Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Salvador and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in San Salvador: $1,629 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in San Salvador
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San Salvador Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index

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San Salvador

🇸🇻 El Salvador

$1,629

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in San Salvador 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 San Salvador and in Lisbon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,629 in San Salvador versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

San Salvador $1,629
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,449 in San Salvador versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

San Salvador $2,449
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,269 in San Salvador versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

San Salvador $3,269
Lisbon $4,341

Living in San Salvador costs roughly 26% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: San Salvador 20% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.58 $6.58

$16.65 €14.96

-60.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.57 $44.57

$61.7 €55.5

-27.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.06 $7.06

$11.36 €10.20

-37.85%

Cappuccino

$3.62 $3.62

$2.97 €2.67

21.89%

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

$1.13 $1.13

$2.29 €2.06

-50.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.79 $0.79

$1.74 €1.56

-54.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.97 $1.97

$3.40 €3.06

-42.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.50 $3.50

$3.31 €2.97

5.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 $1.79

$1.16 €1.04

54.31%

White Bread (500g)

$2.91 $2.91

$1.91 €1.72

52.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.37 $1.37

$1.51 €1.36

-9.27%

Eggs

$2.99 $2.99

$4.02 €3.61

-25.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.81 $7.81

$12.94 €11.62

-39.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 $6.92

$7.77 €6.99

-10.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.07 $10.07

$17.76 €15.96

-43.30%

Apples (1kg)

$4.93 $4.93

$2.30 €2.07

114.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 $1.42

$1.73 €1.56

-17.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.54 $2.54

$1.86 €1.67

36.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.54 $3.54

$2.59 €2.33

36.68%

Potato (1kg)

$2.98 $2.98

$1.82 €1.64

63.74%

Onion (1kg)

$3.26 $3.26

$1.97 €1.77

65.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.95 $0.95

$1.47 €1.32

-35.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 $0.93

$0.72 €0.65

29.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.05 $4.05

$6.58 €5.92

-38.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.77 $11.77

$5.61 €5.04

109.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.28 $2.28

$1.36 €1.22

67.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.92 $2.92

$2.14 €1.92

36.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 $0.31

$2.33 €2.10

-86.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$14.77 $14.77

$44.68 €40.14

-66.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.97 $5.97

$3.85 €3.46

55.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.04 $3.04

$1.07 €0.96

184.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.88 $19.88

$16.46 €14.79

20.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 $1.25

$2.20 €1.98

-43.18%

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

$25.5K $25.5K

$34.2K €30.7K

-25.52%

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

$26.7K $26.7K

$38.7K €34.8K

-31.00%

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

$129 $129

$161 €145

-20.08%

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

$20.87 $20.87

$18.41 €16.54

13.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.10 $42.10

$32.74 €29.41

28.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.34 $29.34

$44.55 €40.03

-34.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.36 $21.36

$19.10 €17.16

11.83%

Cinema Ticket

$5.13 $5.13

$9.60 €8.62

-46.56%

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

$161 $161

$668 €600

-75.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,729 $4,729

$17.6K €15.8K

-73.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.4 $66.4

$102 €91.7

-34.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.50 $47.50

$44.46 €39.95

6.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 $120

$98.5 €88.5

21.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 $117

$124 €111

-5.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$893 $893

$1,608 €1,445

-44.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$776 $776

$1,190 €1,069

-34.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,792 $1,792

$2,812 €2,527

-36.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,366 $1,366

$2,013 €1,809

-32.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,817 $2,817

$7,839 €7,043

-64.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,839 $1,839

$4,576 €4,111

-59.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$376 $376

$1,575 €1,415

-76.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.5

3.85

120.78%

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

Last update for San Salvador: October 26, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Salvador

$776 47.7%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 53.3% $414

Groceries & Markets

San Salvador

$285 17.5%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 4.4% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Salvador

$192 11.8%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 10.7% $21

Clothing & Footwear

San Salvador

$158 9.7%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 5% $8

Eating Out

San Salvador

$142 8.7%

Lisbon

$243 11% 71.1% $101

Sport & Entertainment

San Salvador

$40 2.4%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 61% $24

Getting Around

San Salvador

$37 2.3%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 70% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $893 in San Salvador and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 4.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $45 in San Salvador vs $62 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $285 vs $272, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇸🇻 San Salvador

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

05:07 5:07 AM

11:07 11:07 AM

6 h ahead of San Salvador

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

316,090 Capital

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.899 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

San Salvador Lisbon 8,210 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

San Salvador
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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

San Salvador vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Salvador and Lisbon differ by about 36% in total monthly costs ($1,629 vs $2,210 including rent). San Salvador is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 76% lower in San Salvador. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $893 in San Salvador versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $161 in San Salvador versus $668 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 4% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,629 in San Salvador versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in San Salvador but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes San Salvador 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.

It comes down to priorities – San Salvador wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.