Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Kirkwall

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

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
103

Cost of Living Index in Kirkwall
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Kirkwall Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Kirkwall

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,121

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Kirkwall

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

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

Lisbon $2,202
Kirkwall $2,121

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

Lisbon $3,274
Kirkwall $3,026

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

Lisbon $4,346
Kirkwall $3,931

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$23.63 £17.73

-27.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$94.8 £71.1

-34.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$10.57 £7.93

4.26%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$3.92 £2.94

-20.41%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$3.26 £2.44

-30.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.31 £0.98

32.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$6.20 £4.65

-44.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$8.47 £6.36

-55.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$0.79 £0.59

48.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.58 £1.19

17.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$2.05 £1.54

-24.88%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$3.22 £2.42

26.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$6.59 £4.95

95.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$8.97 £6.73

-11.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$15.90 £11.92

10.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$2.20 £1.65

2.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.97 £1.48

-11.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.57 £1.18

20.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$1.32 £0.99

93.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.11 £0.83

66.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.09 £0.82

80.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.77 £0.58

88.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$1.08 £0.81

-28.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$20.10 £15.08

-66.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$9.18 £6.89

-38.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$2.71 £2.03

-49.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$2.88 £2.16

-26.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$10.51 £7.89

-77.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

$107 £80.4

-58.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$5.19 £3.90

-23.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$2.58 £1.93

-59.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$27.06 £20.30

-36.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$2.05 £1.54

6.83%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$37.8K £28.4K

-10.74%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$41.2K £30.9K

-7.02%

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

$164 €146

$282 £212

-42.01%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$30.12 £22.60

-38.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$33.04 £24.79

-0.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$41.73 £31.31

9.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$11.46 £8.60

-14.92%

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

$684 €608

$1,237 £928

-44.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$91.5 £68.7

13.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$43.72 £32.80

5.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$95.0 £71.3

4.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$138 £103

-9.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$935 £701

69.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$792 £594

47.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$1,182 £887

141.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$966 £725

106.37%

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)

$1,600 €1,423

$1,914 £1,436

-16.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

5.07

-24.06%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Kirkwall: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Kirkwall

$792 37.3% 32.3% $377

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Kirkwall

$252 11.9% 7.7% $21

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Kirkwall

$334 15.8% 35% $87

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Kirkwall

$346 16.3% 60.6% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Kirkwall

$165 7.8% 1.8% $3

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Kirkwall

$65 3.1% 1.1% $0.7

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Kirkwall

$167 7.9% 166% $104

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,589 in Lisbon and $935 in Kirkwall. 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: $62.0 in Lisbon vs $95.0 in Kirkwall. Groceries flip the comparison at $273 vs $252, with Kirkwall cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇬🇧 Kirkwall

🕒 Local time

18:48 6:48 PM

Same time as Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

7,500

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

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

From you

Lisbon
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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 Kirkwall: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

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

On paper, salaries run 20% lower in Kirkwall. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,589 in Lisbon versus $935 in Kirkwall. 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 $2,202 per month in Lisbon versus $2,121 in Kirkwall – 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, Lisbon and Kirkwall 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.