Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Santa Teresa

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Teresa: $1,530 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 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
73

Cost of Living Index in Santa Teresa
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Santa Teresa Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Santa Teresa

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,530

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $1,530 in Santa Teresa.

Lisbon $2,206
Santa Teresa $1,530

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $2,295 in Santa Teresa.

Lisbon $3,276
Santa Teresa $2,295

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $3,061 in Santa Teresa.

Lisbon $4,346
Santa Teresa $3,061

Living in Lisbon is roughly 44% more expensive than in Santa Teresa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 63% above, Santa Teresa 13% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.00

$9.90 ₡4,459

70.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.3

$42.31 ₡19.1K

44.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.77

$9.71 ₡4,374

13.08%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.71

$3.70 ₡1,667

-17.57%

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

$2.28 €2.03

$2.04 ₡917

11.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$1.63 ₡735

3.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.06

$3.03 ₡1,366

13.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.48

$4.55 ₡2,048

-14.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.02

$2.05 ₡925

-43.90%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$2.82 ₡1,270

-32.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$2.16 ₡972

-30.56%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.66

$2.98 ₡1,344

38.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.57

$10.01 ₡4,509

29.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.16

$8.97 ₡4,042

-10.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €15.92

$13.60 ₡6,127

31.54%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$4.56 ₡2,052

-50.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.44 ₡651

20.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$4.12 ₡1,856

-55.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$3.07 ₡1,385

-12.38%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.57

$3.39 ₡1,526

-47.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.72

$2.58 ₡1,161

-24.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$1.01 ₡455

44.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$2.85 ₡1,282

-73.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.92

$5.09 ₡2,292

30.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.02

$13.79 ₡6,211

-59.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$2.36 ₡1,063

-45.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.90

$2.62 ₡1,179

-18.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.05

$0.96 ₡433

139.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.17

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.54

$1.84 ₡830

116.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$1.83 ₡826

-65.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.84

$7.95 ₡3,580

138.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.46 ₡659

56.16%

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

$33.4K €29.7K

$38.4K ₡17.3M

-13.06%

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

$38.5K €34.3K

$32.7K ₡14.7M

17.65%

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

$158 €141

$84.9 ₡38.2K

86.33%

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

$17.54 €15.61

$26.16 ₡11.8K

-32.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.75

$50.4 ₡22.7K

-38.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.73

$50.1 ₡22.6K

-10.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.89

$23.66 ₡10.7K

-19.78%

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.52

$8.89 ₡4,004

7.76%

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

$674 €599

$573 ₡257.9K

17.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.7K

$12.4K ₡5.6M

50.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €90.9

$61.8 ₡27.8K

65.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €40.85

$51.2 ₡23.0K

-10.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.0

$127 ₡57.4K

-19.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$107 ₡48.0K

14.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,460

$706 ₡318.2K

132.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,057

$592 ₡266.6K

100.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,514

$1,461 ₡657.9K

93.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,796

$955 ₡430.0K

111.42%

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

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

10.17

-62.44%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Santa Teresa: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Santa Teresa

$592 38.7% 50.2% $596

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Santa Teresa

$346 22.6% 26.2% $72

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Santa Teresa

$192 12.5% 21.9% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Santa Teresa

$161 10.6% 22% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Santa Teresa

$156 10.2% 6.8% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Santa Teresa

$68 4.4% 6.3% $4

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Santa Teresa

$15 * 1% 75.4% $46

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 $706 in Santa Teresa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $42 in Santa Teresa. Groceries flip the comparison at $275 vs $346, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇷 Santa Teresa

🕒 Local time

09:29 9:29 AM

03:29 3:29 AM

6 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

3,099

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Santa Teresa 8,130 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
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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 Teresa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $1,530 in Santa Teresa, so Santa Teresa is about 31% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,309 in Lisbon and $2,295 in Santa Teresa 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 $706 in Santa Teresa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 21% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $2,206 per month in Lisbon versus $1,530 in Santa Teresa – Santa Teresa is about 31% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,500. Santa Teresa is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

For families, Santa Teresa is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Lisbon, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

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