City comparison
Santa Cruz de Tenerife vs Seville: 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 €100 a month less than Seville, mostly because of rent. Santa Cruz de Tenerife has the milder winter (about 22°C vs 17°C average highs in Dec to Feb). Both are in Spain, so the visa rules, taxes and healthcare system are the same: the choice comes down to cost, climate and lifestyle.
Choose Santa Cruz de Tenerife for
- Nature & green space
- Beach life
- Mountains nearby
- Sunny, warm climate
- Lower living costs
Choose Seville for
- Culture
- Nightlife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife vs Seville at a glance
| Santa Cruz de Tenerife | Seville | |
|---|---|---|
| Country | Spain | Spain |
| Single budget / month | €1,500 | €1,600 |
| Couple budget / month | €2,200 | €2,350 |
| 1-bed rent, center | €550 | €750 |
| Winter highs (Dec to Feb) | 22°C / 71°F | 17°C / 63°F |
| Summer highs (Jun to Aug) | 28°C / 83°F | 35°C / 95°F |
| Sunshine (hours/yr) | 2,999 | 3,089 |
| City size | Mid-size city | Large city |
| Coastal | Yes | No |
| Direct flights to the US | No | 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: Santa Cruz de Tenerife or Seville?
By our estimates, a comfortable mid-range life costs about €1,500 a month for one person in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and €1,600 in Seville, rent included. For a couple it’s €2,200 vs €2,350, and for a family of four €3,200 vs €3,400.
Rent drives most of the gap: a one-bedroom in the center runs about €550 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife against €750 in Seville, while a monthly transit pass costs - vs €30. Want to plug in your own lifestyle? Use the cost of living calculator.
Climate and weather
Winters average highs of about 22°C (71°F) in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and 17°C (63°F) in Seville. In summer it’s roughly 28°C vs 35°C. Santa Cruz de Tenerife gets about 2,999 hours of sunshine a year and Seville about 3,089.
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 |
3,089 hours of sunshine a year · 502 mm of rain a year · Source: AEMET 1991-2020 normals (Seville airport) via the Wikipedia climate table
Monthly temperatures in °C and °F
| Month | Avg high | Avg low |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16°C / 61°F | 6°C / 43°F |
| Feb | 18°C / 65°F | 7°C / 45°F |
| Mar | 22°C / 71°F | 10°C / 49°F |
| Apr | 24°C / 75°F | 12°C / 53°F |
| May | 28°C / 83°F | 15°C / 59°F |
| Jun | 33°C / 91°F | 19°C / 65°F |
| Jul | 36°C / 97°F | 21°C / 69°F |
| Aug | 36°C / 97°F | 21°C / 70°F |
| Sep | 32°C / 89°F | 18°C / 65°F |
| Oct | 26°C / 79°F | 15°C / 59°F |
| Nov | 20°C / 69°F | 10°C / 50°F |
| Dec | 17°C / 62°F | 7°C / 45°F |
Daily life
Santa Cruz de Tenerife is a mid-size city on the coast; Seville is a large city. 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. Seville is Spain's most atmospheric southern city: monumental, affordable, and made for long evenings outdoors. It is also very hot in summer and has fewer English speakers and no direct North American flights.
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
Living in Seville: the upsides and downsides
- Lower rents than Madrid, Barcelona or Malaga in our estimates
- Superb monuments, tapas and festivals
- Compact, bikeable center
- Downside: Extreme summer heat: average July highs of 36.3 C
- Downside: English is less common than in other big Spanish cities
Visas and residency
Both cities are in Spain, so you’d use the same residence routes either way:
- 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 Santa Cruz de Tenerife and living in Seville.
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Costs are our estimates for a comfortable mid-range lifestyle; scores are editorial, relative to the 56 cities we cover. Methodology.