Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Santa Barbara

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Barbara: $1,725 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $5,800 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 Santa Barbara
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Santa Barbara Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Santa Barbara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,725

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $1,725 in Santa Barbara.

Lisbon $2,206
Santa Barbara $1,725

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $2,738 in Santa Barbara.

Lisbon $3,276
Santa Barbara $2,738

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $3,750 in Santa Barbara.

Lisbon $4,346
Santa Barbara $3,750

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

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 63% above, Santa Barbara 28% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.08

$12.36 ₡5,558

36.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.6

$62.2 ₡28.0K

-1.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.82

$11.72 ₡5,270

-6.31%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.73

$4.39 ₡1,974

-30.52%

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

$2.28 €2.04

$2.76 ₡1,241

-17.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$1.92 ₡862

-12.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.07

$3.39 ₡1,523

1.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.49

$4.36 ₡1,959

-10.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.03

$2.43 ₡1,093

-52.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.69

$3.14 ₡1,411

-39.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$2.48 ₡1,116

-39.52%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.68

$3.46 ₡1,557

19.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.63

$10.74 ₡4,828

21.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.19

$10.34 ₡4,651

-22.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €16.00

$13.93 ₡6,265

28.43%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.03

$5.25 ₡2,362

-56.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.59 ₡714

9.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$4.64 ₡2,086

-60.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.40

$3.89 ₡1,751

-30.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.58

$3.84 ₡1,728

-53.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.73

$3.72 ₡1,671

-47.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.11 ₡499

31.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$3.19 ₡1,436

-76.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.95

$6.00 ₡2,696

11.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.04

$20.13 ₡9,055

-71.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$2.78 ₡1,249

-53.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$3.51 ₡1,580

-39.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.06

$1.35 ₡608

70.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.36

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.56

$2.41 ₡1,085

65.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$1.63 ₡734

-60.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.92

$8.72 ₡3,922

117.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.51 ₡680

50.99%

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

$33.4K €29.8K

$33.4K ₡15.0M

-0.22%

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

$38.5K €34.4K

$41.6K ₡18.7M

-7.52%

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

$158 €141

$96.6 ₡43.5K

63.71%

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

$17.54 €15.68

$36.11 ₡16.2K

-51.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.89

$60.0 ₡27.0K

-48.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.92

$68.0 ₡30.6K

-34.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.97

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.56

$7.62 ₡3,426

25.72%

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

$674 €602

$967 ₡434.7K

-30.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.7K

$17.2K ₡7.7M

9.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$71.4 ₡32.1K

43.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €41.04

$56.8 ₡25.5K

-19.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.4

$127 ₡57.3K

-19.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$131 ₡58.8K

-6.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,467

$815 ₡366.6K

101.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,062

$627 ₡281.8K

89.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,526

$1,878 ₡844.5K

50.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,805

$1,256 ₡564.9K

60.67%

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 Santa Barbara: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Santa Barbara

$627 36.3% 47.2% $561

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Santa Barbara

$402 23.3% 46.4% $127

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Santa Barbara

$231 13.4% 5.8% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Santa Barbara

$193 11.2% 6.8% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Santa Barbara

$174 10.1% 3.7% $6.3

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Santa Barbara

$83 4.8% 30.4% $19

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Santa Barbara

$16 * 0.9% 73.5% $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 $815 in Santa Barbara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $62 in Santa Barbara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $402 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇷 Santa Barbara

🕒 Local time

19:35 7:35 PM

13:35 1:35 PM

6 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

8,000

💱 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 Santa Barbara 8,020 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Santa Barbara

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 Barbara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $1,725 in Santa Barbara, so Santa Barbara 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 $2,588 in Santa Barbara 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 $815 in Santa Barbara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $674 in Lisbon versus $967 in Santa Barbara. 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 $1,725 in Santa Barbara – Santa Barbara is about 22% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,500 a month, though Santa Barbara 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.

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