Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Turrialba

For one person, living is cheaper in Turrialba: $1,666 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index
83

Cost of Living Index in Turrialba
Learn more

Turrialba Living Index

Jump to prices

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Turrialba

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,666

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Turrialba

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,666 in Turrialba.

Lisbon $2,210
Turrialba $1,666

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $2,775 in Turrialba.

Lisbon $3,275
Turrialba $2,775

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $3,885 in Turrialba.

Lisbon $4,341
Turrialba $3,885

Living in Lisbon is roughly 33% more expensive than in Turrialba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 62% above, Turrialba 22% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.87

$12.26 ₡5,515

35.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.2

$61.1 ₡27.5K

1.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.14

$11.76 ₡5,288

-3.40%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.65

$4.41 ₡1,984

-32.65%

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

$2.29 €2.04

$2.70 ₡1,216

-15.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.88 ₡844

-7.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.04

$3.36 ₡1,510

1.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.96

$4.49 ₡2,020

-26.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.03

$2.31 ₡1,040

-49.78%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$3.06 ₡1,377

-37.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$2.52 ₡1,134

-40.08%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.59

$3.59 ₡1,614

11.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.56

$10.83 ₡4,870

19.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.94

$10.46 ₡4,706

-25.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.86

$13.94 ₡6,269

27.40%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$5.11 ₡2,296

-54.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.57 ₡705

10.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$4.71 ₡2,118

-60.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.31

$3.89 ₡1,750

-33.42%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$3.80 ₡1,711

-52.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$3.70 ₡1,662

-46.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.11 ₡501

32.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$3.12 ₡1,404

-76.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.88

$5.98 ₡2,687

10.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.01

$19.74 ₡8,879

-71.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.77 ₡1,244

-50.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$3.52 ₡1,584

-39.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.08

$1.19 ₡535

95.80%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €39.91

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.44

$2.50 ₡1,126

54.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.56 ₡700

-31.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.70

$8.57 ₡3,854

92.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.55 ₡698

41.94%

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

$34.2K €30.5K

$34.1K ₡15.3M

0.22%

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

$38.7K €34.6K

$42.0K ₡18.9M

-7.81%

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

$161 €144

$95.4 ₡42.9K

69.06%

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

$18.41 €16.44

$36.16 ₡16.3K

-49.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.24

$58.4 ₡26.3K

-43.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.79

$75.4 ₡33.9K

-40.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.06

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.57

$7.90 ₡3,552

21.52%

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

$668 €596

$972 ₡437.1K

-31.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$17.1K ₡7.7M

3.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.1

$71.9 ₡32.3K

41.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.72

$55.8 ₡25.1K

-20.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.0

$131 ₡58.7K

-24.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €110

$131 ₡58.9K

-5.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,437

$741 ₡333.4K

116.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,063

$565 ₡254.2K

110.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,512

$2,134 ₡959.8K

31.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,798

$1,388 ₡624.3K

45.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,002

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,087

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,407

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

8.62

-55.34%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Turrialba: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Turrialba

$565 33.9% 52.5% $625

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Turrialba

$399 24% 46.6% $127

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Turrialba

$230 13.8% 5% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Turrialba

$190 11.4% 10.6% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Turrialba

$175 10.5% 5.6% $9.2

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Turrialba

$91 5.5% 43% $27

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Turrialba

$15 * 0.9% 76.2% $48

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $741 in Turrialba. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $61 in Turrialba. Groceries flip the comparison at $272 vs $399, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇷 Turrialba

🕒 Local time

05:13 5:13 AM

23:13 11:13 PM

6 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

27,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.893 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Turrialba 7,980 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Turrialba

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 Turrialba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,666 in Turrialba, so Turrialba is about 25% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,315 in Lisbon and $2,499 in Turrialba 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 $741 in Turrialba. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $972 in Turrialba. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $1,666 in Turrialba – Turrialba is about 25% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,500 a month, though Turrialba gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 Turrialba are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.