Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Varkala

For one person, living is cheaper in Varkala: $383 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $21,900 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
18

Cost of Living Index in Varkala
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Varkala Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Varkala

🇮🇳 India

$383

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Varkala

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $383 in Varkala.

Lisbon $2,206
Varkala $383

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $608 in Varkala.

Lisbon $3,276
Varkala $608

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $833 in Varkala.

Lisbon $4,346
Varkala $833

Living in Lisbon is roughly 477% more expensive than in Varkala, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 63% above, Varkala is 72% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.01

$2.28 ₹216

639.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.4

$10.35 ₹978

489.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.78

$3.45 ₹326

218.26%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.72

$1.57 ₹149

94.27%

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

$2.28 €2.03

$0.37 ₹35.19

516.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$0.18 ₹16.55

833.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.06

$1.76 ₹166

95.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.48

$3.13 ₹295

24.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.02

$0.71 ₹67.4

61.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$0.45 ₹42.46

320.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$0.66 ₹62.2

127.27%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.66

$0.89 ₹84.2

362.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.58

$4.87 ₹460

167.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.16

$2.99 ₹282

168.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €15.93

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$2.05 ₹194

10.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.74 ₹70.1

135.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$0.98 ₹92.6

85.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$0.54 ₹50.8

398.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.57

$0.38 ₹35.97

365.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.72

$0.43 ₹40.23

351.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$0.45 ₹42.20

224.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$0.32 ₹30.08

137.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.93

$3.89 ₹367

71.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.02

$7.48 ₹706

-24.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.69 ₹160

-23.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.90

$2.76 ₹261

-22.46%

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

$5.59 ₹528

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.05

$0.28 ₹26.35

721.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.19

$8.77 ₹829

401.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.55

$0.83 ₹78.4

379.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$0.25 ₹23.36

156.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.85

$1.43 ₹135

1223.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.16 ₹110

96.55%

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

$33.4K €29.7K

$13.8K ₹1.3M

141.84%

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

$38.5K €34.3K

$22.2K ₹2.1M

73.11%

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

$158 €141

$38.26 ₹3,614

313.46%

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

$17.54 €15.62

$3.52 ₹332

398.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.77

$7.13 ₹673

337.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.75

$15.61 ₹1,475

185.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.90

$7.10 ₹671

167.32%

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.53

$2.85 ₹269

236.14%

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

$674 €600

$51.9 ₹4,905

1197.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.7K

$1,542 ₹145.7K

1114.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.0

$24.46 ₹2,311

317.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €40.87

$24.88 ₹2,351

84.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.0

$41.84 ₹3,953

144.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$30.94 ₹2,922

294.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,461

$123 ₹11.6K

1232.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,057

$75.4 ₹7,127

1473.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,515

$274 ₹25.8K

932.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,797

$179 ₹16.9K

1027.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €6,977

$1,051 ₹99.3K

645.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,186

$599 ₹56.6K

684.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,502

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

8.67

-55.94%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Varkala: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Varkala

$75 19.7% 93.6% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Varkala

$105 27.5% 61.7% $169

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Varkala

$65 16.9% 73.6% $181

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Varkala

$49 12.8% 76.4% $158

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Varkala

$55 14.4% 67.2% $113

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Varkala

$21 5.6% 66.6% $42

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Varkala

$12 3.1% 80.2% $48

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,641 in Lisbon and $123 in Varkala. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $10 in Varkala for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $105 per month, with Varkala cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇮🇳 Varkala

🕒 Local time

02:38 2:38 AM

08:08 8:08 AM

5 h 30 min ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

50,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 INR = 10.59 USD

1,000 INR = 9.43 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Varkala 9,040 km ≈ 12 h 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 Varkala: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $383 in Varkala, so Varkala is about 83% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,309 in Lisbon and $574 in Varkala 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,641 in Lisbon versus $123 in Varkala. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $674 in Lisbon versus $52 in Varkala. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 161% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $383 in Varkala versus $2,206 in Lisbon, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Varkala but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Varkala the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Varkala is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Lisbon, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Lisbon and Varkala are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Varkala gentler on the wallet – expenses run 83% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.