Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Pola and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Pola: $1,647 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Santa Pola
🇪🇸 Spain
$1,647
/mo nomad
Lisbon
🇵🇹 Portugal
$2,223
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,647 in Santa Pola versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

  • Santa Pola $1,647
  • Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,408 in Santa Pola versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

  • Santa Pola $2,408
  • Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,170 in Santa Pola versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

  • Santa Pola $3,170
  • Lisbon $4,319

Living in Santa Pola costs roughly 26% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Santa Pola 22% above, Lisbon 65% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Santa Pola
Lisbon
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$16.93 €15.06
$16.50 €14.67
2.61%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$55.7 €49.52
$61.3 €54.5
-9.11%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.25 €10.00
$11.27 €10.03
-0.18%
Cappuccino
$2.34 €2.08
$3.06 €2.72
-23.53%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.57 €2.29
$2.26 €2.01
13.72%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.78 €1.59
$1.73 €1.54
2.89%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.46 €3.08
$3.39 €3.02
2.06%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.63 €3.23
$3.40 €3.02
6.76%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Santa Pola
Lisbon
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.21 €1.08
$1.12 €1.00
8.04%
White Bread (500g)
$1.50 €1.33
$1.86 €1.65
-19.35%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.55 €1.38
$1.53 €1.36
1.31%
Eggs
$3.20 €2.84
$3.96 €3.53
-19.19%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$13.64 €12.14
$12.76 €11.35
6.90%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.31 €7.39
$7.90 €7.02
5.19%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$15.66 €13.93
$16.97 €15.09
-7.72%
Apples (1kg)
$2.51 €2.23
$2.27 €2.02
10.57%
Banana (1kg)
$1.61 €1.44
$1.75 €1.55
-8.00%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.92 €1.71
$1.85 €1.64
3.78%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.51 €2.23
$2.57 €2.28
-2.33%
Potato (1kg)
$1.80 €1.60
$1.86 €1.65
-3.23%
Onion (1kg)
$1.99 €1.77
$2.02 €1.80
-1.49%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.32 €1.18
$1.44 €1.28
-8.33%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.72 €0.64
$0.82 €0.73
-12.20%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$6.24 €5.55
$6.56 €5.83
-4.88%
Wine (Bottle)
$5.70 €5.07
$5.62 €5.00
1.42%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.22 €1.08
$1.28 €1.14
-4.69%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.13 €1.90
$2.07 €1.84
2.90%
🚌 Getting Around
Santa Pola
Lisbon
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.61 €1.44
$2.35 €2.09
-31.49%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$32.11 €28.56
$44.18 €39.30
-27.32%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.01 €3.56
$3.99 €3.55
0.50%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.41 €1.25
$1.09 €0.97
29.36%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$23.33 €20.75
$16.64 €14.81
40.20%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.82 €1.62
$2.28 €2.03
-20.18%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$34.9K €31.0K
$33.7K €30.0K
3.51%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$29.3K €26.0K
$39.3K €35.0K
-25.50%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Santa Pola
Lisbon
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$144 €128
$167 €149
-14.13%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$18.14 €16.13
$18.80 €16.72
-3.51%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$30.11 €26.78
$33.09 €29.43
-9.01%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Santa Pola
Lisbon
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$45.43 €40.41
$46.01 €40.93
-1.26%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$15.40 €13.70
$19.19 €17.07
-19.75%
Cinema Ticket
$9.07 €8.07
$9.84 €8.75
-7.83%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Santa Pola
Lisbon
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$478 €425
$677 €602
-29.48%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$8,406 €7,477
$16.9K €15.1K
-50.32%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Santa Pola
Lisbon
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$86.6 €77.0
$101 €90.1
-14.51%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$36.80 €32.73
$45.76 €40.70
-19.58%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$88.8 €79.0
$100.0 €88.9
-11.19%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$111 €98.8
$123 €109
-9.55%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Santa Pola
Lisbon
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$905 €805
$1,614 €1,436
-43.93%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$694 €617
$1,197 €1,065
-42.05%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,370 €1,218
$2,862 €2,545
-52.14%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,002 €892
$1,990 €1,770
-49.63%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,268 €2,907
$7,577 €6,740
-56.87%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,175 €1,935
$4,307 €3,831
-49.49%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Santa Pola
Lisbon
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
-
$1,588 €1,412
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.3
3.85
-14.29%

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

Last update for Santa Pola: 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 Pola
$694
Lisbon
$1.2K 72.6% $503
Groceries & Markets
Santa Pola
$263
Lisbon
$269 2.4% $6.4
Eating Out
Santa Pola
$239
Lisbon
$242 1.2% $2.9
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Santa Pola
$192
Lisbon
$219 14.2% $27
Clothing & Footwear
Santa Pola
$145
Lisbon
$166 14.4% $21
Sport & Entertainment
Santa Pola
$64
Lisbon
$66 3.3% $2.1
Getting Around
Santa Pola
$50
Lisbon
$63 27% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $905 in Santa Pola and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $56.0 in Santa Pola vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $263 vs $269 per month, with Santa Pola cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇪🇸 Santa Pola
🇵🇹 Lisbon
🕒 Local time
19:28 7:28 PM
18:28 6:28 PM
1 h behind Santa Pola
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
37,816
545,923 Capital
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

USD to EUR – Euro Converter

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

On the map
Between locations
  • Santa Pola Lisbon 750 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Santa Pola
  • 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 Pola vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Santa Pola and in Lisbon?
Santa Pola and Lisbon differ by about 35% in total monthly costs ($1,647 vs $2,223 including rent). Santa Pola is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
What salary covers living expenses in Santa Pola compared to Lisbon?
You'd need roughly $2,470 in Santa Pola and $3,335 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.
How do apartment prices compare in Santa Pola and in Lisbon?
Rent for a central apartment: $905 in Santa Pola versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
What is the difference in childcare costs between Santa Pola and Lisbon?
Childcare runs $478 in Santa Pola versus $677 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Supermarket bills run roughly 2% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
Which city is more doable on $2,000 per month?
At $1,647 in Santa Pola versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Santa Pola but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Santa Pola the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
How does quality of life compare between Santa Pola and Lisbon?
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.
Is Santa Pola or Lisbon safer for residents?
Safety-wise, Santa Pola 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.
Where should expats move: Santa Pola or Lisbon?
Expats usually find Santa Pola gentler on the wallet – expenses run 35% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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