Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Kegalle

For one person, living is cheaper in Kegalle: $591 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $19,400 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
29

Cost of Living Index in Kegalle
Learn more

Kegalle Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Kegalle

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$591

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Kegalle

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $591 in Kegalle.

Lisbon $2,210
Kegalle $591

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $860 in Kegalle.

Lisbon $3,275
Kegalle $860

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,128 in Kegalle.

Lisbon $4,341
Kegalle $1,128

Living in Lisbon is roughly 274% more expensive than in Kegalle, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Kegalle is 57% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$3.06 LKR 1,018

444.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$23.93 LKR 7,954

158.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$7.33 LKR 2,436

54.98%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$2.43 LKR 808

22.22%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$0.43 LKR 143

432.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.25 LKR 83.1

596.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.14 LKR 711

58.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.95 LKR 982

12.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.65 LKR 548

-29.70%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$0.47 LKR 156

306.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$0.68 LKR 225

122.06%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$1.58 LKR 526

154.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$13.59 LKR 4,519

-4.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$4.93 LKR 1,638

57.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$7.22 LKR 2,400

145.98%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$5.98 LKR 1,989

-61.54%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$0.80 LKR 267

116.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$4.45 LKR 1,481

-58.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.23 LKR 407

110.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$0.87 LKR 291

109.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$0.78 LKR 261

152.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.37 LKR 124

297.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.43 LKR 141

67.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$9.67 LKR 3,214

-31.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$12.60 LKR 4,189

-55.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.90 LKR 633

-28.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$2.65 LKR 881

-19.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.57 LKR 190

308.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$7.63 LKR 2,537

485.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$0.38 LKR 125

913.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.34 LKR 114

214.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$0.94 LKR 313

1651.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.38 LKR 458

59.42%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$43.0K LKR 14.3M

-20.50%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$36.3K LKR 12.1M

6.79%

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

$161 €145

$58.6 LKR 19.5K

175.03%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$4.27 LKR 1,419

331.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$20.67 LKR 6,871

58.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$19.65 LKR 6,532

126.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$14.79 LKR 4,916

29.14%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$4.52 LKR 1,504

112.39%

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

$668 €600

$37.83 LKR 12.6K

1664.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$1,216 LKR 404.4K

1348.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$17.90 LKR 5,950

469.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$15.22 LKR 5,060

192.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$45.67 LKR 15.2K

115.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$41.22 LKR 13.7K

200.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$121 LKR 40.2K

1229.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$90.8 LKR 30.2K

1210.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$184 LKR 61.1K

757.28%

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 Kegalle: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Kegalle

$91 15.4% 92.4% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Kegalle

$227 38.4% 16.7% $46

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Kegalle

$95 16.1% 60.9% $148

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Kegalle

$84 14.1% 60.7% $129

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Kegalle

$54 9.1% 67.5% $112

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Kegalle

$29 4.9% 55% $35

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Kegalle

$12 2% 81% $51

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $121 in Kegalle. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 8.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $24 in Kegalle for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $227 per month, with Kegalle cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇱🇰 Kegalle

🕒 Local time

22:57 10:57 PM

04:27 4:27 AM

5 h 30 min ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

17,900

💱 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 →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Kegalle 9,460 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Kegalle

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 Kegalle: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kegalle wins on cost – living expenses run 73% lower than in Lisbon. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Kegalle the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 8.6 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 $121 in Kegalle. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Kegalle – a meal for two runs $24 versus $62 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $591 in Kegalle – Kegalle is about 73% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $591 in Kegalle versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $800 budget is realistic in Kegalle but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Kegalle 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, Lisbon and Kegalle are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Kegalle gentler on the wallet – expenses run 73% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.