Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Varanasi

For one person, living is cheaper in Varanasi: $293 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $23,000 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
14

Cost of Living Index in Varanasi
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Varanasi Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Varanasi

🇮🇳 India

$293

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Varanasi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $293 in Varanasi.

Lisbon $2,206
Varanasi $293

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $483 in Varanasi.

Lisbon $3,276
Varanasi $483

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $672 in Varanasi.

Lisbon $4,346
Varanasi $672

Living in Lisbon is roughly 653% more expensive than in Varanasi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 63% above, Varanasi is 78% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.04

$1.89 ₹179

792.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.5

$8.02 ₹760

661.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.80

$3.21 ₹304

242.06%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.72

$1.65 ₹156

84.85%

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

$2.28 €2.04

$0.41 ₹38.77

456.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$0.11 ₹10.11

1427.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.07

$1.62 ₹153

112.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.48

$2.12 ₹201

84.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.02

$0.66 ₹62.7

74.24%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$0.29 ₹27.25

551.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$0.54 ₹50.7

177.78%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.67

$0.83 ₹78.6

396.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.60

$3.28 ₹310

296.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.18

$2.13 ₹202

277.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €15.96

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.03

$1.43 ₹135

58.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.65 ₹61.3

167.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$0.89 ₹84.5

104.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.40

$0.35 ₹32.74

668.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.58

$0.26 ₹24.69

580.77%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.73

$0.24 ₹22.73

708.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.46 ₹43.31

217.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$0.28 ₹26.59

171.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.94

$3.20 ₹303

108.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.03

$5.83 ₹553

-3.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.61 ₹153

-19.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.98 ₹187

8.08%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$4.24 ₹402

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.05

$0.55 ₹52.5

318.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.26

$9.71 ₹920

353.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.55

$0.24 ₹22.72

1558.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$0.12 ₹10.98

433.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.88

$1.04 ₹98.8

1720.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.05 ₹99.9

117.14%

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

$33.4K €29.8K

$11.3K ₹1.1M

196.16%

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

$38.5K €34.3K

$22.2K ₹2.1M

73.39%

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

$158 €141

$12.68 ₹1,202

1147.56%

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

$17.54 €15.64

$3.63 ₹344

383.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.82

$6.84 ₹648

355.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.82

$12.72 ₹1,205

250.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.93

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.54

$2.91 ₹275

229.21%

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

$674 €601

$38.77 ₹3,673

1637.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.7K

$1,088 ₹103.1K

1621.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.2

$23.62 ₹2,238

332.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €40.94

$25.11 ₹2,379

82.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.2

$38.81 ₹3,676

163.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$25.32 ₹2,398

381.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,463

$114 ₹10.8K

1339.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,059

$46.99 ₹4,452

2426.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,519

$200 ₹18.9K

1315.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,800

$140 ₹13.3K

1342.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €6,989

$560 ₹53.0K

1300.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,193

$340 ₹32.2K

1283.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,505

$575 ₹54.4K

193.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

8.53

-55.22%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Varanasi: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Varanasi

$47 16% 96% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Varanasi

$82 28% 70.2% $193

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Varanasi

$59 20.1% 76% $186

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Varanasi

$23 7.9% 88.8% $184

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Varanasi

$51 17.3% 69.7% $117

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Varanasi

$19 6.3% 71% $45

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Varanasi

$13 4.4% 78.9% $48

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,641 in Lisbon and $114 in Varanasi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.9 times more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $8 in Varanasi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $82 per month, with Varanasi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇮🇳 Varanasi

🕒 Local time

08:16 8:16 AM

13:46 1:46 PM

5 h 30 min ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

3,100,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 INR = 10.56 USD

1,000 INR = 9.42 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 94.73 INR (100 INR = 1.06 USD). 1 EUR = 106 INR (1,000 INR = 9.42 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Varanasi 8,460 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Varanasi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $293 in Varanasi, so Varanasi is about 87% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 2.9 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: $1,641 in Lisbon versus $114 in Varanasi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $674 in Lisbon versus $39 in Varanasi. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 235% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $293 in Varanasi versus $2,206 in Lisbon, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Varanasi but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Varanasi 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.

Expats usually find Varanasi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 87% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.