Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Santo Domingo

For one person, living is cheaper in Santo Domingo: $1,094 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,400 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
52

Cost of Living Index in Santo Domingo
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Santo Domingo Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Santo Domingo

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$1,094

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Santo Domingo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,094 in Santo Domingo.

Lisbon $2,210
Santo Domingo $1,094

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,713 in Santo Domingo.

Lisbon $3,275
Santo Domingo $1,713

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,333 in Santo Domingo.

Lisbon $4,341
Santo Domingo $2,333

Living in Lisbon is roughly 102% more expensive than in Santo Domingo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Santo Domingo is 20% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$9.87 DOP 605

68.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$48.28 DOP 2,957

27.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$7.47 DOP 457

52.07%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$2.30 DOP 141

29.13%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$1.05 DOP 64.3

118.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.58 DOP 35.48

200.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.52 DOP 154

34.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$3.16 DOP 193

4.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.42 DOP 86.8

-18.31%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$1.52 DOP 93.3

25.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.61 DOP 98.3

-6.21%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$2.32 DOP 142

73.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$6.98 DOP 428

85.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$5.47 DOP 335

42.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$6.72 DOP 412

164.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$3.21 DOP 197

-28.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$0.77 DOP 47.04

124.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$2.65 DOP 163

-29.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.79 DOP 110

44.69%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$1.93 DOP 118

-5.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$2.23 DOP 137

-11.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.99 DOP 60.4

48.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.98 DOP 60.0

-26.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$5.24 DOP 321

25.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$10.18 DOP 623

-44.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.61 DOP 160

-47.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$2.83 DOP 173

-24.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.60 DOP 36.46

288.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$16.31 DOP 999

173.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$3.20 DOP 196

20.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$2.23 DOP 137

-52.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$5.63 DOP 345

192.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.38 DOP 84.3

59.42%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$28.4K DOP 1.7M

20.49%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$34.1K DOP 2.1M

13.67%

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

$161 €145

$93.0 DOP 5,694

73.41%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$31.34 DOP 1,920

-41.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$36.15 DOP 2,214

-9.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$29.12 DOP 1,783

52.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$23.71 DOP 1,452

-19.44%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$7.28 DOP 446

31.87%

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

$668 €600

$245 DOP 15.0K

172.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$7,282 DOP 446.0K

141.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$45.14 DOP 2,765

126.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$46.00 DOP 2,817

-3.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$87.4 DOP 5,354

12.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$122 DOP 7,441

1.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$709 DOP 43.4K

126.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$349 DOP 21.3K

241.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$1,408 DOP 86.2K

99.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$615 DOP 37.6K

227.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$2,462 DOP 150.8K

218.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$1,351 DOP 82.7K

238.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$587 DOP 35.9K

168.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

13.56

-71.61%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Santo Domingo: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Santo Domingo

$349 31.9% 70.7% $842

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Santo Domingo

$219 20% 19.6% $53

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Santo Domingo

$154 14.1% 36.4% $88

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Santo Domingo

$160 14.7% 24.4% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Santo Domingo

$135 12.3% 18.6% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Santo Domingo

$44 4% 31.5% $20

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Santo Domingo

$33 3% 47.7% $30

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $709 in Santo Domingo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $48 in Santo Domingo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $219 per month, with Santo Domingo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇩🇴 Santo Domingo

🕒 Local time

20:48 8:48 PM

16:48 4:48 PM

4 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

965,040 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Dominican Peso DOP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 DOP = 1.63 USD

100 DOP = 1.47 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DOP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 61.24 DOP (100 DOP = 1.63 USD). 1 EUR = 68.17 DOP (100 DOP = 1.47 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Santo Domingo 6,230 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

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City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Lisbon vs Santo Domingo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,094 in Santo Domingo, so Santo Domingo is about 51% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 2.7 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 $709 in Santo Domingo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $245 in Santo Domingo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 24% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,094 in Santo Domingo versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Santo Domingo but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Santo Domingo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Santo Domingo 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.

Expats usually find Santo Domingo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 51% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.