Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Nuwara Eliya

For one person, living is cheaper in Nuwara Eliya: $500 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $20,500 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
24

Cost of Living Index in Nuwara Eliya
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Nuwara Eliya Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Nuwara Eliya

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$500

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Nuwara Eliya

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $500 in Nuwara Eliya.

Lisbon $2,210
Nuwara Eliya $500

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $813 in Nuwara Eliya.

Lisbon $3,275
Nuwara Eliya $813

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,126 in Nuwara Eliya.

Lisbon $4,341
Nuwara Eliya $1,126

Living in Lisbon is roughly 342% more expensive than in Nuwara Eliya, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Nuwara Eliya is 63% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$3.79 LKR 1,259

339.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$25.40 LKR 8,445

143.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$7.51 LKR 2,497

51.26%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$2.55 LKR 846

16.47%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$0.36 LKR 121

536.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.27 LKR 90.2

544.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.16 LKR 718

57.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$3.06 LKR 1,018

8.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.63 LKR 543

-28.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$0.57 LKR 190

235.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$0.74 LKR 248

104.05%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$1.64 LKR 546

145.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$13.62 LKR 4,526

-4.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$4.74 LKR 1,575

63.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$7.34 LKR 2,439

141.96%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$6.47 LKR 2,152

-64.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$0.80 LKR 268

116.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$4.31 LKR 1,431

-56.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.26 LKR 420

105.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$1.01 LKR 335

80.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$0.77 LKR 256

155.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.88 LKR 292

67.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.45 LKR 151

60.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$10.26 LKR 3,410

-35.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$12.83 LKR 4,264

-56.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.90 LKR 630

-28.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$2.94 LKR 977

-27.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$0.38 LKR 125

913.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.35 LKR 116

205.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$0.88 LKR 292

1770.45%

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

$43.8K LKR 14.6M

-21.91%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$39.8K LKR 13.2M

-2.78%

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

$161 €145

$57.7 LKR 19.2K

179.46%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$4.32 LKR 1,435

326.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$20.36 LKR 6,770

60.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$4.55 LKR 1,514

110.99%

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

$668 €600

$38.33 LKR 12.7K

1641.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$1,215 LKR 403.8K

1350.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$17.89 LKR 5,947

470.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$16.67 LKR 5,541

166.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$78.9 LKR 26.2K

24.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$41.52 LKR 13.8K

197.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

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

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 Nuwara Eliya: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Nuwara Eliya

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Nuwara Eliya

$233 46.7% 14.3% $39

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Nuwara Eliya

$103 20.6% 57.6% $140

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Nuwara Eliya

$82 16.5% 61.2% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Nuwara Eliya

$70 14% 58% $96

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Nuwara Eliya

$9.1 * 1.8% 85.7% $55

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Nuwara Eliya

$2.1 * 0.4% 96.6% $61

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $25 in Nuwara Eliya for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $233 per month, with Nuwara Eliya cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇱🇰 Nuwara Eliya

🕒 Local time

20:48 8:48 PM

02:18 2:18 AM

5 h 30 min ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

27,500

💱 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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Between locations

Lisbon Nuwara Eliya 9,520 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

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Nuwara Eliya

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 Nuwara Eliya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $500 in Nuwara Eliya, so Nuwara Eliya is about 77% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,315 in Lisbon and $749 in Nuwara Eliya to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Supermarket bills run roughly 17% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $500 in Nuwara Eliya – Nuwara Eliya is about 77% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $500 in Nuwara Eliya versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Nuwara Eliya but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Nuwara Eliya 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 Nuwara Eliya are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.