Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Badulla and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Badulla: $541 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $20,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Badulla, Sri Lanka
Lisbon, Portugal
Badulla
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
$541
/mo nomad
Lisbon
🇵🇹 Portugal
$2,210
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $541 in Badulla versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

  • Badulla $541
  • Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $870 in Badulla versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

  • Badulla $870
  • Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,199 in Badulla versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

  • Badulla $1,199
  • Lisbon $4,341

Living in Badulla costs roughly 76% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Badulla is 60% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Badulla
Lisbon
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$3.70 LKR 1,230
$16.65 €14.95
-77.78%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$24.42 LKR 8,118
$61.7 €55.5
-60.45%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$7.50 LKR 2,492
$11.36 €10.20
-33.98%
Cappuccino
$2.46 LKR 818
$2.97 €2.67
-17.17%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.72 LKR 238
$2.29 €2.06
-68.56%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.27 LKR 89.9
$1.74 €1.56
-84.48%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.22 LKR 738
$3.40 €3.06
-34.71%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.08 LKR 1,025
$3.31 €2.97
-6.95%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Badulla
Lisbon
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.63 LKR 543
$1.16 €1.04
40.52%
White Bread (500g)
$0.53 LKR 177
$1.91 €1.72
-72.25%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$0.62 LKR 206
$1.51 €1.36
-58.94%
Eggs
$1.65 LKR 548
$4.02 €3.61
-58.96%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$13.58 LKR 4,515
$12.94 €11.62
4.95%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.54 LKR 1,176
$7.77 €6.98
-54.44%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$7.37 LKR 2,451
$17.76 €15.95
-58.50%
Apples (1kg)
$6.68 LKR 2,222
$2.30 €2.07
190.43%
Banana (1kg)
$0.81 LKR 268
$1.73 €1.56
-53.18%
Oranges (1kg)
$4.50 LKR 1,497
$1.86 €1.67
141.94%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.28 LKR 425
$2.59 €2.33
-50.58%
Potato (1kg)
$1.00 LKR 333
$1.82 €1.64
-45.05%
Onion (1kg)
$0.82 LKR 274
$1.97 €1.77
-58.38%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.94 LKR 314
$1.47 €1.32
-36.05%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.43 LKR 142
$0.72 €0.65
-40.28%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$10.29 LKR 3,422
$6.58 €5.91
56.38%
Wine (Bottle)
$12.58 LKR 4,183
$5.61 €5.04
124.24%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.91 LKR 634
$1.36 €1.22
40.44%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.94 LKR 976
$2.14 €1.92
37.38%
🚌 Getting Around
Badulla
Lisbon
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
-
$2.33 €2.10
-
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$44.68 €40.14
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.38 LKR 126
$3.85 €3.46
-90.13%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.37 LKR 124
$1.07 €0.96
-65.42%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$0.93 LKR 310
$16.46 €14.79
-94.35%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.39 LKR 461
$2.20 €1.98
-36.82%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$44.4K LKR 14.8M
$34.2K €30.7K
29.94%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$40.8K LKR 13.6M
$38.7K €34.8K
5.34%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Badulla
Lisbon
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$59.2 LKR 19.7K
$161 €145
-63.26%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$4.29 LKR 1,425
$18.41 €16.54
-76.70%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$20.84 LKR 6,929
$32.74 €29.41
-36.35%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Badulla
Lisbon
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
-
$44.55 €40.02
-
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$19.10 €17.16
-
Cinema Ticket
$4.52 LKR 1,503
$9.60 €8.62
-52.92%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Badulla
Lisbon
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$37.89 LKR 12.6K
$668 €600
-94.33%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$1,204 LKR 400.2K
$17.6K €15.8K
-93.17%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Badulla
Lisbon
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$18.20 LKR 6,052
$102 €91.6
-82.16%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$16.65 LKR 5,536
$44.46 €39.94
-62.55%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$77.4 LKR 25.7K
$98.5 €88.5
-21.47%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$41.51 LKR 13.8K
$124 €111
-66.43%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Badulla
Lisbon
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$74.7 LKR 24.8K
$1,608 €1,445
-95.36%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$45.64 LKR 15.2K
$1,190 €1,069
-96.16%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
-
$2,812 €2,526
-
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$90.2 LKR 30.0K
$2,013 €1,808
-95.52%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,517 LKR 1.5M
$7,839 €7,042
-42.37%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$759 LKR 252.4K
$4,576 €4,110
-83.41%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Badulla
Lisbon
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$227 LKR 75.5K
$1,575 €1,415
-85.58%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
12.69
3.85
229.61%

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

Last update for Badulla: October 26, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Groceries & Markets
Badulla
$228
Lisbon
$272 19.4% $44
Eating Out
Badulla
$103
Lisbon
$243 136% $140
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Badulla
$84
Lisbon
$212 152% $128
Clothing & Footwear
Badulla
$69
Lisbon
$166 140% $97
Accommodation & Living
Badulla
$46
Lisbon
$1.2K 2508% $1.1K
Sport & Entertainment
Badulla
$9 *
Lisbon
$64 605% $55
Getting Around
Badulla
$2.2 *
Lisbon
$63 2721% $61

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $75 in Badulla and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 6.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $24 in Badulla vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $228 vs $272 per month, with Badulla cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇱🇰 Badulla
🇵🇹 Lisbon
🕒 Local time
02:17 2:17 AM
20:47 8:47 PM
5 h 30 min behind Badulla
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
110,000
545,923 Capital
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to LKR – Sri Lankan Rupee Converter

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 332 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 370 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

On the map
Between locations
  • Badulla Lisbon 9,540 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Badulla
  • 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
Badulla vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Badulla cheaper than Lisbon?
Badulla is about 76% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
Where can you earn more: Badulla or Lisbon?
On paper, salaries run 86% lower in Badulla. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.
What is the rent difference between Badulla and Lisbon?
Rent for a central apartment: $75 in Badulla versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Childcare runs $38 in Badulla versus $668 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Is eating out cheaper in Badulla or in Lisbon?
Dining out is cheaper in Badulla – a meal for two runs $24 versus $62 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
Is $1,000 a realistic budget for living in Badulla or in Lisbon?
At $541 in Badulla versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Badulla but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Badulla the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Is it better to live in Badulla or in Lisbon?
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.
Which city is safer, Badulla or Lisbon?
Safety-wise, Badulla and Lisbon are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.
Which city is the better choice to relocate to?
It comes down to priorities – Badulla wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.

Badulla vs other spots: cost of living compared

Similar cities

Show times on the 12-hour clock, temperatures in °F and distances in miles?