Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santiago de Compostela and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Santiago de Compostela: $1,442 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

69

Cost of Living Index in Santiago de Compostela
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Santiago de Compostela Living Index
106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Santiago de Compostela

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,442

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,442 in Santiago de Compostela versus $2,206 in Lisbon.

Santiago de Compostela $1,442
Lisbon $2,206

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,218 in Santiago de Compostela versus $3,276 in Lisbon.

Santiago de Compostela $2,218
Lisbon $3,276

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,993 in Santiago de Compostela versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Santiago de Compostela $2,993
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Santiago de Compostela costs roughly 35% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Santiago de Compostela 7% above, Lisbon 63% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.40 €11.99

$16.86 €15.09

-20.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 €58.9

$61.0 €54.6

7.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 €8.48

$10.98 €9.83

-13.75%

Cappuccino

$1.97 €1.76

$3.05 €2.73

-35.41%

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

$2.80 €2.50

$2.28 €2.04

22.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 €1.90

$1.68 €1.51

26.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.00 €2.69

$3.44 €3.07

-12.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.01 €3.59

$3.91 €3.49

2.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.15 €1.03

0.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.11 €1.00

$1.89 €1.69

-41.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.34 €1.20

$1.50 €1.34

-10.67%

Eggs

$2.75 €2.46

$4.12 €3.68

-33.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 €8.11

$13.01 €11.64

-30.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.63 €5.93

$8.04 €7.20

-17.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.46 €14.73

$17.89 €16.01

-7.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.10 €1.88

$2.27 €2.03

-7.49%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 €1.83

$1.74 €1.56

17.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.41 €1.27

$1.82 €1.63

-22.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.83 €2.53

$2.69 €2.40

5.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 €1.78

$1.77 €1.58

12.43%

Onion (1kg)

$1.42 €1.27

$1.94 €1.73

-26.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 €0.99

$1.46 €1.31

-23.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.78 €0.70

$0.76 €0.68

2.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.73 €5.13

$6.66 €5.96

-13.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.06 €4.53

$5.64 €5.05

-10.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.40 €1.25

$1.29 €1.16

8.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 €2.13

$2.14 €1.91

11.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.20 €1.08

$2.30 €2.06

-47.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$33.06 €29.58

$44.02 €39.39

-24.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.01 €4.48

$3.98 €3.56

25.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.32 €1.18

$0.64 €0.57

106.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.54 €16.59

$18.93 €16.93

-2.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 €1.55

$2.28 €2.04

-23.68%

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

$34.7K €31.0K

$33.4K €29.9K

3.88%

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

$29.4K €26.3K

$38.5K €34.5K

-23.67%

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

$155 €139

$158 €142

-1.87%

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

$21.27 €19.03

$17.54 €15.69

21.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.40 €29.88

$31.18 €27.90

7.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.2 €45.83

$44.64 €39.95

14.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$2.19 €1.96

$18.98 €16.98

-88.46%

Cinema Ticket

$10.01 €8.95

$9.58 €8.57

4.49%

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

$335 €300

$674 €603

-50.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,409 €7,524

$18.7K €16.8K

-55.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.8 €79.4

$102 €91.4

-13.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$63.4 €56.8

$45.90 €41.07

38.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 €89.5

$102 €91.5

-2.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.7 €83.0

$122 €109

-23.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 €660

$1,641 €1,468

-55.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$519 €464

$1,187 €1,062

-56.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,076 €962

$2,825 €2,527

-61.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$876 €784

$2,018 €1,806

-56.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,110 €2,783

$7,836 €7,011

-60.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,141 €1,915

$4,701 €4,206

-54.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,903 €1,703

$1,687 €1,509

12.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.96

3.82

-22.51%

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

Last update for Santiago de Compostela: November 3, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santiago de Compostela

$519 36%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 129% $669

Groceries & Markets

Santiago de Compostela

$236 16.4%

Lisbon

$275 12.5% 16.3% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santiago de Compostela

$210 14.6%

Lisbon

$207 9.4% 1.4% $3

Eating Out

Santiago de Compostela

$202 14%

Lisbon

$245 11.1% 21.4% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Santiago de Compostela

$155 10.8%

Lisbon

$168 7.6% 7.9% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Santiago de Compostela

$71 4.9%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 10.4% $7.4

Getting Around

Santiago de Compostela

$49 3.4%

Lisbon

$60 2.7% 22.1% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $737 in Santiago de Compostela and $1,641 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santiago de Compostela pays 13% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $66 in Santiago de Compostela vs $61 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $236 vs $275, with Santiago de Compostela cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Santiago de Compostela

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

19:22 7:22 PM

18:22 6:22 PM

1 h behind Santiago de Compostela

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

98,687

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

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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

Santiago de Compostela vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,442 in Santiago de Compostela and $2,206 in Lisbon, so Santiago de Compostela is about 35% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 13% higher in Santiago de Compostela, 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: $737 in Santiago de Compostela versus $1,641 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $335 in Santiago de Compostela versus $674 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 16% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,442 in Santiago de Compostela versus $2,206 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Santiago de Compostela but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Santiago de Compostela 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, Santiago de Compostela and Lisbon are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.