Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Santiago

For one person, living is cheaper in Santiago: $1,163 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $12,600 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
56

Cost of Living Index in Santiago
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Santiago Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Santiago

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,163

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Santiago

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,163 in Santiago.

Lisbon $2,210
Santiago $1,163

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,844 in Santiago.

Lisbon $3,275
Santiago $1,844

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,525 in Santiago.

Lisbon $4,341
Santiago $2,525

Living in Lisbon is roughly 90% more expensive than in Santiago, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Santiago is 15% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.91

$9.93 CLP 9,866

67.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$49.88 CLP 49.5K

23.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.17

$8.64 CLP 8,585

31.48%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$3.16 CLP 3,140

-6.01%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.65 CLP 1,642

38.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.24 CLP 1,235

40.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$4.12 CLP 4,091

-17.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.96

$4.60 CLP 4,574

-28.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.22 CLP 1,214

-4.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.82 CLP 1,803

4.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$1.58 CLP 1,572

-4.43%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$4.04 CLP 4,014

-0.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$10.96 CLP 10.9K

18.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.96

$6.66 CLP 6,616

16.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.91

$10.32 CLP 10.3K

72.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$2.02 CLP 2,002

13.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.49 CLP 1,479

16.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.58 CLP 1,568

17.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$1.72 CLP 1,704

50.58%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.04 CLP 1,037

75.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.51 CLP 1,499

30.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.22 CLP 1,210

20.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.10 CLP 1,093

-34.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$5.10 CLP 5,063

29.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$5.93 CLP 5,891

-5.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.48 CLP 1,470

-8.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.25 CLP 2,232

-4.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.84 CLP 832

177.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.01

$40.64 CLP 40.4K

9.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$0.38 CLP 378

913.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.82 CLP 813

30.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.74

$11.53 CLP 11.5K

42.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.52 CLP 1,514

44.74%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$16.8K CLP 16.7M

103.16%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$24.9K CLP 24.8M

55.38%

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

$161 €144

$146 CLP 144.7K

10.65%

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

$18.41 €16.49

$12.20 CLP 12.1K

50.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.32

$18.80 CLP 18.7K

74.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.90

$32.41 CLP 32.2K

37.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.10

$11.68 CLP 11.6K

63.53%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$7.58 CLP 7,534

26.65%

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

$668 €598

$440 CLP 436.9K

51.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$10.7K CLP 10.6M

65.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$48.81 CLP 48.5K

109.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.82

$28.87 CLP 28.7K

54.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.2

$64.4 CLP 63.9K

53.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$80.9 CLP 80.4K

52.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,440

$497 CLP 493.6K

223.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$373 CLP 370.9K

218.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,519

$989 CLP 982.1K

184.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,803

$750 CLP 745.0K

168.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,021

$2,960 CLP 2.9M

164.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,098

$2,517 CLP 2.5M

81.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$771 CLP 765.9K

104.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

5.39

-28.57%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Santiago: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Santiago

$373 32.1% 68.6% $817

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Santiago

$232 19.9% 14.8% $40

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Santiago

$185 15.9% 23.9% $58

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Santiago

$177 15.2% 16.8% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Santiago

$100 8.6% 39.5% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Santiago

$48 4.1% 25.4% $16

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Santiago

$48 4.2% 23.3% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $497 in Santiago. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $50 in Santiago for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $232 per month, with Santiago cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇱 Santiago

🕒 Local time

12:43 12:43 PM

09:43 9:43 AM

3 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

6,139,087 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chilean Peso CLP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 CLP = 10.07 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.02 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CLP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

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

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 993 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.01 USD). 1 EUR = 1,109 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.02 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Santiago 10,220 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

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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 Santiago: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,163 in Santiago, so Santiago is about 47% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 2 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 $497 in Santiago. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $440 in Santiago. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 17% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,163 in Santiago versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Santiago but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Santiago 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.

Expats usually find Santiago gentler on the wallet – expenses run 47% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.