City comparison
Funchal vs Santa Cruz de Tenerife: which is better to live in?
Quick verdict
Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the cheaper of the two: our estimate for a single person is about €350 a month less than Funchal, mostly because of rent. They’re in different countries, so visa routes, taxes and healthcare differ too: see below.
Choose Funchal for
- English-friendliness
- Safety
- Remote-work scene
- Calm, slower pace
Choose Santa Cruz de Tenerife for
- Beach life
- Affordability
- Walkability
- Public transport
- Lower living costs
Funchal vs Santa Cruz de Tenerife at a glance
| Funchal | Santa Cruz de Tenerife | |
|---|---|---|
| Country | Portugal | Spain |
| Single budget / month | €1,850 | €1,500 |
| Couple budget / month | €2,750 | €2,200 |
| 1-bed rent, center | €1,050 | €550 |
| Winter highs (Dec to Feb) | 20°C / 69°F | 22°C / 71°F |
| Summer highs (Jun to Aug) | 25°C / 78°F | 28°C / 83°F |
| Sunshine (hours/yr) | 2,314 | 2,999 |
| City size | Mid-size city | Mid-size city |
| Coastal | Yes | Yes |
| Direct flights to the US | Yes | No |
| Affordability | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Sunny, warm climate | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| English-friendliness | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Safety | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Walkability | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Public transport | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Nature & green space | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Beach life | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Mountains nearby | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Culture | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Nightlife | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Family life | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Remote-work scene | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Expat community | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Flights home | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Calm, slower pace | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
Cost of living: Funchal or Santa Cruz de Tenerife?
By our estimates, a comfortable mid-range life costs about €1,850 a month for one person in Funchal and €1,500 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, rent included. For a couple it’s €2,750 vs €2,200, and for a family of four €3,900 vs €3,200.
Rent drives most of the gap: a one-bedroom in the center runs about €1,050 in Funchal against €550 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, while a monthly transit pass costs - vs -. Want to plug in your own lifestyle? Use the cost of living calculator.
Climate and weather
Winters average highs of about 20°C (69°F) in Funchal and 22°C (71°F) in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. In summer it’s roughly 25°C vs 28°C. Funchal gets about 2,314 hours of sunshine a year and Santa Cruz de Tenerife about 2,999.
2,314 hours of sunshine a year · 574 mm of rain a year · Source: Funchal Observatory 1991-2020 (IPMA; sunshine DWD) via the Wikipedia climate table
Monthly temperatures in °C and °F
| Month | Avg high | Avg low |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 20°C / 68°F | 14°C / 58°F |
| Feb | 20°C / 68°F | 14°C / 57°F |
| Mar | 21°C / 69°F | 14°C / 58°F |
| Apr | 21°C / 70°F | 15°C / 59°F |
| May | 22°C / 72°F | 16°C / 61°F |
| Jun | 24°C / 75°F | 18°C / 65°F |
| Jul | 25°C / 78°F | 20°C / 67°F |
| Aug | 27°C / 80°F | 21°C / 69°F |
| Sep | 27°C / 80°F | 20°C / 69°F |
| Oct | 25°C / 77°F | 19°C / 67°F |
| Nov | 23°C / 73°F | 17°C / 63°F |
| Dec | 21°C / 70°F | 16°C / 60°F |
2,999 hours of sunshine a year · 220 mm of rain a year · Source: Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1991-2020 provisional normals (AEMET OpenData; sunshine NOAA) via the Wikipedia climate table
Monthly temperatures in °C and °F
| Month | Avg high | Avg low |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21°C / 70°F | 16°C / 60°F |
| Feb | 21°C / 70°F | 15°C / 60°F |
| Mar | 22°C / 72°F | 16°C / 61°F |
| Apr | 23°C / 73°F | 17°C / 62°F |
| May | 25°C / 76°F | 18°C / 65°F |
| Jun | 27°C / 80°F | 20°C / 68°F |
| Jul | 29°C / 84°F | 22°C / 71°F |
| Aug | 29°C / 85°F | 22°C / 72°F |
| Sep | 28°C / 83°F | 22°C / 71°F |
| Oct | 27°C / 80°F | 21°C / 69°F |
| Nov | 24°C / 76°F | 19°C / 65°F |
| Dec | 22°C / 72°F | 17°C / 62°F |
Daily life
Funchal is a mid-size city on the coast; Santa Cruz de Tenerife is a mid-size city on the coast. Funchal has one of the mildest climates in Europe, a safe small-city feel and a well-known remote-work scene on Madeira. It is steep, island-bound and pricier than most of mainland Portugal outside Lisbon. Santa Cruz is Tenerife's capital: a working Spanish city with 20-degree winters, low rents for a coastal place and the island's trams and buses. Most foreign residents live on the sunnier south coast, so decide early whether you want city life or resort life.
Living in Funchal: the upsides and downsides
- Spring weather all year: January highs around 20 degrees C
- Very safe, friendly and easy in English
- Hiking along the levadas and dramatic coast
- Downside: Steep hills everywhere; a car helps
- Downside: Rents have risen fast with tourism and nomads
Living in Santa Cruz de Tenerife: the upsides and downsides
- Spring-like weather all year, with January highs around 21 degrees C
- Cheaper than mainland coastal hotspots
- Mountains, volcano and beaches on one island
- Downside: No direct flights to the US
- Downside: Island distances and traffic between north and south
Visas and residency
Funchal is in Portugal and Santa Cruz de Tenerife is in Spain. The main routes for each:
- Portugal D2 Visa (Independent Worker and Entrepreneur) - Freelance visa, open
- Portugal D7 Visa (Passive Income Visa) - Passive income visa, open, €920/mo income
- Portugal D8 Digital Nomad Visa - Digital nomad visa, open, €3,680/mo income
- Portugal Golden Visa (ARI Investor Residence) - Golden visa, open, €500,000 investment
- Spain Digital Nomad Visa (Telework Visa) - Digital nomad visa, open, €2,442/mo income
- Spain Entrepreneur Visa - Entrepreneur route, open, €600/mo income
- Spain Golden Visa (Closed 2025) - Golden visa, closed, €500,000 investment
- Spain Non-Lucrative Visa (Residence Without Work) - Retirement visa, open, €2,400/mo income
Read the full guides: living in Funchal and living in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Related comparisons
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- Malaga vs Santa Cruz de Tenerife
- Palma de Mallorca vs Santa Cruz de Tenerife
- San Sebastian vs Santa Cruz de Tenerife
- Granada vs Santa Cruz de Tenerife
- Marbella vs Santa Cruz de Tenerife
- Barcelona vs Santa Cruz de Tenerife
- Madrid vs Santa Cruz de Tenerife
- Santa Cruz de Tenerife vs Valencia
- Santa Cruz de Tenerife vs Seville
Costs are our estimates for a comfortable mid-range lifestyle; scores are editorial, relative to the 56 cities we cover. Methodology.