Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Santa Cruz de Tenerife

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Cruz de Tenerife: $2,048 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
99

Cost of Living Index in Santa Cruz de Tenerife
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Santa Cruz de Tenerife Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,048

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $2,048 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Lisbon $2,210
Santa Cruz de Tenerife $2,048

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $2,946 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Lisbon $3,275
Santa Cruz de Tenerife $2,946

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $3,845 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Lisbon $4,341
Santa Cruz de Tenerife $3,845

Living in Lisbon is roughly 8% more expensive than in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 62% above, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 50% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$20.33 €18.26

-18.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$60.8 €54.6

1.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$11.00 €9.88

3.27%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$1.99 €1.79

49.25%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$1.87 €1.68

22.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.24 €1.11

40.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.81 €2.53

21.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$3.28 €2.95

0.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.38 €1.24

-15.94%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$2.46 €2.21

-22.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.59 €1.43

-5.03%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$4.13 €3.71

-2.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$19.32 €17.35

-33.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$10.01 €8.99

-22.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$17.56 €15.77

1.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$2.79 €2.50

-17.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$2.32 €2.08

-25.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$2.17 €1.95

-14.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$2.57 €2.31

0.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$2.12 €1.90

-14.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.94 €1.74

1.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.68 €1.51

-12.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.99 €0.89

-27.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$5.60 €5.03

17.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$7.92 €7.11

-29.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.61 €1.45

-15.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.75 €1.58

22.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$1.37 €1.23

70.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$44.15 €39.66

1.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$4.20 €3.78

-8.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.65 €1.48

-35.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$17.09 €15.35

-3.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.63 €1.46

34.97%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$35.7K €32.1K

-4.25%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$31.0K €27.9K

24.85%

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

$161 €145

$126 €113

27.93%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$22.43 €20.15

-17.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$35.25 €31.66

-7.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$51.5 €46.22

-13.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$11.64 €10.45

64.09%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$9.74 €8.75

-1.44%

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

$668 €600

$408 €367

63.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$4,972 €4,466

254.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$91.3 €82.0

11.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$41.34 €37.14

7.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$89.5 €80.4

10.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$114 €102

8.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$1,166 €1,047

37.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$1,000 €898

19.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$1,833 €1,646

53.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$1,422 €1,277

41.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$3,984 €3,579

96.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$2,266 €2,036

101.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$1,852 €1,664

-14.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.56

8.15%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Santa Cruz de Tenerife: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$1,000 48.8% 16% $190

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$328 16% 20.3% $55

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$253 12.3% 4.1% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$184 9% 13.5% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$151 7.4% 8.9% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$71 3.5% 11.3% $7.2

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$62 3% 1.8% $1.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $1,166 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife pays 18% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $61 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Groceries flip the comparison at $272 vs $328, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇪🇸 Santa Cruz de Tenerife

🕒 Local time

01:31 1:31 AM

Same time as Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

209,395

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1,310 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

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City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Lisbon vs Santa Cruz de Tenerife: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $2,048 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, so Santa Cruz de Tenerife is about 7% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 15% lower in Lisbon. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $1,166 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $408 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $2,048 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife – Santa Cruz de Tenerife is about 7% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,500 a month, though Santa Cruz de Tenerife 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 Cruz de Tenerife are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.