Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Santa Cruz do Sul

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Cruz do Sul: $866 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Santa Cruz do Sul
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Santa Cruz do Sul Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Santa Cruz do Sul

🇧🇷 Brazil

$866

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $866 in Santa Cruz do Sul.

Lisbon $2,206
Santa Cruz do Sul $866

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $1,393 in Santa Cruz do Sul.

Lisbon $3,276
Santa Cruz do Sul $1,393

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $1,919 in Santa Cruz do Sul.

Lisbon $4,346
Santa Cruz do Sul $1,919

Living in Lisbon is roughly 155% more expensive than in Santa Cruz do Sul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 63% above, Santa Cruz do Sul is 36% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.00

$5.50 R$30.00

206.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.3

$36.04 R$197

69.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.77

$6.30 R$34.41

74.29%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.71

$2.33 R$12.70

30.90%

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

$2.28 €2.03

$1.24 R$6.77

83.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$1.02 R$5.59

64.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.06

$2.25 R$12.27

52.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.48

$2.70 R$14.77

44.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.02

$0.91 R$4.94

26.37%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.53 R$8.34

23.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$0.98 R$5.35

53.06%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.66

$2.21 R$12.05

86.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.57

$9.89 R$54.0

31.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.16

$4.38 R$23.89

83.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €15.92

$9.10 R$49.68

96.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$2.23 R$12.19

1.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.35 R$7.39

28.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.24 R$6.79

46.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$1.48 R$8.05

81.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.57

$1.11 R$6.04

59.46%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.72

$1.01 R$5.50

92.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$0.79 R$4.31

84.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$0.74 R$4.01

2.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.92

$2.28 R$12.44

192.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.02

$7.34 R$40.07

-23.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.09 R$5.94

18.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.90

$1.99 R$10.86

7.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.05

$0.94 R$5.14

144.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.17

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.54

$1.32 R$7.20

201.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$0.73 R$4.01

-12.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.84

$7.69 R$41.99

146.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.22 R$6.68

86.89%

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

$33.4K €29.7K

$21.7K R$118.5K

53.81%

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

$38.5K €34.3K

$32.3K R$176.2K

19.34%

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

$158 €141

$72.7 R$397

117.50%

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

$17.54 €15.61

$11.41 R$62.3

53.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.75

$20.47 R$112

52.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.73

$26.21 R$143

70.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.89

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.52

$6.74 R$36.79

42.14%

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

$674 €599

$520 R$2,838

29.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.7K

$22.8K R$124.7K

-18.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €90.9

$46.12 R$252

121.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €40.85

$53.1 R$290

-13.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.0

$94.2 R$514

8.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$73.3 R$400

66.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,460

$524 R$2,862

212.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,057

$288 R$1,570

312.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,514

$890 R$4,860

217.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,796

$591 R$3,224

241.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €6,973

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,183

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,501

$372 R$2,029

353.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

11.5

-66.78%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Santa Cruz do Sul: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Santa Cruz do Sul

$288 33.2% 75.8% $900

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Santa Cruz do Sul

$189 21.8% 31.2% $86

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Santa Cruz do Sul

$116 13.5% 52.5% $129

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Santa Cruz do Sul

$105 12.1% 49.4% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Santa Cruz do Sul

$120 13.9% 28.4% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Santa Cruz do Sul

$40 4.6% 37.8% $24

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Santa Cruz do Sul

$8.8 * 1% 85.5% $52

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 $524 in Santa Cruz do Sul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 4.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $36 in Santa Cruz do Sul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $189 per month, with Santa Cruz do Sul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇧🇷 Santa Cruz do Sul

🕒 Local time

08:00 8:00 AM

05:00 5:00 AM

3 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

133,246

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 BRL = 0.183 USD

1 BRL = 0.163 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Santa Cruz do Sul 8,830 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

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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 do Sul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $866 in Santa Cruz do Sul, so Santa Cruz do Sul is about 61% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 4.5 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: $1,641 in Lisbon versus $524 in Santa Cruz do Sul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 45% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,206 per month in Lisbon versus $866 in Santa Cruz do Sul – Santa Cruz do Sul is about 61% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $866 in Santa Cruz do Sul versus $2,206 in Lisbon, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Santa Cruz do Sul but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Santa Cruz do Sul 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 Cruz do Sul wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.