Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Cruz do Sul and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Cruz do Sul: $866 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Santa Cruz do Sul
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Santa Cruz do Sul Living Index
106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Santa Cruz do Sul

🇧🇷 Brazil

$866

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $866 in Santa Cruz do Sul versus $2,206 in Lisbon.

Santa Cruz do Sul $866
Lisbon $2,206

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,393 in Santa Cruz do Sul versus $3,276 in Lisbon.

Santa Cruz do Sul $1,393
Lisbon $3,276

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,919 in Santa Cruz do Sul versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Santa Cruz do Sul $1,919
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Santa Cruz do Sul costs roughly 61% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Santa Cruz do Sul is 36% below, Lisbon is 63% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.50 R$30.00

$16.86 €15.00

-67.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.04 R$197

$61.0 €54.3

-40.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.30 R$34.41

$10.98 €9.77

-42.62%

Cappuccino

$2.33 R$12.70

$3.05 €2.71

-23.61%

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

$1.24 R$6.77

$2.28 €2.03

-45.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.02 R$5.59

$1.68 €1.50

-39.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.25 R$12.27

$3.44 €3.06

-34.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 R$14.77

$3.91 €3.48

-30.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.91 R$4.94

$1.15 €1.02

-20.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 R$8.34

$1.89 €1.68

-19.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.98 R$5.35

$1.50 €1.34

-34.67%

Eggs

$2.21 R$12.05

$4.12 €3.66

-46.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.89 R$54.0

$13.01 €11.57

-23.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.38 R$23.89

$8.04 €7.16

-45.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.10 R$49.68

$17.89 €15.92

-49.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.23 R$12.19

$2.27 €2.02

-1.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.35 R$7.39

$1.74 €1.55

-22.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.24 R$6.79

$1.82 €1.62

-31.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.48 R$8.05

$2.69 €2.39

-44.98%

Potato (1kg)

$1.11 R$6.04

$1.77 €1.57

-37.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 R$5.50

$1.94 €1.72

-47.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.79 R$4.31

$1.46 €1.30

-45.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.74 R$4.01

$0.76 €0.68

-2.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.28 R$12.44

$6.66 €5.92

-65.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.34 R$40.07

$5.64 €5.02

30.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 R$5.94

$1.29 €1.15

-15.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.99 R$10.86

$2.14 €1.90

-7.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.94 R$5.14

$2.30 €2.05

-59.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.17

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 R$7.20

$3.98 €3.54

-66.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.73 R$4.01

$0.64 €0.57

14.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.69 R$41.99

$18.93 €16.84

-59.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 R$6.68

$2.28 €2.03

-46.49%

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

$21.7K R$118.5K

$33.4K €29.7K

-34.99%

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

$32.3K R$176.2K

$38.5K €34.3K

-16.21%

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

$72.7 R$397

$158 €141

-54.02%

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

$11.41 R$62.3

$17.54 €15.61

-34.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.47 R$112

$31.18 €27.75

-34.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.21 R$143

$44.64 €39.73

-41.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.89

Cinema Ticket

$6.74 R$36.79

$9.58 €8.52

-29.65%

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

$520 R$2,838

$674 €599

-22.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.8K R$124.7K

$18.7K €16.7K

21.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.12 R$252

$102 €90.9

-54.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 R$290

$45.90 €40.85

15.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.2 R$514

$102 €91.0

-7.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.3 R$400

$122 €109

-39.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$524 R$2,862

$1,641 €1,460

-68.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$288 R$1,570

$1,187 €1,057

-75.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$890 R$4,860

$2,825 €2,514

-68.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$591 R$3,224

$2,018 €1,796

-70.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €6,973

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,183

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$372 R$2,029

$1,687 €1,501

-77.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.5

3.82

201.05%

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

Last update for Santa Cruz do Sul: October 31, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Cruz do Sul

$288 33.2%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 313% $900

Groceries & Markets

Santa Cruz do Sul

$189 21.8%

Lisbon

$275 12.5% 45.3% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Cruz do Sul

$120 13.9%

Lisbon

$168 7.6% 39.6% $47

Eating Out

Santa Cruz do Sul

$116 13.5%

Lisbon

$245 11.1% 111% $129

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Cruz do Sul

$105 12.1%

Lisbon

$207 9.4% 97.8% $102

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Cruz do Sul

$40 4.6%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 60.7% $24

Getting Around

Santa Cruz do Sul

$8.8 * 1%

Lisbon

$60 2.7% 590% $52

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 $524 in Santa Cruz do Sul and $1,641 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 4.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $36 in Santa Cruz do Sul vs $61 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $189 vs $275 per month, with Santa Cruz do Sul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Santa Cruz do Sul

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

04:47 4:47 AM

07:47 7:47 AM

3 h ahead of Santa Cruz do Sul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

133,246

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.183 USD

1 BRL = 0.163 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 5.46 BRL (1 BRL = 0.183 USD). 1 EUR = 6.14 BRL (1 BRL = 0.163 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Santa Cruz do Sul Lisbon 8,830 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $866 in Santa Cruz do Sul and $2,206 in Lisbon, so Santa Cruz do Sul is about 61% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 78% lower in Santa Cruz do Sul. 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: $524 in Santa Cruz do Sul versus $1,641 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 45% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $866 per month in Santa Cruz do Sul versus $2,206 in Lisbon – Santa Cruz do Sul is about 61% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $866 in Santa Cruz do Sul versus $2,206 in Lisbon, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Santa Cruz do Sul but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Santa Cruz do Sul 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 – Santa Cruz do Sul wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.