Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santander and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Santander: $1,640 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

78

Cost of Living Index in Santander
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Santander Living Index
106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Santander

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,640

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,640 in Santander versus $2,206 in Lisbon.

Santander $1,640
Lisbon $2,206

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,578 in Santander versus $3,276 in Lisbon.

Santander $2,578
Lisbon $3,276

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,517 in Santander versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Santander $3,517
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Santander costs roughly 26% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Santander 21% above, Lisbon 63% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.55 €14.74

$16.86 €15.02

-1.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.1 €49.09

$61.0 €54.4

-9.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.30 €10.07

$10.98 €9.78

2.91%

Cappuccino

$2.43 €2.16

$3.05 €2.72

-20.33%

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

$2.55 €2.27

$2.28 €2.03

11.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 €1.57

$1.68 €1.50

4.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.06

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.89 €3.46

$3.91 €3.48

-0.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.15 €1.02

11.30%

White Bread (500g)

$2.84 €2.53

$1.89 €1.68

50.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.48 €2.21

$1.50 €1.34

65.33%

Eggs

$3.71 €3.31

$4.12 €3.67

-9.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$22.36 €19.91

$13.01 €11.59

71.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.02 €7.15

$8.04 €7.17

-0.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.45 €11.98

$17.89 €15.94

-24.82%

Apples (1kg)

$2.53 €2.26

$2.27 €2.02

11.45%

Banana (1kg)

$2.28 €2.04

$1.74 €1.55

31.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$1.82 €1.62

63.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.68 €3.28

$2.69 €2.39

36.80%

Potato (1kg)

$1.83 €1.63

$1.77 €1.57

3.39%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 €2.27

$1.94 €1.73

31.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 €1.35

$1.46 €1.30

3.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 €0.74

$0.76 €0.68

9.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.97 €7.10

$6.66 €5.93

19.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.58 €4.97

$5.64 €5.02

-1.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 €1.09

$1.29 €1.15

-5.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 €2.10

$2.14 €1.91

10.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.54 €1.37

$2.30 €2.05

-33.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.24 €16.25

$44.02 €39.21

-58.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.68 €5.06

$3.98 €3.55

42.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.17 €1.94

$0.64 €0.57

239.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$38.72 €34.49

$18.93 €16.86

104.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 €1.51

$2.28 €2.03

-25.88%

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

$36.3K €32.4K

$33.4K €29.7K

8.89%

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

$30.1K €26.8K

$38.5K €34.3K

-21.75%

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

$169 €151

$158 €141

6.84%

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

$35.08 €31.25

$17.54 €15.62

100.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.19 €34.02

$31.18 €27.78

22.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.96 €41.83

$44.64 €39.77

5.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.38 €18.15

$18.98 €16.91

7.38%

Cinema Ticket

$9.10 €8.10

$9.58 €8.53

-5.01%

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

$478 €426

$674 €600

-29.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,894 €7,922

$18.7K €16.7K

-52.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$125 €112

$102 €91.0

22.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.1 €60.6

$45.90 €40.89

48.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.7 €79.9

$102 €91.0

-12.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 €99.0

$122 €109

-8.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$833 €742

$1,641 €1,461

-49.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$558 €497

$1,187 €1,058

-53.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,486 €1,324

$2,825 €2,516

-47.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,100 €980

$2,018 €1,798

-45.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,160 €2,815

$7,836 €6,980

-59.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,653 €2,363

$4,701 €4,188

-43.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,879 €1,673

$1,687 €1,503

11.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.5

3.82

-8.38%

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

Last update for Santander: 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

Santander

$558 34%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 113% $630

Groceries & Markets

Santander

$319 19.4%

Lisbon

$275 12.5% 13.9% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santander

$242 14.8%

Lisbon

$207 9.4% 14.6% $35

Eating Out

Santander

$238 14.5%

Lisbon

$245 11.1% 3.2% $7.6

Clothing & Footwear

Santander

$177 10.8%

Lisbon

$168 7.6% 5.5% $9.8

Sport & Entertainment

Santander

$65 4%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 2.1% $1.4

Getting Around

Santander

$41 2.5%

Lisbon

$60 2.7% 47.6% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $833 in Santander and $1,641 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santander pays 11% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $55 in Santander vs $61 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $319 vs $275, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Santander

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

21:13 9:13 PM

20:13 8:13 PM

1 h behind Santander

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

172,726

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Santander Lisbon 690 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Santander
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

Santander vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,640 in Santander and $2,206 in Lisbon, so Santander is about 26% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 11% higher in Santander, 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: $833 in Santander versus $1,641 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $478 in Santander versus $674 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 14% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,640 in Santander versus $2,206 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Santander but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Santander 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, Santander and Lisbon are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.