Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nuwara Eliya and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Nuwara Eliya: $500 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $20,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

24

Cost of Living Index in Nuwara Eliya
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Nuwara Eliya Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Nuwara Eliya

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$500

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nuwara Eliya and in Lisbon

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Nuwara Eliya and in Lisbon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $500 in Nuwara Eliya versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Nuwara Eliya $500
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $813 in Nuwara Eliya versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Nuwara Eliya $813
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,126 in Nuwara Eliya versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Nuwara Eliya $1,126
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Nuwara Eliya costs roughly 77% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.79 LKR 1,259

$16.65 €14.95

-77.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.40 LKR 8,445

$61.7 €55.5

-58.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.51 LKR 2,497

$11.36 €10.20

-33.89%

Cappuccino

$2.55 LKR 846

$2.97 €2.67

-14.14%

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

$0.36 LKR 121

$2.29 €2.06

-84.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 LKR 90.2

$1.74 €1.56

-84.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.16 LKR 718

$3.40 €3.06

-36.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 LKR 1,018

$3.31 €2.97

-7.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 LKR 543

$1.16 €1.04

40.52%

White Bread (500g)

$0.57 LKR 190

$1.91 €1.72

-70.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.74 LKR 248

$1.51 €1.36

-50.99%

Eggs

$1.64 LKR 546

$4.02 €3.61

-59.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.62 LKR 4,526

$12.94 €11.62

5.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.74 LKR 1,575

$7.77 €6.98

-39.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.34 LKR 2,439

$17.76 €15.95

-58.67%

Apples (1kg)

$6.47 LKR 2,152

$2.30 €2.07

181.30%

Banana (1kg)

$0.80 LKR 268

$1.73 €1.56

-53.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.31 LKR 1,431

$1.86 €1.67

131.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.26 LKR 420

$2.59 €2.33

-51.35%

Potato (1kg)

$1.01 LKR 335

$1.82 €1.64

-44.51%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 LKR 256

$1.97 €1.77

-60.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.88 LKR 292

$1.47 €1.32

-40.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.45 LKR 151

$0.72 €0.65

-37.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.26 LKR 3,410

$6.58 €5.91

55.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.83 LKR 4,264

$5.61 €5.04

128.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 LKR 630

$1.36 €1.22

39.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.94 LKR 977

$2.14 €1.92

37.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.38 LKR 125

$3.85 €3.46

-90.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 LKR 116

$1.07 €0.96

-67.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.88 LKR 292

$16.46 €14.79

-94.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 LKR 458

$2.20 €1.98

-37.27%

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

$43.8K LKR 14.6M

$34.2K €30.7K

28.06%

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

$39.8K LKR 13.2M

$38.7K €34.8K

2.85%

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

$57.7 LKR 19.2K

$161 €145

-64.22%

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

$4.32 LKR 1,435

$18.41 €16.54

-76.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.36 LKR 6,770

$32.74 €29.41

-37.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

Cinema Ticket

$4.55 LKR 1,514

$9.60 €8.62

-52.60%

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

$38.33 LKR 12.7K

$668 €600

-94.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,215 LKR 403.8K

$17.6K €15.8K

-93.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.89 LKR 5,947

$102 €91.6

-82.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.67 LKR 5,541

$44.46 €39.94

-62.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.9 LKR 26.2K

$98.5 €88.5

-19.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.52 LKR 13.8K

$124 €111

-66.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.69

3.85

229.61%

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

Last update for Nuwara Eliya: October 25, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Nuwara Eliya

$233 46.7%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 16.7% $39

Eating Out

Nuwara Eliya

$103 20.6%

Lisbon

$243 11% 136% $140

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nuwara Eliya

$82 16.5%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 158% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Nuwara Eliya

$70 14%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 138% $96

Sport & Entertainment

Nuwara Eliya

$9.1 * 1.8%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 600% $55

Getting Around

Nuwara Eliya

$2.1 * 0.4%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 2881% $61

Accommodation & Living

Nuwara Eliya

- * 0%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $25 in Nuwara Eliya vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $233 vs $272 per month, with Nuwara Eliya cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Nuwara Eliya

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

01:29 1:29 AM

19:59 7:59 PM

5 h 30 min behind Nuwara Eliya

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

27,500

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to LKR – Sri Lankan Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 332 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 370 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Nuwara Eliya Lisbon 9,520 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Nuwara Eliya
Lisbon

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

Nuwara Eliya vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $500 in Nuwara Eliya and $2,210 in Lisbon, so Nuwara Eliya is about 77% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $749 in Nuwara Eliya and $3,315 in Lisbon 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 17% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $500 per month in Nuwara Eliya versus $2,210 in Lisbon – Nuwara Eliya is about 77% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $500 in Nuwara Eliya versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Nuwara Eliya but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Nuwara Eliya 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, Nuwara Eliya and Lisbon are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.