Last update: Nov 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in San Rafael: $1,718 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $5,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
83

Cost of Living Index in San Rafael
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San Rafael Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

San Rafael

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,718

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $1,718 in San Rafael.

Lisbon $2,206
San Rafael $1,718

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $2,741 in San Rafael.

Lisbon $3,276
San Rafael $2,741

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $3,765 in San Rafael.

Lisbon $4,346
San Rafael $3,765

Living in Lisbon is roughly 28% more expensive than in San Rafael, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 63% above, San Rafael 27% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.08

$12.45 ₡5,597

35.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.6

$62.3 ₡28.0K

-2.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.82

$11.82 ₡5,315

-7.11%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.73

$4.34 ₡1,951

-29.72%

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

$2.28 €2.04

$2.61 ₡1,174

-12.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$1.93 ₡866

-12.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.07

$3.30 ₡1,484

4.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.49

$4.46 ₡2,007

-12.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.03

$2.31 ₡1,039

-50.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.69

$3.06 ₡1,375

-38.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$2.39 ₡1,074

-37.24%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.68

$3.53 ₡1,589

16.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.63

$10.70 ₡4,813

21.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.19

$10.61 ₡4,772

-24.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €16.00

$13.86 ₡6,232

29.08%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.03

$5.12 ₡2,301

-55.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.60 ₡717

8.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$4.89 ₡2,197

-62.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.40

$3.82 ₡1,718

-29.58%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.58

$3.72 ₡1,671

-52.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.73

$3.71 ₡1,666

-47.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.13 ₡509

29.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$3.20 ₡1,439

-76.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.95

$6.00 ₡2,696

11.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.04

$19.67 ₡8,846

-71.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$2.87 ₡1,291

-55.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$3.55 ₡1,595

-39.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.06

$1.35 ₡607

70.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.36

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.56

$2.46 ₡1,107

61.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$1.62 ₡728

-60.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.92

$8.85 ₡3,978

113.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.56 ₡702

46.15%

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

$33.4K €29.8K

$33.9K ₡15.3M

-1.65%

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

$38.5K €34.4K

$42.2K ₡19.0M

-8.78%

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

$158 €141

$96.5 ₡43.4K

63.94%

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

$17.54 €15.68

$35.72 ₡16.1K

-50.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.89

$59.7 ₡26.9K

-47.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.92

$68.3 ₡30.7K

-34.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.97

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.56

$7.73 ₡3,478

23.93%

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

$674 €602

$985 ₡442.8K

-31.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.7K

$16.9K ₡7.6M

10.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$72.3 ₡32.5K

41.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €41.04

$56.9 ₡25.6K

-19.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.4

$127 ₡56.9K

-19.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$133 ₡59.6K

-8.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,467

$795 ₡357.3K

106.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,062

$621 ₡279.3K

91.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,526

$1,888 ₡849.2K

49.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,805

$1,271 ₡571.8K

58.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €7,007

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,204

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,508

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

8.62

-55.68%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for San Rafael: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

San Rafael

$621 36.1% 47.7% $566

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

San Rafael

$400 23.3% 45.8% $126

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

San Rafael

$231 13.4% 6% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

San Rafael

$192 11.2% 7.2% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

San Rafael

$175 10.2% 4.3% $7.3

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

San Rafael

$84 4.9% 31.4% $20

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

San Rafael

$16 * 0.9% 73.6% $44

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 $1,641 in Lisbon and $795 in San Rafael. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $62 in San Rafael for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $400 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇷 San Rafael

🕒 Local time

20:03 8:03 PM

14:03 2:03 PM

6 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

30,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.894 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 503 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon San Rafael 8,020 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
San Rafael

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 Rafael: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $1,718 in San Rafael, so San Rafael is about 22% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,309 in Lisbon and $2,577 in San Rafael 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: $1,641 in Lisbon versus $795 in San Rafael. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $674 in Lisbon versus $985 in San Rafael. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

All in, you’ll spend $2,206 per month in Lisbon versus $1,718 in San Rafael – San Rafael is about 22% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though San Rafael 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.