Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Santa Cruz

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Cruz: $639 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $19,000 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
31

Cost of Living Index in Santa Cruz
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Santa Cruz Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Santa Cruz

🇧🇴 Bolivia

$639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $639 in Santa Cruz.

Lisbon $2,223
Santa Cruz $639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $1,172 in Santa Cruz.

Lisbon $3,271
Santa Cruz $1,172

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $1,704 in Santa Cruz.

Lisbon $4,319
Santa Cruz $1,704

Living in Lisbon is roughly 248% more expensive than in Santa Cruz, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 65% above, Santa Cruz is 53% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$2.00 BOB 23.19

725.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$16.80 BOB 195

264.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$5.10 BOB 59.2

120.98%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$1.77 BOB 20.52

72.88%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$0.49 BOB 5.72

361.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$0.43 BOB 4.97

302.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$0.86 BOB 9.97

294.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$1.24 BOB 14.35

174.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$0.71 BOB 8.23

57.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$0.94 BOB 10.88

97.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.03 BOB 11.93

48.54%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$1.06 BOB 12.27

273.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$3.15 BOB 36.56

305.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$2.58 BOB 29.92

206.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$4.98 BOB 57.8

240.76%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.82 BOB 21.12

24.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$0.62 BOB 7.24

182.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$0.76 BOB 8.81

143.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$0.73 BOB 8.48

252.05%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$0.74 BOB 8.55

151.35%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$0.67 BOB 7.75

201.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.57 BOB 6.66

152.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$0.63 BOB 7.36

30.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$1.92 BOB 22.25

241.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$4.32 BOB 50.2

30.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.02 BOB 11.86

25.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$1.64 BOB 19.01

26.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$0.24 BOB 2.78

879.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$22.48 BOB 261

96.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$1.64 BOB 19.05

143.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.91 BOB 10.58

19.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$6.31 BOB 73.3

163.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$0.57 BOB 6.59

300.00%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$14.1K BOB 163.3K

139.41%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$19.3K BOB 223.6K

103.98%

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

$167 €149

$34.84 BOB 405

380.74%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$19.67 BOB 228

-4.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$17.53 BOB 204

88.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$19.56 BOB 227

135.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$12.84 BOB 149

49.45%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$5.86 BOB 68.1

67.92%

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

$677 €602

$112 BOB 1,303

503.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$2,950 BOB 34.2K

473.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$27.21 BOB 316

272.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$35.79 BOB 416

27.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$66.3 BOB 769

50.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$58.3 BOB 677

110.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$267 BOB 3,105

503.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$247 BOB 2,869

384.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$909 BOB 10.6K

214.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$830 BOB 9,630

139.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$1,299 BOB 15.1K

483.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$737 BOB 8,551

484.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$276 BOB 3,204

475.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

6.17

-37.60%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Santa Cruz: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Santa Cruz

$247 38.6% 79.4% $950

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Santa Cruz

$112 17.5% 58.4% $157

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Santa Cruz

$63 9.8% 74% $179

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Santa Cruz

$72 11.3% 67.2% $147

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Santa Cruz

$84 13.2% 49.3% $82

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Santa Cruz

$31 4.9% 52.4% $34

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Santa Cruz

$30 4.6% 53% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,614 in Lisbon and $267 in Santa Cruz. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 475% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $17.00 in Santa Cruz for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $112 per month, with Santa Cruz cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇧🇴 Santa Cruz

🕒 Local time

12:50 12:50 PM

07:50 7:50 AM

5 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

1,800,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Bolivian Boliviano BOB Bs.

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 BOB = 8.61 USD

100 BOB = 7.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BOB, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Bolivian Boliviano exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 11.61 BOB (100 BOB = 8.61 USD). 1 EUR = 13.05 BOB (100 BOB = 7.66 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Santa Cruz 8,430 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Santa Cruz

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 Cruz: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Santa Cruz differ by about 248% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $639 including rent). Santa Cruz is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 475% 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: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $267 in Santa Cruz. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $112 in Santa Cruz. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 140% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $639 in Santa Cruz versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Santa Cruz but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Santa Cruz 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 Cruz 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 Cruz gentler on the wallet – expenses run 248% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.