Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and San Pedro, Costa Rica

For one person, living is cheaper in San Pedro: $1,712 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index
83

Cost of Living Index in San Pedro
Learn more

San Pedro Living Index

Jump to prices

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

San Pedro

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,712

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,712 in San Pedro.

Lisbon $2,210
San Pedro $1,712

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $2,640 in San Pedro.

Lisbon $3,275
San Pedro $2,640

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $3,569 in San Pedro.

Lisbon $4,341
San Pedro $3,569

Living in Lisbon is roughly 29% more expensive than in San Pedro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 62% above, San Pedro 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$12.18 ₡5,498

36.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$60.6 ₡27.3K

1.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$11.46 ₡5,169

-0.87%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$4.51 ₡2,035

-34.15%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$2.76 ₡1,246

-17.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.85 ₡836

-5.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$3.32 ₡1,500

2.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$4.51 ₡2,036

-26.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$2.43 ₡1,096

-52.26%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$3.06 ₡1,381

-37.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$2.44 ₡1,102

-38.11%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$3.42 ₡1,542

17.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$10.82 ₡4,881

19.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$10.45 ₡4,715

-25.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$14.23 ₡6,423

24.81%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$5.09 ₡2,299

-54.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.59 ₡719

8.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$4.69 ₡2,117

-60.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$3.92 ₡1,767

-33.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$3.87 ₡1,747

-52.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$3.58 ₡1,615

-44.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.11 ₡503

32.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$3.14 ₡1,417

-77.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$6.05 ₡2,732

8.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$19.94 ₡8,999

-71.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.91 ₡1,311

-53.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$3.63 ₡1,638

-41.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$1.33 ₡598

75.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$2.47 ₡1,115

55.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.57 ₡707

-31.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$8.48 ₡3,824

94.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.57 ₡708

40.13%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$33.8K ₡15.2M

1.26%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$41.8K ₡18.9M

-7.37%

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

$161 €145

$96.5 ₡43.5K

67.14%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$36.34 ₡16.4K

-49.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$58.2 ₡26.3K

-43.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$63.1 ₡28.5K

-29.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$7.66 ₡3,455

25.33%

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

$668 €600

$993 ₡448.0K

-32.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$17.2K ₡7.8M

2.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$72.4 ₡32.7K

40.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$55.3 ₡24.9K

-19.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$130 ₡58.8K

-24.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$133 ₡59.9K

-6.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$816 ₡368.3K

97.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$620 ₡279.6K

92.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$2,163 ₡976.0K

30.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$1,092 ₡492.9K

84.29%

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 San Pedro: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

San Pedro

$620 36.2% 47.9% $571

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

San Pedro

$402 23.5% 47.5% $129

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

San Pedro

$230 13.4% 5.2% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

San Pedro

$191 11.2% 10.1% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

San Pedro

$176 10.3% 6% $9.9

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

San Pedro

$78 4.6% 23% $15

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

San Pedro

$16 * 0.9% 75.3% $48

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 $816 in San Pedro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $61 in San Pedro. Groceries flip the comparison at $272 vs $402, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇷 San Pedro

🕒 Local time

22:19 10:19 PM

16:19 4:19 PM

6 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

27,477

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon San Pedro 8,050 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
San Pedro

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 Pedro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,712 in San Pedro, so San Pedro is about 23% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,315 in Lisbon and $2,568 in San Pedro 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 $816 in San Pedro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $993 in San Pedro. 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 $1,712 in San Pedro – San Pedro is about 23% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,500 a month, though San Pedro gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.