Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Perez Zeledon

For one person, living is cheaper in Perez Zeledon: $1,317 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
64

Cost of Living Index in Perez Zeledon
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Perez Zeledon Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Perez Zeledon

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,317

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Perez Zeledon

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,317 in Perez Zeledon.

Lisbon $2,210
Perez Zeledon $1,317

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $2,364 in Perez Zeledon.

Lisbon $3,275
Perez Zeledon $2,364

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $3,410 in Perez Zeledon.

Lisbon $4,341
Perez Zeledon $3,410

Living in Lisbon is roughly 68% more expensive than in Perez Zeledon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Perez Zeledon is 3% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$9.09 ₡4,102

83.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$37.24 ₡16.8K

65.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$8.19 ₡3,699

38.71%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.70 ₡1,217

10.00%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.97 ₡887

16.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.78 ₡805

-2.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$1.73 ₡780

96.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$3.21 ₡1,447

3.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.60 ₡724

-27.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$3.13 ₡1,413

-38.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$2.49 ₡1,122

-39.36%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$2.49 ₡1,126

61.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$10.73 ₡4,846

20.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$10.28 ₡4,639

-24.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$14.14 ₡6,384

25.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$5.24 ₡2,365

-56.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.08 ₡488

60.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$4.89 ₡2,206

-61.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$3.85 ₡1,737

-32.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$3.72 ₡1,680

-51.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$3.59 ₡1,622

-45.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.45 ₡205

226.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$3.09 ₡1,394

-76.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$5.57 ₡2,516

18.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$19.80 ₡8,937

-71.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.87 ₡1,297

-52.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$3.63 ₡1,638

-41.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.81 ₡364

187.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$2.49 ₡1,126

54.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.63 ₡737

-34.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$8.76 ₡3,955

87.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.52 ₡688

44.74%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$33.8K ₡15.2M

1.29%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$42.1K ₡19.0M

-8.04%

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

$161 €144

$93.6 ₡42.2K

72.30%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$23.99 ₡10.8K

-23.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$59.2 ₡26.7K

-44.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$67.9 ₡30.7K

-34.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$7.67 ₡3,464

25.16%

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

$668 €598

$498 ₡224.8K

34.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$17.3K ₡7.8M

1.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$71.8 ₡32.4K

42.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$55.0 ₡24.8K

-19.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$128 ₡57.7K

-22.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$133 ₡60.0K

-6.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$402 ₡181.3K

300.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$326 ₡147.1K

265.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$2,133 ₡963.0K

31.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$1,260 ₡568.7K

59.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

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 Perez Zeledon: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Perez Zeledon

$326 24.8% 72.6% $864

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Perez Zeledon

$383 29.1% 40.7% $111

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Perez Zeledon

$160 12.1% 34.2% $83

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Perez Zeledon

$177 13.4% 16.8% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Perez Zeledon

$174 13.2% 5.1% $8.5

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Perez Zeledon

$83 6.3% 30.7% $20

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Perez Zeledon

$14 * 1.1% 78% $49

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 $402 in Perez Zeledon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $37 in Perez Zeledon. Groceries flip the comparison at $272 vs $383, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇷 Perez Zeledon

🕒 Local time

00:50 12:50 AM

18:50 6:50 PM

6 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

135,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Perez Zeledon 8,010 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

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Perez Zeledon

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 Perez Zeledon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,317 in Perez Zeledon, so Perez Zeledon is about 40% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,315 in Lisbon and $1,975 in Perez Zeledon to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $402 in Perez Zeledon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 29% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $1,317 in Perez Zeledon – Perez Zeledon is about 40% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,317 in Perez Zeledon versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Perez Zeledon but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Perez Zeledon 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.