Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Santos

For one person, living is cheaper in Santos: $1,150 a month against $2,202 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
55

Cost of Living Index in Santos
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Santos Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Santos

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,150

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Santos

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $1,150 in Santos.

Lisbon $2,202
Santos $1,150

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $1,736 in Santos.

Lisbon $3,274
Santos $1,736

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $2,322 in Santos.

Lisbon $4,346
Santos $2,322

Living in Lisbon is roughly 91% more expensive than in Santos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$8.12 R$41.18

109.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$31.84 R$161

95.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$7.14 R$36.19

54.34%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$2.75 R$13.96

13.45%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$1.43 R$7.24

58.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.92 R$4.68

89.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$2.52 R$12.76

35.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$2.92 R$14.79

28.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.09 R$5.50

7.34%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.85 R$9.39

0.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.36 R$6.91

13.24%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$2.49 R$12.61

63.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$12.14 R$61.6

6.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$4.86 R$24.63

62.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$9.91 R$50.2

78.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$2.11 R$10.69

7.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.23 R$6.23

42.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.99 R$10.07

-5.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$1.85 R$9.37

38.38%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.35 R$6.86

37.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.29 R$6.56

52.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.16 R$5.87

25.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$0.95 R$4.80

-18.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$2.35 R$11.89

185.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$7.98 R$40.46

-28.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.33 R$6.76

3.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$1.94 R$9.83

8.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$1.12 R$5.66

107.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

$49.37 R$250

-10.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$1.56 R$7.89

153.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$1.61 R$8.16

-34.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$17.80 R$90.2

-3.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$1.24 R$6.31

76.61%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$23.7K R$120.3K

42.40%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$33.5K R$169.6K

14.36%

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

$164 €146

$104 R$529

57.07%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$11.95 R$60.6

54.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$21.90 R$111

50.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$28.96 R$147

58.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

$57.0 R$289

-67.24%

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$8.59 R$43.55

13.50%

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

$684 €608

$280 R$1,418

144.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$10.2K R$52.0K

71.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$55.5 R$281

87.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$36.69 R$186

25.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$95.7 R$485

4.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$60.7 R$307

105.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$543 R$2,754

192.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$424 R$2,148

175.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$992 R$5,031

187.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$686 R$3,478

190.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$2,413 R$12.2K

222.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$1,776 R$9,004

148.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

$584 R$2,958

174.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

12.79

-69.90%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Santos: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Santos

$424 36.9% 63.8% $745

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Santos

$219 19.1% 19.6% $54

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Santos

$147 12.8% 40.5% $100

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Santos

$138 12% 35.8% $77

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Santos

$112 9.7% 33.6% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Santos

$46 4% 29.4% $19

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Santos

$63 5.5% 0.8% $0.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,589 in Lisbon and $543 in Santos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 174% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $62.0 in Lisbon vs $32.00 in Santos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $219 per month, with Santos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇧🇷 Santos

🕒 Local time

13:29 1:29 PM

09:29 9:29 AM

4 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

418,608

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Santos 7,970 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
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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 Santos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Santos differ by about 91% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $1,150 including rent). Santos is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 174% higher in Lisbon, 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: $1,589 in Lisbon versus $543 in Santos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $684 in Lisbon versus $280 in Santos. 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 $1,150 in Santos versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Santos but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Santos 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 Santos are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Santos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 91% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.