Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and San Francisco

For one person, living is cheaper in San Francisco: $1,668 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 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
80

Cost of Living Index in San Francisco
Learn more

San Francisco Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

San Francisco

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,668

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in San Francisco

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,668 in San Francisco.

Lisbon $2,210
San Francisco $1,668

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $2,674 in San Francisco.

Lisbon $3,275
San Francisco $2,674

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $3,680 in San Francisco.

Lisbon $4,341
San Francisco $3,680

Living in Lisbon is roughly 32% more expensive than in San Francisco, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 62% above, San Francisco 23% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$10.03 ₡4,524

66.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$61.7 ₡27.8K

0.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$11.13 ₡5,024

2.07%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$4.56 ₡2,058

-34.87%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$1.29 ₡584

77.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.71 ₡774

1.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$3.37 ₡1,520

0.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$4.48 ₡2,020

-26.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$2.43 ₡1,095

-52.26%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$3.03 ₡1,367

-36.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$2.39 ₡1,079

-36.82%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$3.44 ₡1,553

16.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$10.88 ₡4,911

18.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$10.40 ₡4,691

-25.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$13.82 ₡6,237

28.51%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$5.21 ₡2,353

-55.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.65 ₡745

4.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$4.79 ₡2,160

-61.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$3.87 ₡1,744

-33.07%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$3.92 ₡1,770

-53.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$3.74 ₡1,689

-47.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.09 ₡491

34.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$3.10 ₡1,401

-76.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$5.82 ₡2,625

13.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$19.69 ₡8,883

-71.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.85 ₡1,286

-52.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$3.55 ₡1,600

-39.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$1.37 ₡620

70.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$65.9 ₡29.7K

-32.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$1.74 ₡787

121.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.62 ₡730

-33.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$8.88 ₡4,008

85.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.53 ₡689

43.79%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$34.0K ₡15.3M

0.55%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$42.8K ₡19.3M

-9.61%

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

$161 €145

$76.4 ₡34.5K

111.16%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$32.60 ₡14.7K

-43.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$48.89 ₡22.1K

-33.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$68.8 ₡31.0K

-35.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$7.52 ₡3,394

27.66%

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

$668 €600

$989 ₡446.2K

-32.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$17.1K ₡7.7M

3.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$70.4 ₡31.8K

44.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$56.9 ₡25.7K

-21.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$65.6 ₡29.6K

50.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$54.7 ₡24.7K

126.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$799 ₡360.4K

101.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$628 ₡283.3K

89.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$1,905 ₡859.4K

47.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$1,287 ₡580.8K

56.42%

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

$895 ₡404.0K

75.92%

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 San Francisco: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

San Francisco

$628 37.6% 47.2% $562

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

San Francisco

$400 24% 46.9% $128

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

San Francisco

$206 12.4% 15% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

San Francisco

$158 9.5% 25.7% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

San Francisco

$111 6.7% 32.9% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

San Francisco

$84 5% 31.6% $20

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

San Francisco

$81 4.9% 28.6% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $799 in San Francisco. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 76% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $62 in San Francisco for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $400 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇷 San Francisco

🕒 Local time

17:44 5:44 PM

11:44 11:44 AM

6 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

55,923

💱 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 San Francisco 8,010 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
San Francisco

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 San Francisco: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and San Francisco differ by about 32% in total monthly costs ($2,210 vs $1,668 including rent). San Francisco is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 76% 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 $799 in San Francisco. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 32% 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 $1,668 in San Francisco – a 32% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,668 in San Francisco versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in San Francisco but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes San Francisco 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 San Francisco are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

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