Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Polonnaruwa

For one person, living is cheaper in Polonnaruwa: $510 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $20,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
24

Cost of Living Index in Polonnaruwa
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Polonnaruwa Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Polonnaruwa

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$510

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Polonnaruwa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $510 in Polonnaruwa.

Lisbon $2,206
Polonnaruwa $510

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $829 in Polonnaruwa.

Lisbon $3,276
Polonnaruwa $829

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $1,148 in Polonnaruwa.

Lisbon $4,346
Polonnaruwa $1,148

Living in Lisbon is roughly 332% more expensive than in Polonnaruwa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.00

$3.89 LKR 1,294

333.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.3

$25.28 LKR 8,410

141.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.77

$7.32 LKR 2,435

50.00%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.71

$2.56 LKR 850

19.14%

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

$2.28 €2.03

$0.69 LKR 228

230.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$0.27 LKR 89.8

522.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.06

$2.17 LKR 721

58.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.48

$2.98 LKR 990

31.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.02

$1.58 LKR 526

-27.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$0.54 LKR 178

250.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$0.81 LKR 269

85.19%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.66

$1.70 LKR 567

142.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.57

$15.24 LKR 5,069

-14.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.16

$4.93 LKR 1,639

63.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €15.92

$7.66 LKR 2,547

133.55%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$6.48 LKR 2,156

-64.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.81 LKR 269

114.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$4.25 LKR 1,414

-57.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$1.27 LKR 423

111.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.57

$1.04 LKR 345

70.19%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.72

$0.77 LKR 255

151.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$1.26 LKR 419

15.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$0.42 LKR 139

80.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.92

$10.10 LKR 3,358

-34.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.02

$13.57 LKR 4,513

-58.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.87 LKR 622

-31.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.90

$2.98 LKR 990

-28.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.05

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.17

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.54

$0.37 LKR 124

975.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$0.31 LKR 102

106.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.84

$0.86 LKR 285

2101.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.32 LKR 439

72.73%

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

$33.4K €29.7K

$44.4K LKR 14.8M

-24.89%

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

$38.5K €34.3K

$45.5K LKR 15.1M

-15.44%

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

$158 €141

$58.0 LKR 19.3K

172.84%

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

$17.54 €15.61

$4.27 LKR 1,419

310.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.75

$20.36 LKR 6,772

53.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.73

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.89

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.52

$4.60 LKR 1,532

108.26%

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

$674 €599

$40.23 LKR 13.4K

1574.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.7K

$17.1K LKR 5.7M

9.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €90.9

$18.01 LKR 5,989

467.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €40.85

$17.32 LKR 5,761

165.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.0

$78.8 LKR 26.2K

29.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$41.05 LKR 13.7K

197.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,460

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,057

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,514

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,796

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €6,973

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,183

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,501

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

12.5

-69.44%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Polonnaruwa: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Polonnaruwa

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Polonnaruwa

$242 47.5% 11.7% $32

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Polonnaruwa

$104 20.5% 57.4% $141

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Polonnaruwa

$83 16.2% 60.1% $124

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Polonnaruwa

$70 13.7% 58.3% $98

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Polonnaruwa

$9.2 * 1.8% 85.6% $55

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Polonnaruwa

$1.9 * 0.4% 96.9% $59

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $25 in Polonnaruwa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $242 per month, with Polonnaruwa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇱🇰 Polonnaruwa

🕒 Local time

07:13 7:13 AM

12:43 12:43 PM

5 h 30 min ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

15,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 374 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.67 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Polonnaruwa 9,470 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Polonnaruwa

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 Polonnaruwa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $510 in Polonnaruwa, so Polonnaruwa is about 77% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,309 in Lisbon and $765 in Polonnaruwa 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 13% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,206 per month in Lisbon versus $510 in Polonnaruwa – Polonnaruwa is about 77% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $510 in Polonnaruwa versus $2,206 in Lisbon, a $800 budget is realistic in Polonnaruwa but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Polonnaruwa 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 Polonnaruwa are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.