Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Santiago de los Caballeros

For one person, living is cheaper in Santiago de los Caballeros: $916 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $15,500 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Santiago de los Caballeros
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Santiago de los Caballeros Living Index

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Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Santiago de los Caballeros

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$916

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Santiago de los Caballeros

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $916 in Santiago de los Caballeros.

Lisbon $2,210
Santiago de los Caballeros $916

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,412 in Santiago de los Caballeros.

Lisbon $3,275
Santiago de los Caballeros $1,412

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,909 in Santiago de los Caballeros.

Lisbon $4,341
Santiago de los Caballeros $1,909

Living in Lisbon is roughly 141% more expensive than in Santiago de los Caballeros, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Santiago de los Caballeros is 33% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$8.32 DOP 500

100.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$40.50 DOP 2,435

52.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$6.82 DOP 410

66.57%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$1.81 DOP 109

64.09%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$0.66 DOP 39.48

246.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.37 DOP 22.50

370.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$2.49 DOP 150

36.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$3.20 DOP 193

3.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.15 DOP 69.0

0.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.57 DOP 94.5

21.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.50 DOP 90.0

0.67%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$1.50 DOP 90.0

168.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$6.07 DOP 365

113.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$3.64 DOP 219

113.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$4.73 DOP 285

275.48%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$3.20 DOP 192

-28.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$0.81 DOP 48.94

113.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$2.63 DOP 158

-29.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$1.79 DOP 107

44.69%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.93 DOP 116

-5.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$2.12 DOP 127

-7.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.86 DOP 51.7

70.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.94 DOP 56.2

-23.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$4.69 DOP 282

40.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$10.14 DOP 610

-44.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.52 DOP 152

-46.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.97 DOP 179

-27.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.55 DOP 33.21

323.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

$29.45 DOP 1,771

51.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$2.46 DOP 148

56.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$2.25 DOP 135

-52.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$5.86 DOP 353

180.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.43 DOP 85.9

53.85%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$14.6K DOP 877.8K

134.20%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$25.7K DOP 1.5M

50.76%

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

$161 €144

$91.8 DOP 5,518

75.70%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$26.28 DOP 1,580

-29.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$35.26 DOP 2,120

-7.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$24.76 DOP 1,489

79.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$4.93 DOP 297

94.73%

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

$668 €598

$145 DOP 8,728

359.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$5,296 DOP 318.4K

232.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$26.50 DOP 1,593

284.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$45.81 DOP 2,754

-2.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$61.7 DOP 3,707

59.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$66.7 DOP 4,010

85.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$674 DOP 40.5K

138.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$267 DOP 16.0K

346.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$1,513 DOP 91.0K

85.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$469 DOP 28.2K

329.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

$926 DOP 55.7K

746.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

$908 DOP 54.6K

403.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$536 DOP 32.3K

193.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

-65.00%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Santiago de los Caballeros: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Santiago de los Caballeros

$267 29.1% 77.6% $923

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Santiago de los Caballeros

$194 21.2% 28.9% $79

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Santiago de los Caballeros

$132 14.4% 45.7% $111

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Santiago de los Caballeros

$153 16.7% 27.8% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Santiago de los Caballeros

$90 9.9% 45.6% $76

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Santiago de los Caballeros

$35 3.8% 45.7% $29

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Santiago de los Caballeros

$45 5% 28.2% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $674 in Santiago de los Caballeros. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $40 in Santiago de los Caballeros for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $194 per month, with Santiago de los Caballeros cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇩🇴 Santiago de los Caballeros

🕒 Local time

00:18 12:18 AM

20:18 8:18 PM

4 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

1,836,778

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Dominican Peso DOP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 DOP = 1.66 USD

100 DOP = 1.49 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DOP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 60.13 DOP (100 DOP = 1.66 USD). 1 EUR = 66.94 DOP (100 DOP = 1.49 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Lisbon Santiago de los Caballeros 6,230 km ≈ 8 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 Santiago de los Caballeros: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $916 in Santiago de los Caballeros, so Santiago de los Caballeros is about 59% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 2.9 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $674 in Santiago de los Caballeros. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $145 in Santiago de los Caballeros. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 41% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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.

Expats usually find Santiago de los Caballeros gentler on the wallet – expenses run 59% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.