Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Santiago City

For one person, living is cheaper in Santiago City: $862 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Santiago City
Learn more

Santiago City Living Index

Jump to prices

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Santiago City

🇵🇭 Philippines

$862

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Santiago City

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $862 in Santiago City.

Lisbon $2,210
Santiago City $862

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,309 in Santiago City.

Lisbon $3,275
Santiago City $1,309

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,755 in Santiago City.

Lisbon $4,341
Santiago City $1,755

Living in Lisbon is roughly 156% more expensive than in Santiago City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Santiago City is 37% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.94

$6.21 ₱396

168.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.4

$38.94 ₱2,485

58.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.19

$4.56 ₱291

149.12%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.51 ₱160

18.33%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.10 ₱69.9

108.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.53 ₱33.51

228.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$2.30 ₱147

47.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$3.06 ₱195

8.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.87 ₱119

-37.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.26 ₱80.7

51.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.04 ₱66.6

45.19%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$1.36 ₱87.0

195.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.61

$7.00 ₱447

84.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$4.95 ₱316

56.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.94

$6.67 ₱426

166.27%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$2.34 ₱149

-1.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.90 ₱121

-8.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$3.21 ₱205

-42.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$2.31 ₱147

12.12%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$3.44 ₱220

-47.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$3.39 ₱216

-41.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.07 ₱68.1

37.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.54 ₱34.40

33.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$2.52 ₱161

161.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.03

$7.77 ₱496

-27.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.35 ₱86.3

0.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.93 ₱123

10.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.23 ₱14.66

913.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.09

$12.07 ₱770

270.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$0.65 ₱41.22

492.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.21 ₱13.39

409.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.77

$1.86 ₱119

784.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.24 ₱79.4

77.42%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$20.6K ₱1.3M

66.31%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$18.6K ₱1.2M

108.53%

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

$161 €145

$155 ₱9,885

4.07%

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

$18.41 €16.52

$15.75 ₱1,005

16.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.37

$31.94 ₱2,038

2.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.97

$32.85 ₱2,096

35.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.14

$4.44 ₱283

330.18%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.61

$6.89 ₱440

39.33%

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

$668 €599

$131 ₱8,368

409.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$7,238 ₱461.8K

143.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.5

$32.32 ₱2,062

215.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.90

$18.96 ₱1,210

134.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.4

$80.0 ₱5,104

23.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$54.2 ₱3,458

128.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,443

$251 ₱16.0K

541.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,068

$189 ₱12.1K

529.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,523

$538 ₱34.3K

422.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,806

$307 ₱19.6K

555.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,034

$2,648 ₱169.0K

196.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,106

$1,225 ₱78.1K

273.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,413

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

7.5

-48.67%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Santiago City: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Santiago City

$189 21.9% 84.1% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Santiago City

$208 24.2% 23.5% $64

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Santiago City

$118 13.6% 51.5% $125

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Santiago City

$203 23.5% 4.6% $9.8

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Santiago City

$83 9.7% 49.7% $82

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Santiago City

$47 5.4% 26.8% $17

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Santiago City

$15 1.7% 76.8% $49

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $251 in Santiago City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $39 in Santiago City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $208 per month, with Santiago City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇵🇭 Santiago City

🕒 Local time

07:12 7:12 AM

15:12 3:12 PM

8 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

108,414

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 30, 2026: 1 USD = 0.897 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 30, 2026: 1 USD = 63.81 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.11 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Santiago City 12,000 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Santiago City

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 Santiago City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $862 in Santiago City, so Santiago City is about 61% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,315 in Lisbon and $1,293 in Santiago City 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $251 in Santiago City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $131 in Santiago City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 31% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $862 in Santiago City versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Santiago City but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Santiago City 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 Santiago City are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Santiago City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 61% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.