Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Santa Ana, Costa Rica

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Ana: $2,006 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 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
96

Cost of Living Index in Santa Ana
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Santa Ana Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Santa Ana

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$2,006

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Santa Ana

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $2,006 in Santa Ana.

Lisbon $2,206
Santa Ana $2,006

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $3,232 in Santa Ana.

Lisbon $3,276
Santa Ana $3,232

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $4,458 in Santa Ana.

Lisbon $4,346
Santa Ana $4,458

Living in Lisbon is roughly 10% more expensive than in Santa Ana, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 63% above, Santa Ana 48% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.09

$12.42 ₡5,584

35.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.6

$61.9 ₡27.9K

-1.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.83

$11.43 ₡5,139

-3.94%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.73

$4.56 ₡2,052

-33.11%

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

$2.28 €2.04

$2.25 ₡1,010

1.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.51

$1.39 ₡626

20.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.07

$3.28 ₡1,474

4.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.49

$4.36 ₡1,960

-10.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.03

$2.30 ₡1,033

-50.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.69

$3.04 ₡1,367

-37.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$2.41 ₡1,085

-37.76%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.68

$3.43 ₡1,542

20.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.64

$10.50 ₡4,719

23.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.20

$10.24 ₡4,604

-21.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €16.01

$13.90 ₡6,248

28.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.03

$5.20 ₡2,339

-56.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.63 ₡733

6.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$4.79 ₡2,152

-62.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.40

$3.81 ₡1,714

-29.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.58

$3.82 ₡1,717

-53.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.73

$3.69 ₡1,659

-47.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.07 ₡482

36.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$1.87 ₡842

-59.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.96

$5.91 ₡2,658

12.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.05

$17.48 ₡7,860

-67.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.16

$2.90 ₡1,303

-55.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.65 ₡1,190

-19.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.06

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.39

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.56

$2.22 ₡998

79.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$1.84 ₡826

-65.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.93

$8.18 ₡3,676

131.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.04

$1.51 ₡680

50.99%

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

$33.4K €29.9K

$28.6K ₡12.9M

16.75%

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

$38.5K €34.5K

$37.6K ₡16.9M

2.46%

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

$158 €142

$91.7 ₡41.2K

72.43%

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

$17.54 €15.69

$32.76 ₡14.7K

-46.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.90

$49.36 ₡22.2K

-36.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.95

$161 ₡72.5K

-72.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.98

$22.07 ₡9,922

-14.00%

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.57

$7.67 ₡3,450

24.90%

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

$674 €603

$982 ₡441.4K

-31.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.8K

$19.2K ₡8.6M

-2.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$66.7 ₡30.0K

53.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €41.07

$55.7 ₡25.0K

-17.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.5

$127 ₡57.3K

-19.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$132 ₡59.2K

-7.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,468

$1,075 ₡483.4K

52.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,062

$869 ₡390.8K

36.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,527

$2,939 ₡1.3M

-3.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,806

$1,847 ₡830.6K

9.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €7,011

$2,735 ₡1.2M

186.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,206

$1,706 ₡767.3K

175.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,509

$1,427 ₡641.4K

18.26%

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 Santa Ana: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Santa Ana

$869 43.3% 26.8% $318

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Santa Ana

$375 18.7% 36.8% $101

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Santa Ana

$228 11.4% 7% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Santa Ana

$174 8.7% 16% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Santa Ana

$172 8.6% 2.5% $4.1

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Santa Ana

$177 8.8% 177% $113

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Santa Ana

$11 * 0.6% 81.1% $49

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 $1,075 in Santa Ana. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 18% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $62 in Santa Ana for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $375 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇷 Santa Ana

🕒 Local time

19:12 7:12 PM

13:12 1:12 PM

6 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

13,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.895 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 505 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Santa Ana 8,020 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Santa Ana

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 Santa Ana: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $2,006 in Santa Ana, so Santa Ana is about 9% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 18% 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: $1,641 in Lisbon versus $1,075 in Santa Ana. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $674 in Lisbon versus $982 in Santa Ana. 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 $2,006 in Santa Ana – Santa Ana is about 9% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,000. Santa Ana 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.

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

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