Cost of Living in Santa Cruz, 🇵🇹 Portugal - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Oct 31, 2026 Last changed Oct 31, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 2 20 $1,684 $1,235 $1,796 $954 $56

Utilities 2 10 21 — $47 $120 $47 —

Internet & Mobile 2 6 7 $11 $42 $53 $42 $0

Groceries 3 9 $158 $316 $948 $316 $8

Transportation 4 5 $93 $75 $150 $57 $22

Dining Out 3 17 $790 $373 $651 $120 $54

Leisure Activities 3 14 18 $197 $111 $256 $57 $12

Health Insurance 11 22 $67 $178 $489 — $2

Visa & Legal Fees 12 13 — $10 $41 — —

Total $3,000 $2,387 $4,504 $1,593 $154

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 20 $1,234.71 $954 – $1,347 per month

Coworking Space 8 $178.02 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 2 $1,683.69 per month

Coliving Space 1 $1,403.08 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 3 $1.89 per cup

Beer 3 $2.99 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 3 $11.95 per meal

Fast Food Combo 17 $8.87 per meal

Apples 3 $1.92 per kg

Bread 3 $1.52 per loaf

Milk 9 $0.95 per liter

Rice 3 $1.47 per kg

Chicken Fillets 3 $7.26 per kg

Beef 3 $13.14 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) 3 $6.28 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 3 $52.75 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 3 $0.86 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 5 $3.65 per trip

Taxi per km 5 $1.06 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 4 $57.25 per month

Gasoline $2.36 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) 5 $8.92 per trip

Scooter Rental $33.67 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 6 $11.22 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 7 $30.31 per month

Gym Membership 18 $48.27 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) 14 $22.45 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 6 $11.22 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 3 $8.72 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans $75.17 per pair

Summer Dress $42.00 per dress

Running Shoes $86.68 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut $10.15 per visit

Laundry 15 $5.05 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 19 $72.96 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) 16 $1.67 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Oct 31, 2026
Last changed: Oct 31, 2026
Exchange rate: 1 USD = 0.8909 EUR on Oct 19, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Machico, Funchal, Lisbon, Hanoi

Change history

Oct 31, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 2253.03 1683.69
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 982.09 1234.71
- Apples 2.25 1.92
- Beef 14.44 13.14
- Beer 2.89 2.99
40 more changes
- Bread 1.62 1.52
- Chicken Fillets 8.32 7.26
- Cinema Ticket 8.67 8.72
- Coffee 1.44 1.89
- Coliving Space 866.55 1403.08
- Coworking Space 190.64 178.02
- Dining Out local 138.65, nomad 901.21, expat 369.73, family 519.93, tourist 75.1 local 119.5, nomad 790.28, expat 373.3, family 651, tourist 54.06
- Doctor Visit (GP) 51.99 72.96
- Fast Food Combo 10.98 8.87
- Gasoline 2.17 2.36
- Groceries local 323.51, nomad 207.97, expat 404.39, family 866.55, tourist 9.24 local 315.88, nomad 157.94, family 947.64, tourist 7.9
- Gym Membership 40.44 48.27
- Haircut 17.33 10.15
- Health Insurance local 0, nomad 75.1, expat 63.55, family 161.76, tourist 4.62 local 0, nomad 67.2, expat 177.5, family 489.4, tourist 2.24
- Housing local 866.55, nomad 1906.41, expat 1270.94, family 1675.33, tourist 127.09 local 954.09, nomad 1683.69, expat 1234.71, family 1795.94, tourist 56.12
- Internet & Mobile local 51.99, nomad 80.88, expat 75.1, family 103.99, tourist 5.78 local 41.53, nomad 11.22, family 52.76, tourist 0.37
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 43.91 30.31
- Jeans 86.66 75.17
- Laundry 7.51 5.05
- Leisure Activities local 69.32, nomad 288.85, expat 207.97, family 346.62, tourist 23.11 local 56.99, nomad 196.87, expat 110.61, family 256.1, tourist 11.71
- Meal (Inexpensive) 13.86 11.95
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 51.99 52.75
- Milk 1.1 0.95
- Mobile Plan 25.42 11.22
- Monthly Transport Pass 46.22 57.25
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 8.32 1.67
- Rice 1.56 1.47
- Ride-hailing (5km) 8.67 8.92
- Running Shoes 98.21 86.68
- SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 17.33 11.22
- Scooter Rental 17.33 33.67
- Summer Dress 36.97 42
- Taxi Start 4.04 3.65
- Taxi per km 0.64 1.06
- Tennis Court (Weekend) 17.33 22.45
- Transportation local 46.22, nomad 103.99, expat 115.54, family 288.85, tourist 28.89 local 57.25, nomad 92.94, expat 75.09, family 150.19, tourist 22.34
- Utilities local 127.09, nomad 0, expat 167.53, family 242.63, tourist 0 local 47.14, nomad 0, family 119.92, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, expat 34.66, family 69.32 local 0, expat 10.29, family 41.16
- Water (1.5L bottle) 0.75 0.86
- Wine (Mid-range) 7.51 6.28
Laundry local moved to self-service wash and dry load estimate (~€8) from Arte d'Engomar per-kilo proxy

Santa Cruz cost of living