Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Colombo

For one person, living is cheaper in Colombo: $804 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,900 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Colombo
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Colombo Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Colombo

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$804

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Colombo

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 Colombo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $804 in Colombo.

Lisbon $2,210
Colombo $804

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,240 in Colombo.

Lisbon $3,275
Colombo $1,240

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,675 in Colombo.

Lisbon $4,341
Colombo $1,675

Living in Lisbon is roughly 175% more expensive than in Colombo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Colombo is 41% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$3.74 LKR 1,243

345.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$24.72 LKR 8,217

149.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$7.60 LKR 2,528

49.47%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$2.45 LKR 814

21.22%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$0.68 LKR 226

236.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.27 LKR 89.8

544.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.22 LKR 739

53.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$3.07 LKR 1,020

7.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.57 LKR 520

-26.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$0.54 LKR 178

253.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$0.80 LKR 266

88.75%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$1.71 LKR 568

135.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$13.92 LKR 4,626

-7.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$4.78 LKR 1,590

62.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$7.46 LKR 2,480

138.07%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$6.40 LKR 2,126

-64.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$0.85 LKR 283

103.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$4.26 LKR 1,416

-56.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.33 LKR 443

94.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$1.00 LKR 334

82.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$0.81 LKR 270

143.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.93 LKR 308

58.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.45 LKR 151

60.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$10.33 LKR 3,435

-36.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$12.87 LKR 4,279

-56.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.93 LKR 642

-29.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$3.00 LKR 999

-28.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.18 LKR 59.3

1194.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$5.96 LKR 1,982

649.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$0.40 LKR 134

862.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.35 LKR 116

205.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$0.94 LKR 312

1651.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.32 LKR 438

66.67%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$43.4K LKR 14.4M

-21.24%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$39.7K LKR 13.2M

-2.42%

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

$161 €145

$58.9 LKR 19.6K

173.95%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$4.20 LKR 1,397

338.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$20.61 LKR 6,853

58.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$19.88 LKR 6,611

124.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$5.81 LKR 1,932

228.74%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$4.42 LKR 1,469

117.19%

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

$668 €600

$38.13 LKR 12.7K

1651.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$1,214 LKR 403.5K

1351.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$17.77 LKR 5,907

474.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$16.62 LKR 5,525

167.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$77.8 LKR 25.9K

26.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$42.22 LKR 14.0K

192.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$586 LKR 194.7K

174.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$275 LKR 91.4K

332.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$1,677 LKR 557.5K

67.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$490 LKR 163.0K

310.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$3,636 LKR 1.2M

115.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$1,158 LKR 385.0K

295.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$259 LKR 86.0K

508.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

12.69

-69.66%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Colombo: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Colombo

$275 34.2% 76.9% $915

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Colombo

$235 29.2% 13.7% $37

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Colombo

$103 12.8% 57.5% $139

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Colombo

$84 10.4% 60.6% $129

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Colombo

$69 8.6% 58.1% $96

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Colombo

$29 3.6% 54.9% $35

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Colombo

$8.8 1.1% 86% $54

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $586 in Colombo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 6.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $25 in Colombo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $235 per month, with Colombo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇱🇰 Colombo

🕒 Local time

17:39 5:39 PM

23:09 11:09 PM

5 h 30 min ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

753,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

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

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).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Colombo 9,440 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Colombo

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

Lisbon vs Colombo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Colombo wins on cost – living expenses run 64% lower than in Lisbon. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Colombo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 6.1 times higher, 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $586 in Colombo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 16% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Colombo – a meal for two runs $25 versus $62 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Colombo is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both work as nomad bases, but Colombo delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $804 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Colombo hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Colombo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 64% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.