Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa Flamingo and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa Flamingo: $1,686 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

81

Cost of Living Index in Playa Flamingo
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Playa Flamingo Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Playa Flamingo

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,686

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa Flamingo and in Lisbon

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Playa Flamingo and in Lisbon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,686 in Playa Flamingo versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Playa Flamingo $1,686
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,670 in Playa Flamingo versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Playa Flamingo $2,670
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,654 in Playa Flamingo versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Playa Flamingo $3,654
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Playa Flamingo costs roughly 24% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Playa Flamingo 24% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 ₡5,314

$16.65 €14.95

-29.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 ₡28.1K

$61.7 €55.5

0.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.89 ₡4,463

$11.36 €10.20

-12.94%

Cappuccino

$4.36 ₡1,968

$2.97 €2.67

46.80%

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

$2.74 ₡1,235

$2.29 €2.06

19.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 ₡830

$1.74 €1.56

5.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,479

$3.40 €3.06

-3.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.34 ₡1,958

$3.31 €2.97

31.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.03 ₡915

$1.16 €1.04

75.00%

White Bread (500g)

$3.12 ₡1,406

$1.91 €1.72

63.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,130

$1.51 €1.36

66.23%

Eggs

$3.05 ₡1,374

$4.02 €3.61

-24.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.82 ₡4,881

$12.94 €11.62

-16.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.15 ₡4,580

$7.77 €6.98

30.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.80 ₡5,327

$17.76 €15.95

-33.56%

Apples (1kg)

$5.27 ₡2,380

$2.30 €2.07

129.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.58 ₡711

$1.73 €1.56

-8.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.86 ₡2,193

$1.86 €1.67

161.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.92 ₡1,768

$2.59 €2.33

51.35%

Potato (1kg)

$3.85 ₡1,739

$1.82 €1.64

111.54%

Onion (1kg)

$3.62 ₡1,632

$1.97 €1.77

83.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 ₡459

$1.47 €1.32

-30.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.09 ₡1,396

$0.72 €0.65

329.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.09 ₡2,296

$6.58 €5.91

-22.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$20.33 ₡9,176

$5.61 €5.04

262.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.77 ₡1,252

$1.36 €1.22

103.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 ₡1,658

$2.14 €1.92

71.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.39 ₡627

$2.33 €2.10

-40.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.51 ₡1,134

$3.85 €3.46

-34.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.55 ₡701

$1.07 €0.96

44.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.80 ₡3,971

$16.46 €14.79

-46.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 ₡693

$2.20 €1.98

-30.00%

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

$34.0K ₡15.3M

$34.2K €30.7K

-0.56%

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

$42.2K ₡19.0M

$38.7K €34.8K

8.94%

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

$94.5 ₡42.6K

$161 €145

-41.40%

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

$20.06 ₡9,050

$18.41 €16.54

8.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$58.9 ₡26.6K

$32.74 €29.41

79.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.0 ₡25.3K

$44.55 €40.02

25.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.92 ₡4,475

$19.10 €17.16

-48.06%

Cinema Ticket

$7.75 ₡3,498

$9.60 €8.62

-19.27%

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

$994 ₡448.6K

$668 €600

48.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,017 ₡4.1M

$17.6K €15.8K

-48.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 ₡32.0K

$102 €91.6

-30.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.3 ₡25.4K

$44.46 €39.94

26.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$130 ₡58.6K

$98.5 €88.5

31.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 ₡60.6K

$124 €111

8.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,604 ₡723.7K

$1,608 €1,445

-0.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$640 ₡288.9K

$1,190 €1,069

-46.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,962 ₡1.3M

$2,812 €2,526

5.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,259 ₡568.1K

$2,013 €1,808

-37.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,601 ₡1.6M

$7,839 €7,042

-54.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

3.85

123.90%

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

Last update for Playa Flamingo: October 25, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa Flamingo

$640 38%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 85.9% $550

Groceries & Markets

Playa Flamingo

$389 23.1%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 30% $117

Eating Out

Playa Flamingo

$220 13%

Lisbon

$243 11% 10.5% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Playa Flamingo

$176 10.5%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 5.8% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa Flamingo

$173 10.3%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 22.5% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Playa Flamingo

$72 4.2%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 10.9% $7.8

Getting Around

Playa Flamingo

$16 * 0.9%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 299% $47

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 $1,604 in Playa Flamingo and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $62 in Playa Flamingo vs $62 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $389 vs $272, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Playa Flamingo

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

16:13 4:13 PM

22:13 10:13 PM

6 h ahead of Playa Flamingo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 502 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

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

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa Flamingo Lisbon 8,130 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa Flamingo
Lisbon

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

Playa Flamingo vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,686 in Playa Flamingo and $2,210 in Lisbon, so Playa Flamingo is about 24% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,528 in Playa Flamingo and $3,315 in Lisbon 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: $1,604 in Playa Flamingo versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $994 in Playa Flamingo versus $668 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

All in, you’ll spend $1,686 per month in Playa Flamingo versus $2,210 in Lisbon – Playa Flamingo is about 24% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,686 in Playa Flamingo versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Playa Flamingo but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Playa Flamingo 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, Playa Flamingo and Lisbon are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.