Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Cruz, Costa Rica and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Cruz: $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.

83

Cost of Living Index in Santa Cruz
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Santa Cruz Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Santa Cruz

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,686

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/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: $1,686 in Santa Cruz versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Santa Cruz $1,686
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,662 in Santa Cruz versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Santa Cruz $2,662
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,637 in Santa Cruz versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Santa Cruz $3,637
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Santa Cruz 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: Santa Cruz 24% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.17 ₡5,493

$16.65 €14.95

-26.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 ₡28.1K

$61.7 €55.5

0.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.82 ₡4,882

$11.36 €10.20

-4.75%

Cappuccino

$4.43 ₡1,999

$2.97 €2.67

49.16%

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

$2.32 ₡1,048

$2.29 €2.06

1.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 ₡871

$1.74 €1.56

10.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.36 ₡1,514

$3.40 €3.06

-1.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.49 ₡2,026

$3.31 €2.97

35.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.43 ₡1,097

$1.16 €1.04

109.48%

White Bread (500g)

$3.08 ₡1,391

$1.91 €1.72

61.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.40 ₡1,082

$1.51 €1.36

58.94%

Eggs

$3.49 ₡1,573

$4.02 €3.61

-13.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.74 ₡4,847

$12.94 €11.62

-17.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.59 ₡4,777

$7.77 €6.98

36.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 ₡6,297

$17.76 €15.95

-21.40%

Apples (1kg)

$5.10 ₡2,301

$2.30 €2.07

121.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.13 ₡510

$1.73 €1.56

-34.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.68 ₡2,114

$1.86 €1.67

151.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.85 ₡1,737

$2.59 €2.33

48.65%

Potato (1kg)

$3.75 ₡1,693

$1.82 €1.64

106.04%

Onion (1kg)

$3.60 ₡1,626

$1.97 €1.77

82.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 ₡491

$1.47 €1.32

-25.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.21 ₡1,448

$0.72 €0.65

345.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.86 ₡2,646

$6.58 €5.91

-10.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.73 ₡8,904

$5.61 €5.04

251.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,310

$1.36 €1.22

113.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.62 ₡1,635

$2.14 €1.92

69.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.29 ₡580

$2.33 €2.10

-44.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.49 ₡1,124

$3.85 €3.46

-35.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.62 ₡729

$1.07 €0.96

51.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.93 ₡4,031

$16.46 €14.79

-45.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡685

$2.20 €1.98

-30.91%

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

$34.4K ₡15.5M

$34.2K €30.7K

0.49%

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

$42.2K ₡19.0M

$38.7K €34.8K

8.99%

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

$96.5 ₡43.5K

$161 €145

-40.14%

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

$35.12 ₡15.8K

$18.41 €16.54

90.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$60.0 ₡27.1K

$32.74 €29.41

83.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.7 ₡30.1K

$44.55 €40.02

49.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

Cinema Ticket

$6.54 ₡2,949

$9.60 €8.62

-31.87%

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

$966 ₡435.9K

$668 €600

44.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.3K ₡7.8M

$17.6K €15.8K

-1.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.8 ₡32.4K

$102 €91.6

-29.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.0 ₡24.8K

$44.46 €39.94

23.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$131 ₡59.0K

$98.5 €88.5

32.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 ₡60.1K

$124 €111

7.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$785 ₡354.4K

$1,608 €1,445

-51.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$599 ₡270.2K

$1,190 €1,069

-49.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,081 ₡939.1K

$2,812 €2,526

-26.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,165 ₡525.8K

$2,013 €1,808

-42.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

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 Santa Cruz: October 27, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Cruz

$599 35.5%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 98.7% $591

Groceries & Markets

Santa Cruz

$399 23.6%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 31.7% $126

Eating Out

Santa Cruz

$226 13.4%

Lisbon

$243 11% 7.4% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Cruz

$192 11.4%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 10.8% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Cruz

$176 10.4%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 5.7% $10

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Cruz

$80 4.7%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 20.1% $16

Getting Around

Santa Cruz

$16 * 0.9%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 302% $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 $785 in Santa Cruz and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

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

Good to know

🇨🇷 Santa Cruz

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

15:41 3:41 PM

21:41 9:41 PM

6 h ahead of Santa Cruz

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,665

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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Highest

Between locations

Santa Cruz Lisbon 8,120 km ≈ 11 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

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

You’d need roughly $2,529 in Santa Cruz 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: $785 in Santa Cruz versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $966 in Santa Cruz 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 Santa Cruz versus $2,210 in Lisbon – Santa Cruz is about 24% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Santa Cruz gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Safety-wise, Santa Cruz and Lisbon are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.