Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Santa Clara

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Clara: $955 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $15,000 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
46

Cost of Living Index in Santa Clara
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Santa Clara Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Santa Clara

🇨🇺 Cuba

$955

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $955 in Santa Clara.

Lisbon $2,202
Santa Clara $955

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $1,433 in Santa Clara.

Lisbon $3,274
Santa Clara $1,433

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $1,911 in Santa Clara.

Lisbon $4,346
Santa Clara $1,911

Living in Lisbon is roughly 131% more expensive than in Santa Clara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Santa Clara is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$3.65 CUP 87.5

366.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$27.82 CUP 668

123.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$4.92 CUP 118

123.98%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$1.05 CUP 25.23

197.14%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$1.57 CUP 37.75

44.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.98 CUP 23.42

77.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$1.23 CUP 29.53

178.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$2.01 CUP 48.33

86.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$2.70 CUP 64.9

-56.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.17 CUP 28.02

58.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.71 CUP 40.93

-9.94%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$3.54 CUP 84.9

14.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$4.48 CUP 108

188.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$4.60 CUP 110

71.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$8.60 CUP 206

105.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$5.96 CUP 143

-62.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.07 CUP 25.66

63.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$3.96 CUP 94.9

-52.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$2.36 CUP 56.7

8.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$2.79 CUP 67.1

-33.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$2.71 CUP 65.1

-27.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.67 CUP 15.97

116.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$0.54 CUP 12.92

42.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$1.67 CUP 40.09

301.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$5.30 CUP 127

6.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.71 CUP 40.96

-19.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$2.13 CUP 51.1

-0.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$2.64 CUP 63.5

49.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$0.36 CUP 8.69

191.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$19.80 CUP 475

-13.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$1.26 CUP 30.30

73.81%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$60.5K CUP 1.5M

-44.17%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$60.0K CUP 1.4M

-36.28%

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

$164 €146

$48.17 CUP 1,156

240.07%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$38.81 CUP 931

-52.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$90.9 CUP 2,181

-63.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$0.82 CUP 19.75

1089.02%

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

$684 €608

$154 CUP 3,693

344.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$12.3K CUP 295.8K

43.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$52.4 CUP 1,258

97.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$41.64 CUP 999

10.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$81.4 CUP 1,954

22.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$66.3 CUP 1,590

88.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$349 CUP 8,374

355.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$353 CUP 8,473

231.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$739 CUP 17.7K

285.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$598 CUP 14.3K

233.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$275 CUP 6,596

2735.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$295 CUP 7,082

1397.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

9.1

-57.69%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Santa Clara: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Santa Clara

$353 37% 69.8% $816

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Santa Clara

$232 24.3% 15% $41

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Santa Clara

$77 8.1% 68.9% $171

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Santa Clara

$178 18.6% 17.4% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Santa Clara

$109 11.4% 35.4% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Santa Clara

$1.7 * 0.2% 97.5% $64

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Santa Clara

$4.5 * 0.5% 92.9% $58

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 $1,589 in Lisbon and $349 in Santa Clara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $62.0 in Lisbon vs $28.00 in Santa Clara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $232 per month, with Santa Clara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇺 Santa Clara

🕒 Local time

13:15 1:15 PM

08:15 8:15 AM

5 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

216,056

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Cuban Peso CUP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.71 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Santa Clara 6,850 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Clara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Santa Clara differ by about 131% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $955 including rent). Santa Clara is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,302 in Lisbon and $1,432 in Santa Clara 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: $1,589 in Lisbon versus $349 in Santa Clara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 18% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,202 per month in Lisbon versus $955 in Santa Clara – a 131% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $955 in Santa Clara versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Santa Clara but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Santa Clara 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.

Safety-wise, Lisbon and Santa Clara are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Santa Clara gentler on the wallet – expenses run 131% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.