Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Santa Ana, El Salvador

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Ana: $1,026 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,200 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 Santa Ana
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Santa Ana Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Santa Ana

🇸🇻 El Salvador

$1,026

/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: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,026 in Santa Ana.

Lisbon $2,210
Santa Ana $1,026

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,626 in Santa Ana.

Lisbon $3,275
Santa Ana $1,626

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,227 in Santa Ana.

Lisbon $4,341
Santa Ana $2,227

Living in Lisbon is roughly 115% more expensive than in Santa Ana, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$6.58 $6.58

153.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$44.88 $44.88

37.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$6.88 $6.88

65.12%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$3.52 $3.52

-15.62%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$1.17 $1.17

95.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.84 $0.84

107.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.04 $2.04

66.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$3.61 $3.61

-8.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.80 $1.80

-35.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$2.78 $2.78

-31.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.38 $1.38

9.42%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$3.11 $3.11

29.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$7.58 $7.58

70.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$7.08 $7.08

9.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$10.41 $10.41

70.61%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$5.18 $5.18

-55.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.44 $1.44

20.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$2.54 $2.54

-26.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$3.55 $3.55

-27.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$3.01 $3.01

-39.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$3.20 $3.20

-38.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.00 $1.00

47.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.93 $0.93

-22.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$4.04 $4.04

62.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$11.78 $11.78

-52.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.16 $2.16

-37.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$2.83 $2.83

-24.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.29 $0.29

703.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$6.05 $6.05

-36.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$3.06 $3.06

-65.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$20.18 $20.18

-18.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.01 $1.01

117.82%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$23.1K $23.1K

47.86%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$27.0K $27.0K

43.40%

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

$161 €145

$39.79 $39.79

305.18%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$21.39 $21.39

-13.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$38.95 $38.95

-15.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$34.94 $34.94

27.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$4.99 $4.99

92.38%

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

$668 €600

$161 $161

314.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$4,790 $4,790

267.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$66.7 $66.7

53.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$47.28 $47.28

-5.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$120 $120

-18.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$117 $117

6.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$653 $653

146.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$274 $274

334.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$994 $994

182.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$451 $451

346.83%

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

$450 $450

249.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

-23.00%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Santa Ana: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Santa Ana

$274 26.7% 77% $916

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Santa Ana

$286 27.9% 5.1% $14

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Santa Ana

$141 13.7% 41.9% $102

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Santa Ana

$100 9.8% 52.8% $112

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Santa Ana

$158 15.4% 4.8% $8

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Santa Ana

$45 4.4% 29.5% $19

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Santa Ana

$22 * 2.2% 64.4% $41

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 $653 in Santa Ana. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 3.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $45 in Santa Ana. Groceries flip the comparison at $272 vs $286, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇸🇻 Santa Ana

🕒 Local time

18:06 6:06 PM

12:06 12:06 PM

6 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

167,200

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 USD = 0.898 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Santa Ana 8,220 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

Lisbon and Santa Ana differ by about 115% in total monthly costs ($2,210 vs $1,026 including rent). Santa Ana is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 3.5 times higher, 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 $653 in Santa Ana. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 5% 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 $1,026 in Santa Ana – a 115% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,026 in Santa Ana versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Santa Ana but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Santa Ana 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.

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.