Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Chennai (Madras)

For one person, living is cheaper in Chennai (Madras): $435 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $21,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
21

Cost of Living Index in Chennai (Madras)
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Chennai (Madras) Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Chennai (Madras)

🇮🇳 India

$435

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Chennai (Madras)

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Lisbon and in Chennai (Madras) actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,210 per month in Lisbon vs $435 in Chennai (Madras), rent included.

Lisbon $2,210
Chennai (Madras) $435

A couple spends around $3,275 per month in Lisbon vs $725 in Chennai (Madras), rent included.

Lisbon $3,275
Chennai (Madras) $725

A family of three spends $4,341 per month in Lisbon vs $1,016 in Chennai (Madras), rent included.

Lisbon $4,341
Chennai (Madras) $1,016

Lisbon costs about 409% more than Chennai (Madras), and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Lisbon sits 62% above the global median, while Chennai (Madras) is 68% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.94

$2.04 ₹194

716.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.4

$12.50 ₹1,191

393.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.19

$4.14 ₹395

174.40%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$1.82 ₹174

63.19%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$0.34 ₹31.97

573.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.17 ₹16.23

923.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$1.55 ₹148

119.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$3.17 ₹302

4.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$0.59 ₹56.0

96.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$0.51 ₹48.20

274.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$0.69 ₹65.5

118.84%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$0.88 ₹84.1

356.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.61

$6.25 ₹595

107.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$3.12 ₹297

149.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.94

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$2.78 ₹265

-17.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$0.83 ₹78.7

108.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.39 ₹132

33.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$0.43 ₹40.78

502.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$0.44 ₹42.34

313.64%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$0.42 ₹40.03

369.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.54 ₹51.9

172.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.28 ₹26.51

157.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$5.11 ₹487

28.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.03

$7.25 ₹691

-22.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.86 ₹177

-26.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$2.76 ₹263

-22.46%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$6.71 ₹639

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.33 ₹31.82

606.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.09

$10.67 ₹1,016

318.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$1.03 ₹98.1

273.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.30 ₹28.99

256.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.77

$2.12 ₹202

676.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.09 ₹103

101.83%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$11.1K ₹1.1M

207.24%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$20.1K ₹1.9M

92.70%

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

$161 €145

$38.28 ₹3,646

321.16%

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

$18.41 €16.52

$3.96 ₹377

364.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.37

$7.75 ₹738

322.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.97

$14.18 ₹1,351

214.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.14

$6.64 ₹632

187.65%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.61

$2.28 ₹217

321.05%

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

$668 €599

$87.7 ₹8,357

660.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$2,110 ₹201.0K

734.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.5

$19.99 ₹1,904

410.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.90

$17.11 ₹1,629

159.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.4

$35.44 ₹3,376

177.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$30.77 ₹2,931

301.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,443

$190 ₹18.1K

746.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,068

$123 ₹11.7K

868.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,523

$577 ₹54.9K

387.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,806

$343 ₹32.6K

487.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,034

$1,864 ₹177.5K

320.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,106

$798 ₹76.0K

473.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,413

$662 ₹63.1K

137.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

9.99

-61.46%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Chennai (Madras): October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Chennai (Madras)

$123 28.3% 89.7% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Chennai (Madras)

$115 26.5% 57.7% $157

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Chennai (Madras)

$67 15.4% 72.5% $176

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Chennai (Madras)

$50 11.5% 76.5% $162

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Chennai (Madras)

$46 10.7% 72% $119

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Chennai (Madras)

$19 4.3% 70.6% $45

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Chennai (Madras)

$15 3.4% 77% $49

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,608 in Lisbon versus $190 in Chennai (Madras). Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Lisbon are about 2.4 times higher, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $62 in Lisbon versus $13 in Chennai (Madras). Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $272 vs $115 – making Chennai (Madras) the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇮🇳 Chennai (Madras)

🕒 Local time

19:02 7:02 PM

00:32 12:32 AM

5 h 30 min ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

4,681,087

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1,000 INR = 10.5 USD

1,000 INR = 9.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.897 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 95.25 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 106 INR (1,000 INR = 9.41 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Chennai (Madras) 9,050 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

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Lisbon
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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

Lisbon vs Chennai (Madras): Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon costs about 409% more than Chennai (Madras), and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,315 per month in Lisbon and $652 in Chennai (Madras). That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Chennai (Madras), especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $190 there versus $1,608 in Lisbon.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $435 in Chennai (Madras). That makes Chennai (Madras) about 80% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 76% less in Chennai (Madras). For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Chennai (Madras), where all-in costs run around $435, than in Lisbon at $2,210. In Chennai (Madras) it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lisbon it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chennai (Madras) costs $435 versus $2,210 in Lisbon. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Chennai (Madras). If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Lisbon makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.