Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Playa Flamingo

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa Flamingo: $1,686 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 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
81

Cost of Living Index in Playa Flamingo
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Playa Flamingo Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Playa Flamingo

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,686

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Playa Flamingo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,686 in Playa Flamingo.

Lisbon $2,210
Playa Flamingo $1,686

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $2,670 in Playa Flamingo.

Lisbon $3,275
Playa Flamingo $2,670

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $3,654 in Playa Flamingo.

Lisbon $4,341
Playa Flamingo $3,654

Living in Lisbon is roughly 31% more expensive than in Playa Flamingo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 62% above, Playa Flamingo 24% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$11.78 ₡5,314

41.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$62.3 ₡28.1K

-0.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$9.89 ₡4,463

14.86%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$4.36 ₡1,968

-31.88%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$2.74 ₡1,235

-16.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.84 ₡830

-5.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$3.28 ₡1,479

3.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$4.34 ₡1,958

-23.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$2.03 ₡915

-42.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$3.12 ₡1,406

-38.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$2.51 ₡1,130

-39.84%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$3.05 ₡1,374

31.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$10.82 ₡4,881

19.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$10.15 ₡4,580

-23.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$11.80 ₡5,327

50.51%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$5.27 ₡2,380

-56.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.58 ₡711

9.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$4.86 ₡2,193

-61.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$3.92 ₡1,768

-33.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$3.85 ₡1,739

-52.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$3.62 ₡1,632

-45.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.02 ₡459

44.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$3.09 ₡1,396

-76.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$5.09 ₡2,296

29.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$20.33 ₡9,176

-72.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.77 ₡1,252

-50.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$3.67 ₡1,658

-41.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$1.39 ₡627

67.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$2.51 ₡1,134

53.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.55 ₡701

-30.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$8.80 ₡3,971

87.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.54 ₡693

42.86%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$34.0K ₡15.3M

0.56%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$42.2K ₡19.0M

-8.21%

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

$161 €145

$94.5 ₡42.6K

70.64%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$20.06 ₡9,050

-8.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$58.9 ₡26.6K

-44.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$56.0 ₡25.3K

-20.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$9.92 ₡4,475

92.54%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$7.75 ₡3,498

23.87%

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

$668 €600

$994 ₡448.6K

-32.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$9,017 ₡4.1M

95.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$70.8 ₡32.0K

44.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$56.3 ₡25.4K

-21.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$130 ₡58.6K

-24.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$134 ₡60.6K

-7.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$1,604 ₡723.7K

0.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$640 ₡288.9K

85.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$2,962 ₡1.3M

-5.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$1,259 ₡568.1K

59.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$3,601 ₡1.6M

117.71%

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 Playa Flamingo: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Playa Flamingo

$640 38% 46.2% $550

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Playa Flamingo

$389 23.1% 42.8% $117

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Playa Flamingo

$220 13% 9.5% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Playa Flamingo

$173 10.3% 18.3% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Playa Flamingo

$176 10.5% 6.1% $10

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Playa Flamingo

$72 4.2% 12.2% $7.8

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Playa Flamingo

$16 * 0.9% 74.9% $47

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 $1,604 in Playa Flamingo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $62 in Playa Flamingo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $389 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇷 Playa Flamingo

🕒 Local time

23:04 11:04 PM

17:04 5:04 PM

6 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

💱 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 Playa Flamingo 8,130 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Playa Flamingo

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 Playa Flamingo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,686 in Playa Flamingo, so Playa Flamingo is about 24% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,315 in Lisbon and $2,528 in Playa Flamingo 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 $1,604 in Playa Flamingo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $994 in Playa Flamingo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $1,686 in Playa Flamingo – Playa Flamingo is about 24% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,686 in Playa Flamingo versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Playa Flamingo but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Playa Flamingo 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.

Safety-wise, Lisbon and Playa Flamingo are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.