Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Puntarenas

For one person, living is cheaper in Puntarenas: $1,019 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,300 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
49

Cost of Living Index in Puntarenas
Learn more

Puntarenas Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Puntarenas

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,019

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Puntarenas

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,019 in Puntarenas.

Lisbon $2,210
Puntarenas $1,019

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,582 in Puntarenas.

Lisbon $3,275
Puntarenas $1,582

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,145 in Puntarenas.

Lisbon $4,341
Puntarenas $2,145

Living in Lisbon is roughly 117% more expensive than in Puntarenas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Puntarenas is 25% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$8.14 ₡3,671

104.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$39.71 ₡17.9K

55.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$9.67 ₡4,363

17.48%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$4.42 ₡1,995

-32.81%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$2.61 ₡1,177

-12.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.86 ₡841

-6.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$3.24 ₡1,464

4.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$4.52 ₡2,039

-26.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$2.04 ₡919

-43.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$3.18 ₡1,435

-39.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.93 ₡872

-21.76%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$2.92 ₡1,317

37.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$6.13 ₡2,767

111.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$7.48 ₡3,376

3.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$12.50 ₡5,639

42.08%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$3.88 ₡1,752

-40.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.49 ₡672

16.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$2.36 ₡1,064

-21.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$2.44 ₡1,099

6.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$2.44 ₡1,102

-25.41%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$2.40 ₡1,084

-17.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.89 ₡404

65.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$2.76 ₡1,246

-73.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$4.94 ₡2,227

33.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$8.25 ₡3,723

-32.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.77 ₡798

-23.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$2.30 ₡1,039

-6.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$1.03 ₡464

126.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$2.21 ₡998

74.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.13 ₡508

-5.31%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$8.49 ₡3,832

93.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.52 ₡687

44.74%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$34.2K ₡15.4M

-0.07%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$18.6K ₡8.4M

107.64%

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

$161 €145

$54.5 ₡24.6K

195.60%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$27.98 ₡12.6K

-34.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$41.15 ₡18.6K

-20.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$26.11 ₡11.8K

70.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$7.73 ₡3,489

24.19%

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

$668 €600

$1,002 ₡451.9K

-33.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$17.4K ₡7.9M

1.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$26.17 ₡11.8K

289.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$17.89 ₡8,074

148.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$128 ₡57.9K

-23.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$53.3 ₡24.1K

131.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$358 ₡161.7K

348.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$256 ₡115.6K

364.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$530 ₡239.2K

430.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$414 ₡186.6K

386.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$986 ₡445.1K

694.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$661 ₡298.3K

592.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$862 ₡389.1K

82.67%

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 Puntarenas: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Puntarenas

$256 25.1% 78.5% $934

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Puntarenas

$294 28.8% 7.8% $21

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Puntarenas

$190 18.7% 21.6% $52

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Puntarenas

$124 12.1% 41.8% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Puntarenas

$102 10% 38.8% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Puntarenas

$42 4.1% 34.8% $22

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Puntarenas

$12 * 1.2% 81.1% $51

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 $358 in Puntarenas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 83% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $40 in Puntarenas. Groceries flip the comparison at $272 vs $294, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇷 Puntarenas

🕒 Local time

23:30 11:30 PM

17:30 5:30 PM

6 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

70,000

💱 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 Puntarenas 8,080 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

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Lisbon
Puntarenas

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 Puntarenas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,019 in Puntarenas, so Puntarenas is about 54% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 83% higher in Lisbon, 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 $358 in Puntarenas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 7% 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 $1,019 in Puntarenas – Puntarenas is about 54% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Puntarenas 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 – Puntarenas wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.