Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Guanacaste

For one person, living is cheaper in Guanacaste: $1,534 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Guanacaste
Learn more

Guanacaste Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Guanacaste

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,534

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Guanacaste

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

A single person spends $2,210 per month in Lisbon vs $1,534 in Guanacaste, rent included.

Lisbon $2,210
Guanacaste $1,534

A couple spends around $3,275 per month in Lisbon vs $2,421 in Guanacaste, rent included.

Lisbon $3,275
Guanacaste $2,421

A family of three spends $4,341 per month in Lisbon vs $3,307 in Guanacaste, rent included.

Lisbon $4,341
Guanacaste $3,307

Lisbon costs about 44% more than Guanacaste, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Lisbon and Guanacaste sit above the global median – Lisbon by 62%, Guanacaste by 13%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$10.77 ₡4,860

54.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$47.69 ₡21.5K

29.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$11.68 ₡5,270

-2.74%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$4.44 ₡2,003

-33.11%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$2.70 ₡1,220

-15.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.93 ₡871

-9.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$3.10 ₡1,398

9.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$4.47 ₡2,019

-25.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$2.04 ₡921

-43.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$3.19 ₡1,439

-40.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$2.42 ₡1,091

-37.60%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$3.59 ₡1,618

11.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$5.63 ₡2,542

129.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$4.30 ₡1,942

80.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$11.09 ₡5,005

60.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$2.68 ₡1,210

-14.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.57 ₡708

10.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$4.40 ₡1,988

-57.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.53 ₡689

69.28%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$3.86 ₡1,744

-52.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$2.25 ₡1,017

-12.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.90 ₡406

63.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$3.07 ₡1,385

-76.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$4.34 ₡1,958

51.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$20.25 ₡9,140

-72.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.80 ₡1,261

-51.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$2.66 ₡1,202

-19.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$1.29 ₡584

80.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$2.50 ₡1,128

54.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.57 ₡706

-31.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$8.85 ₡3,996

85.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.57 ₡709

40.13%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$33.7K ₡15.2M

1.43%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$41.3K ₡18.6M

-6.14%

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

$161 €145

$93.5 ₡42.2K

72.39%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$36.18 ₡16.3K

-49.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$32.69 ₡14.7K

0.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$66.5 ₡30.0K

-32.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$7.85 ₡3,542

22.29%

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

$668 €600

$968 ₡436.8K

-31.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$17.5K ₡7.9M

0.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$66.5 ₡30.0K

53.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$44.53 ₡20.1K

-0.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$86.6 ₡39.1K

13.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$78.2 ₡35.3K

58.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$795 ₡358.9K

102.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$620 ₡279.6K

92.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$1,899 ₡856.7K

48.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$1,279 ₡577.2K

57.39%

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

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 Guanacaste: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Guanacaste

$620 40.4% 47.9% $570

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Guanacaste

$312 20.4% 14.7% $40

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Guanacaste

$217 14.2% 10.4% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Guanacaste

$162 10.6% 23.5% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Guanacaste

$124 8.1% 25.2% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Guanacaste

$82 5.4% 28.9% $18

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Guanacaste

$16 * 1% 75.5% $48

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,608 in Lisbon versus $795 in Guanacaste. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $62 in Lisbon versus $48 in Guanacaste. Groceries tell a different story – $272 in Lisbon vs $312 in Guanacaste – so Lisbon wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇷 Guanacaste

🕒 Local time

18:40 6:40 PM

12:40 12:40 PM

6 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

1,823

💱 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 28, 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

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Between locations

Lisbon Guanacaste 8,120 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Guanacaste

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 Guanacaste: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Lisbon is pricier by about 44%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,315 per month in Lisbon and $2,301 in Guanacaste. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Guanacaste, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $795 there versus $1,608 in Lisbon.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,534 in Guanacaste. That’s a gap of about 44%.

Kindergarten costs $668 per month in Lisbon and $968 in Guanacaste. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,500 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,534 in Guanacaste. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Guanacaste costs $1,534 versus $2,210 in Lisbon. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.