Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Teresa and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Teresa: $1,530 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

73

Cost of Living Index in Santa Teresa
Learn more

Santa Teresa Living Index
106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index

Jump to prices

Santa Teresa

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,530

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,530 in Santa Teresa versus $2,206 in Lisbon.

Santa Teresa $1,530
Lisbon $2,206

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,295 in Santa Teresa versus $3,276 in Lisbon.

Santa Teresa $2,295
Lisbon $3,276

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,061 in Santa Teresa versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Santa Teresa $3,061
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Santa Teresa costs roughly 31% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Santa Teresa 13% above, Lisbon 63% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.90 ₡4,459

$16.86 €15.00

-41.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.31 ₡19.1K

$61.0 €54.3

-30.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.71 ₡4,374

$10.98 €9.77

-11.57%

Cappuccino

$3.70 ₡1,667

$3.05 €2.71

21.31%

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

$2.04 ₡917

$2.28 €2.03

-10.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 ₡735

$1.68 €1.50

-2.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.03 ₡1,366

$3.44 €3.06

-11.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.55 ₡2,048

$3.91 €3.48

16.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.05 ₡925

$1.15 €1.02

78.26%

White Bread (500g)

$2.82 ₡1,270

$1.89 €1.68

49.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.16 ₡972

$1.50 €1.34

44.00%

Eggs

$2.98 ₡1,344

$4.12 €3.66

-27.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.01 ₡4,509

$13.01 €11.57

-23.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.97 ₡4,042

$8.04 €7.16

11.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.60 ₡6,127

$17.89 €15.92

-23.98%

Apples (1kg)

$4.56 ₡2,052

$2.27 €2.02

100.88%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 ₡651

$1.74 €1.55

-17.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.12 ₡1,856

$1.82 €1.62

126.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.07 ₡1,385

$2.69 €2.39

14.13%

Potato (1kg)

$3.39 ₡1,526

$1.77 €1.57

91.53%

Onion (1kg)

$2.58 ₡1,161

$1.94 €1.72

32.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.01 ₡455

$1.46 €1.30

-30.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.85 ₡1,282

$0.76 €0.68

275.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.09 ₡2,292

$6.66 €5.92

-23.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.79 ₡6,211

$5.64 €5.02

144.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.36 ₡1,063

$1.29 €1.15

82.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 ₡1,179

$2.14 €1.90

22.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.96 ₡433

$2.30 €2.05

-58.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.17

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 ₡830

$3.98 €3.54

-53.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.83 ₡826

$0.64 €0.57

185.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.95 ₡3,580

$18.93 €16.84

-58.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 ₡659

$2.28 €2.03

-35.96%

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

$38.4K ₡17.3M

$33.4K €29.7K

15.02%

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

$32.7K ₡14.7M

$38.5K €34.3K

-15.00%

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

$84.9 ₡38.2K

$158 €141

-46.33%

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

$26.16 ₡11.8K

$17.54 €15.61

49.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.4 ₡22.7K

$31.18 €27.75

61.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.1 ₡22.6K

$44.64 €39.73

12.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.66 ₡10.7K

$18.98 €16.89

24.66%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 ₡4,004

$9.58 €8.52

-7.20%

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

$573 ₡257.9K

$674 €599

-15.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.4K ₡5.6M

$18.7K €16.7K

-33.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.8 ₡27.8K

$102 €90.9

-39.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.2 ₡23.0K

$45.90 €40.85

11.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 ₡57.4K

$102 €91.0

24.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 ₡48.0K

$122 €109

-12.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$706 ₡318.2K

$1,641 €1,460

-56.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$592 ₡266.6K

$1,187 €1,057

-50.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,461 ₡657.9K

$2,825 €2,514

-48.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$955 ₡430.0K

$2,018 €1,796

-52.70%

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)

$1,687 €1,501

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.17

3.82

166.23%

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

Last update for Santa Teresa: November 1, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Teresa

$592 38.7%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 101% $596

Groceries & Markets

Santa Teresa

$346 22.6%

Lisbon

$275 12.5% 20.8% $72

Eating Out

Santa Teresa

$192 12.5%

Lisbon

$245 11.1% 28% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Teresa

$161 10.6%

Lisbon

$207 9.4% 28.2% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Teresa

$156 10.2%

Lisbon

$168 7.6% 7.2% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Teresa

$68 4.4%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 6% $4

Getting Around

Santa Teresa

$15 * 1%

Lisbon

$60 2.7% 307% $46

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 $706 in Santa Teresa and $1,641 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $42 in Santa Teresa vs $61 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $346 vs $275, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Santa Teresa

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

20:38 8:38 PM

02:38 2:38 AM

6 h ahead of Santa Teresa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,099

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.97 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 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 November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 507 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.97 EUR).

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

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Santa Teresa Lisbon 8,130 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,530 in Santa Teresa and $2,206 in Lisbon, so Santa Teresa is about 31% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,295 in Santa Teresa and $3,309 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: $706 in Santa Teresa versus $1,641 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 21% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,530 per month in Santa Teresa versus $2,206 in Lisbon – Santa Teresa is about 31% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,500. Santa Teresa is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

For families, Santa Teresa is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Lisbon, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

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