Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Wattala

For one person, living is cheaper in Wattala: $574 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $19,600 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
28

Cost of Living Index in Wattala
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Wattala Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Wattala

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$574

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Wattala

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $574 in Wattala.

Lisbon $2,206
Wattala $574

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $951 in Wattala.

Lisbon $3,276
Wattala $951

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $1,328 in Wattala.

Lisbon $4,346
Wattala $1,328

Living in Lisbon is roughly 284% more expensive than in Wattala, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 63% above, Wattala is 58% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.00

$3.83 LKR 1,274

340.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.3

$24.35 LKR 8,098

150.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.77

$7.64 LKR 2,540

43.72%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.71

$2.48 LKR 824

22.98%

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

$2.28 €2.03

$0.68 LKR 227

235.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$0.27 LKR 89.9

522.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.06

$2.14 LKR 712

60.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.48

$3.04 LKR 1,011

28.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.02

$1.59 LKR 528

-27.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$0.54 LKR 178

250.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$0.77 LKR 256

94.81%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.66

$1.64 LKR 545

151.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.57

$14.00 LKR 4,655

-7.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.16

$4.75 LKR 1,582

69.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €15.92

$7.34 LKR 2,440

143.73%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$6.41 LKR 2,133

-64.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.80 LKR 265

117.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$4.37 LKR 1,452

-58.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$1.27 LKR 422

111.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.57

$1.05 LKR 348

68.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.72

$0.77 LKR 256

151.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$0.95 LKR 315

53.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$0.43 LKR 143

76.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.92

$10.26 LKR 3,411

-35.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.02

$12.73 LKR 4,236

-55.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.89 LKR 630

-31.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.90

$2.90 LKR 965

-26.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.05

$0.20 LKR 66.4

1050.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.17

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.54

$0.41 LKR 136

870.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$0.34 LKR 113

88.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.84

$0.89 LKR 295

2026.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.13 LKR 376

101.77%

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

$33.4K €29.7K

$43.2K LKR 14.4M

-22.81%

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

$38.5K €34.3K

$40.4K LKR 13.4M

-4.75%

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

$158 €141

$58.9 LKR 19.6K

168.39%

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

$17.54 €15.61

$4.18 LKR 1,391

319.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.75

$20.89 LKR 6,949

49.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.73

$13.62 LKR 4,530

227.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.89

$4.57 LKR 1,519

315.32%

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.52

$2.93 LKR 975

226.96%

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

$674 €599

$37.76 LKR 12.6K

1684.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.7K

$1,202 LKR 399.7K

1458.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €90.9

$18.04 LKR 5,999

466.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €40.85

$16.50 LKR 5,490

178.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.0

$77.3 LKR 25.7K

32.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$42.08 LKR 14.0K

189.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,460

$104 LKR 34.6K

1476.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,057

$61.1 LKR 20.3K

1843.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,514

$241 LKR 80.2K

1071.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,796

$178 LKR 59.1K

1035.40%

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

12.69

-69.90%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Wattala: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Wattala

$61 10.6% 94.9% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Wattala

$234 40.7% 14.9% $41

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Wattala

$104 18.1% 57.6% $141

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Wattala

$84 14.6% 59.4% $123

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Wattala

$69 12.1% 58.6% $98

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Wattala

$19 3.4% 69.5% $44

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Wattala

$2.9 * 0.5% 95.2% $58

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,641 in Lisbon and $104 in Wattala. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $24 in Wattala for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $234 per month, with Wattala cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇱🇰 Wattala

🕒 Local time

07:00 7:00 AM

12:30 12:30 PM

5 h 30 min ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

30,200

💱 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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Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Wattala 9,440 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Wattala

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 Wattala: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $574 in Wattala, so Wattala is about 74% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,309 in Lisbon and $861 in Wattala 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 $104 in Wattala. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

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 $2,206 per month in Lisbon versus $574 in Wattala – Wattala is about 74% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $574 in Wattala versus $2,206 in Lisbon, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Wattala but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Wattala 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 Wattala are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.