Grecia.

Lisbon $3,275
Grecia $2,101

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,696 in Grecia.

Lisbon $4,341
Grecia $2,696

Living in Lisbon is roughly 47% more expensive than in Grecia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 62% above, Grecia 11% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$10.27 ₡4,632

62.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$53.5 ₡24.2K

15.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$11.68 ₡5,270

-2.74%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$3.22 ₡1,451

-7.76%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$1.80 ₡814

27.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.86 ₡841

-6.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.62 ₡1,183

29.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.90 ₡1,310

14.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$2.03 ₡918

-42.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$1.13 ₡509

69.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$2.49 ₡1,122

-39.36%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$3.55 ₡1,601

13.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$7.50 ₡3,382

72.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$6.51 ₡2,938

19.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$14.26 ₡6,434

24.54%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$2.48 ₡1,121

-7.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.59 ₡718

8.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.35 ₡611

37.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.72 ₡774

50.58%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$1.78 ₡803

2.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.57 ₡708

25.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.96 ₡432

53.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$2.22 ₡1,001

-67.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$6.03 ₡2,723

9.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$12.47 ₡5,628

-55.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.12 ₡955

-35.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.56 ₡702

37.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$1.84 ₡829

26.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$2.02 ₡913

90.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.57 ₡707

-31.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$8.48 ₡3,827

94.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.59 ₡715

38.36%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$34.4K ₡15.5M

-0.49%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$41.3K ₡18.6M

-6.16%

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

$161 €145

$86.2 ₡38.9K

86.99%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$26.86 ₡12.1K

-31.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$59.1 ₡26.6K

-44.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$50.2 ₡22.6K

-11.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$11.97 ₡5,399

59.57%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$7.56 ₡3,414

26.98%

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

$668 €600

$985 ₡444.4K

-32.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$17.5K ₡7.9M

0.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$70.3 ₡31.7K

45.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$55.2 ₡24.9K

-19.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$128 ₡57.7K

-22.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$134 ₡60.6K

-7.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$442 ₡199.3K

264.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$621 ₡280.2K

91.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$772 ₡348.3K

264.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$678 ₡306.1K

196.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$660 ₡297.7K

138.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

8.62

-55.34%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Grecia: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Grecia

$621 41.2% 47.8% $569

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Grecia

$267 17.7% 1.9% $5.2

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Grecia

$189 12.6% 22% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Grecia

$172 11.4% 18.9% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Grecia

$174 11.6% 5.1% $8.5

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Grecia

$65 4.3% 2.5% $1.6

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Grecia

$17 * 1.1% 72.8% $46

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 $1,608 in Lisbon and $442 in Grecia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $54 in Grecia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $267 per month, with Grecia cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇷 Grecia

🕒 Local time

03:08 3:08 AM

21:08 9:08 PM

6 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

16,700

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 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 October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 502 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Grecia 8,030 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Grecia

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 Grecia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Grecia wins on cost – living expenses run 32% lower than in Lisbon. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Grecia the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 2.4 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $442 in Grecia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $1,506 in Grecia – Grecia is about 32% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Grecia is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

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