Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Ana and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Ana: $1,026 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Santa Ana
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Santa Ana Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Santa Ana

🇸🇻 El Salvador

$1,026

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,026 in Santa Ana versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Santa Ana $1,026
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,625 in Santa Ana versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Santa Ana $1,625
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,225 in Santa Ana versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Santa Ana $2,225
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Santa Ana costs roughly 54% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Santa Ana is 24% below, Lisbon is 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.80 $6.80

$16.50 €14.67

-58.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.56 $44.56

$61.3 €54.5

-27.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.93 $6.93

$11.27 €10.03

-38.51%

Cappuccino

$3.64 $3.64

$3.06 €2.72

18.95%

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

$1.17 $1.17

$2.26 €2.01

-48.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 $0.82

$1.73 €1.54

-52.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.05 $2.05

$3.39 €3.02

-39.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.46 $3.46

$3.40 €3.02

1.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.80 $1.80

$1.12 €1.00

60.71%

White Bread (500g)

$2.86 $2.86

$1.86 €1.65

53.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.39 $1.39

$1.53 €1.36

-9.15%

Eggs

$2.97 $2.97

$3.96 €3.53

-25.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.49 $7.49

$12.76 €11.35

-41.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.00 $7.00

$7.90 €7.02

-11.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.29 $10.29

$16.97 €15.09

-39.36%

Apples (1kg)

$5.02 $5.02

$2.27 €2.02

121.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 $1.38

$1.75 €1.55

-21.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.68 $2.68

$1.85 €1.64

44.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.55 $3.55

$2.57 €2.28

38.13%

Potato (1kg)

$2.98 $2.98

$1.86 €1.65

60.22%

Onion (1kg)

$3.23 $3.23

$2.02 €1.80

59.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.01 $1.01

$1.44 €1.28

-29.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 $0.99

$0.82 €0.73

20.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 $3.96

$6.56 €5.83

-39.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.77 $11.77

$5.62 €5.00

109.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 $2.17

$1.28 €1.14

69.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 $2.98

$2.07 €1.84

43.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 $0.29

$2.35 €2.09

-87.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.96 $5.96

$3.99 €3.55

49.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.94 $2.94

$1.09 €0.97

169.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.64 $19.64

$16.64 €14.81

18.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.95 $0.95

$2.28 €2.03

-58.33%

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

$22.8K $22.8K

$33.7K €30.0K

-32.28%

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

$26.8K $26.8K

$39.3K €35.0K

-31.90%

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

$40.10 $40.10

$167 €149

-76.06%

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

$20.97 $20.97

$18.80 €16.72

11.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.73 $38.73

$33.09 €29.43

17.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.57 $34.57

$46.01 €40.93

-24.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

Cinema Ticket

$4.97 $4.97

$9.84 €8.75

-49.49%

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

$162 $162

$677 €602

-76.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,797 $4,797

$16.9K €15.1K

-71.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.5 $67.5

$101 €90.1

-33.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.93 $46.93

$45.76 €40.70

2.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 $120

$100.0 €88.9

20.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 $117

$123 €109

-4.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$640 $640

$1,614 €1,436

-60.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$271 $271

$1,197 €1,065

-77.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,019 $1,019

$2,862 €2,545

-64.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 $448

$1,990 €1,770

-77.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$457 $457

$1,588 €1,412

-71.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

29.87%

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

Last update for Santa Ana: October 10, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Santa Ana

$286 27.9%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 5.8% $17

Accommodation & Living

Santa Ana

$271 26.4%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 342% $926

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Ana

$158 15.5%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 5% $7.9

Eating Out

Santa Ana

$144 14%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 68.2% $98

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Ana

$100 9.7%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 120% $120

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Ana

$45 4.3%

Lisbon

$66 3% 47.6% $21

Getting Around

Santa Ana

$22 * 2.1%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 189% $41

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 $640 in Santa Ana and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 248% 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: $45.00 in Santa Ana vs $61.0 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $286 vs $269, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇸🇻 Santa Ana

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

17:27 5:27 PM

00:27 12:27 AM

7 h ahead of Santa Ana

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

167,200

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Santa Ana Lisbon 8,220 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Santa Ana
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

Santa Ana vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santa Ana and Lisbon differ by about 117% in total monthly costs ($1,026 vs $2,223 including rent). Santa Ana is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 248% lower in Lisbon. 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: $640 in Santa Ana versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 6% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,026 per month in Santa Ana versus $2,223 in Lisbon – a 117% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,026 in Santa Ana versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Santa Ana but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Santa Ana 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, Santa Ana and Lisbon 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 Santa Ana gentler on the wallet – expenses run 117% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.