Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Cruz and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Cruz: $1,891 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

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Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Santa Cruz

🇦🇼 Aruba

$1,891

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,891 in Santa Cruz versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Santa Cruz $1,891
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,891 in Santa Cruz versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Santa Cruz $2,891
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,890 in Santa Cruz versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Santa Cruz $3,890
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Santa Cruz costs roughly 15% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Santa Cruz 40% above, Lisbon 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

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

$2.26 €2.01

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

Milk (1 liter)

$2.09 AWG 3.74

$1.12 €1.00

86.61%

White Bread (500g)

$2.71 AWG 4.85

$1.86 €1.65

45.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.52 AWG 8.08

$1.53 €1.36

195.42%

Eggs

$4.64 AWG 8.31

$3.96 €3.53

17.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.92 AWG 14.17

$12.76 €11.35

-37.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.65 AWG 13.69

$7.90 €7.02

-3.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.48 AWG 11.60

$16.97 €15.09

-61.81%

Apples (1kg)

$4.54 AWG 8.13

$2.27 €2.02

100.00%

Banana (1kg)

$4.36 AWG 7.81

$1.75 €1.55

149.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$8.08 AWG 14.45

$1.85 €1.64

336.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.60 AWG 11.80

$2.57 €2.28

156.81%

Potato (1kg)

$6.88 AWG 12.31

$1.86 €1.65

269.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.91 AWG 3.42

$2.02 €1.80

-5.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.03 AWG 5.43

$1.44 €1.28

110.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$4.37 AWG 7.82

$0.82 €0.73

432.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.45 AWG 18.70

$6.56 €5.83

59.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.07 AWG 34.12

$5.62 €5.00

239.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.56 AWG 4.57

$1.28 €1.14

100.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 AWG 5.55

$2.07 €1.84

49.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.92 AWG 3.43

$2.35 €2.09

-18.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$157 AWG 281

$44.18 €39.30

256.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$19.50 AWG 34.89

$3.99 €3.55

388.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.79 AWG 35.41

$16.64 €14.81

18.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

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

$33.7K €30.0K

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

$39.3K €35.0K

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

$140 AWG 251

$167 €149

-16.29%

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

$71.4 AWG 128

$18.80 €16.72

280.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$207 AWG 371

$33.09 €29.43

526.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$70.2 AWG 126

$46.01 €40.93

52.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$46.90 AWG 83.9

$19.19 €17.07

144.40%

Cinema Ticket

$8.44 AWG 15.10

$9.84 €8.75

-14.23%

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

$139 AWG 248

$677 €602

-79.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$77.2 AWG 138

$101 €90.1

-23.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$111 AWG 198

$45.76 €40.70

141.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$140 AWG 250

$100.0 €88.9

39.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 AWG 248

$123 €109

12.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,271 AWG 2,274

$1,614 €1,436

-21.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$565 AWG 1,010

$1,197 €1,065

-52.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,532 AWG 2,742

$2,862 €2,545

-46.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,389 AWG 2,485

$1,990 €1,770

-30.23%

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)

$3,638 AWG 6,511

$1,588 €1,412

129.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

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

Last update for Santa Cruz: October 11, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Cruz

–

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Groceries & Markets

Santa Cruz

–

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Eating Out

Santa Cruz

–

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Cruz

–

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Cruz

–

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Cruz

–

Lisbon

$66 3%

Getting Around

Santa Cruz

–

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,271 in Santa Cruz and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santa Cruz pays 129% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Good to know

🇦🇼 Santa Cruz

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

20:16 8:16 PM

01:16 1:16 AM

5 h ahead of Santa Cruz

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,236

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Aruban Florin AWG ƒ

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 AWG = 0.559 USD

1 AWG = 0.497 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to AWG – Aruban Florin Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇼 Aruban Florin (ƒ)

Aruban Florin exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.79 AWG (1 AWG = 0.559 USD). 1 EUR = 2.01 AWG (1 AWG = 0.497 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to AWG in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Santa Cruz Lisbon 6,620 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

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

Santa Cruz and Lisbon differ by about 18% in total monthly costs ($1,891 vs $2,223 including rent). Santa Cruz is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 129% higher in Santa Cruz, 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: $1,271 in Santa Cruz 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 58% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,891 per month in Santa Cruz versus $2,223 in Lisbon – a 18% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,891 in Santa Cruz versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Santa Cruz but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Santa Cruz 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 Cruz 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 Cruz gentler on the wallet – expenses run 18% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.