Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kirkwall and Lisbon

For one person, living costs are similar in Kirkwall and in Lisbon: $2,121 and $2,202 a month, rent and utilities included.

103

Cost of Living Index in Kirkwall
Learn more

Kirkwall Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index

Jump to prices

Kirkwall

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,121

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,121 in Kirkwall versus $2,202 in Lisbon.

Kirkwall $2,121
Lisbon $2,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,026 in Kirkwall versus $3,274 in Lisbon.

Kirkwall $3,026
Lisbon $3,274

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,931 in Kirkwall versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Kirkwall $3,931
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Kirkwall costs roughly 4% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Kirkwall 57% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.63 £17.73

$17.04 €15.15

38.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$94.8 £71.1

$62.3 €55.4

52.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.57 £7.93

$11.02 €9.80

-4.08%

Cappuccino

$3.92 £2.94

$3.12 €2.78

25.64%

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

$3.26 £2.44

$2.27 €2.02

43.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 £0.98

$1.74 €1.55

-24.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.20 £4.65

$3.42 €3.04

81.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.47 £6.36

$3.74 €3.33

126.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.79 £0.59

$1.17 €1.04

-32.48%

White Bread (500g)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.86 €1.66

-15.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.05 £1.54

$1.54 €1.37

33.12%

Eggs

$3.22 £2.42

$4.06 €3.61

-20.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.59 £4.95

$12.91 €11.49

-48.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.97 £6.73

$7.90 €7.03

13.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.90 £11.92

$17.64 €15.69

-9.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 £1.65

$2.26 €2.01

-2.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 £1.48

$1.75 €1.55

12.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 £1.18

$1.89 €1.68

-16.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.32 £0.99

$2.56 €2.27

-48.44%

Potato (1kg)

$1.11 £0.83

$1.85 €1.64

-40.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 £0.82

$1.97 €1.75

-44.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 £0.58

$1.45 €1.29

-46.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 £0.81

$0.77 €0.69

40.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.10 £15.08

$6.71 €5.97

199.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.18 £6.89

$5.67 €5.04

61.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.71 £2.03

$1.37 €1.22

97.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 £2.16

$2.11 €1.88

36.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$10.51 £7.89

$2.32 €2.07

353.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$107 £80.4

$44.43 €39.52

141.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.19 £3.90

$3.95 €3.51

31.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.58 £1.93

$1.05 €0.93

145.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.06 £20.30

$17.15 €15.26

57.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.05 £1.54

$2.19 €1.95

-6.39%

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

$37.8K £28.4K

$33.8K €30.0K

12.03%

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

$41.2K £30.9K

$38.3K €34.0K

7.55%

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

$282 £212

$164 €146

72.43%

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

$30.12 £22.60

$18.48 €16.43

62.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.04 £24.79

$32.96 €29.32

0.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.73 £31.31

$45.87 €40.80

-9.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

Cinema Ticket

$11.46 £8.60

$9.75 €8.67

17.54%

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

$1,237 £928

$684 €608

80.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.5 £68.7

$104 €92.3

-11.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.72 £32.80

$46.20 €41.09

-5.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.0 £71.3

$99.7 €88.7

-4.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$138 £103

$125 €111

10.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$935 £701

$1,589 €1,414

-41.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$792 £594

$1,169 €1,040

-32.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,182 £887

$2,851 €2,536

-58.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$966 £725

$1,993 €1,773

-51.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,914 £1,436

$1,600 €1,423

19.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.07

3.85

31.69%

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

Last update for Kirkwall: October 19, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kirkwall

$792 37.3%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1% 47.6% $377

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kirkwall

$346 16.3%

Lisbon

$215 9.8% 37.7% $130

Eating Out

Kirkwall

$334 15.8%

Lisbon

$247 11.2% 25.9% $87

Groceries & Markets

Kirkwall

$252 11.9%

Lisbon

$273 12.4% 8.3% $21

Getting Around

Kirkwall

$167 7.9%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 62.4% $104

Clothing & Footwear

Kirkwall

$165 7.8%

Lisbon

$168 7.7% 1.8% $3

Sport & Entertainment

Kirkwall

$65 3.1%

Lisbon

$65 3% 1.1% $0.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $935 in Kirkwall and $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kirkwall pays 20% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $95.0 in Kirkwall vs $62.0 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $252 vs $273, with Kirkwall cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Kirkwall

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

18:13 6:13 PM

Same time as Kirkwall

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,500

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kirkwall Lisbon 2,300 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Kirkwall
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

Kirkwall vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kirkwall and Lisbon differ by about 4% in total monthly costs ($2,121 vs $2,202 including rent). Kirkwall is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 20% higher in Kirkwall, 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: $935 in Kirkwall versus $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Kirkwall – a meal for two runs $95.0 versus $62.0 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,121 per month in Kirkwall versus $2,202 in Lisbon – a 4% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $2,121 in Kirkwall versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Kirkwall but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Kirkwall 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, Kirkwall and Lisbon are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Kirkwall gentler on the wallet – expenses run 4% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.