Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Trincomalee

For one person, living is cheaper in Trincomalee: $509 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $20,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index
24

Cost of Living Index in Trincomalee
Learn more

Trincomalee Living Index

Jump to prices

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Trincomalee

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$509

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Trincomalee

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $509 in Trincomalee.

Lisbon $2,210
Trincomalee $509

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $826 in Trincomalee.

Lisbon $3,275
Trincomalee $826

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,143 in Trincomalee.

Lisbon $4,341
Trincomalee $1,143

Living in Lisbon is roughly 335% more expensive than in Trincomalee, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$3.91 LKR 1,300

325.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$25.21 LKR 8,380

144.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$7.75 LKR 2,575

46.58%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.53 LKR 840

17.39%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$0.73 LKR 242

213.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.25 LKR 82.3

596.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$2.25 LKR 749

51.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.98 LKR 992

11.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.62 LKR 538

-28.40%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$0.52 LKR 174

267.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$0.74 LKR 247

104.05%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$1.64 LKR 545

145.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$14.05 LKR 4,670

-7.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$4.98 LKR 1,655

56.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$7.30 LKR 2,425

143.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$6.62 LKR 2,201

-65.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$0.87 LKR 289

98.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$4.46 LKR 1,481

-58.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$1.33 LKR 441

94.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.03 LKR 344

76.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$0.76 LKR 254

159.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.95 LKR 315

54.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.42 LKR 140

71.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$10.11 LKR 3,362

-34.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$13.10 LKR 4,354

-57.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.90 LKR 631

-28.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.90 LKR 965

-26.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$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 €14.75

$0.88 LKR 293

1770.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.34 LKR 446

64.18%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$44.0K LKR 14.6M

-22.27%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$40.1K LKR 13.3M

-3.42%

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

$161 €144

$58.2 LKR 19.3K

177.11%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$4.17 LKR 1,388

341.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$20.63 LKR 6,858

58.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$4.45 LKR 1,479

115.73%

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

$668 €598

$38.13 LKR 12.7K

1651.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$1,193 LKR 396.6K

1376.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$17.98 LKR 5,976

467.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$16.87 LKR 5,608

163.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$80.5 LKR 26.8K

22.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$42.56 LKR 14.1K

190.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

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 Trincomalee: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Trincomalee

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Trincomalee

$238 46.7% 12.7% $35

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Trincomalee

$106 20.8% 56.3% $137

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Trincomalee

$83 16.3% 60.9% $129

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Trincomalee

$71 14% 57.2% $95

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Trincomalee

$8.9 * 1.8% 86% $55

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Trincomalee

$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 Trincomalee for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $238 per month, with Trincomalee cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇱🇰 Trincomalee

🕒 Local time

04:25 4:25 AM

09:55 9:55 AM

5 h 30 min ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

99,100

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 29, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Trincomalee 9,440 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Trincomalee

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 Trincomalee: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $509 in Trincomalee, so Trincomalee 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 $763 in Trincomalee 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 15% 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 $509 in Trincomalee – Trincomalee is about 77% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $509 in Trincomalee versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Trincomalee but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Trincomalee 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 Trincomalee are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.