Database performance: varchar index vs integer order column

I'm using a SQLite database in my Android app. I have a non-variable table with, more or less, 500 rows. I want to query these rows ordered by a varchar column (alphabetical order).

What would be faster:

• Add an index on that column

or

• Sorting this data in-memory and then persist with an integer ordering column?

My first approach was add an index but then I have studied that indexes on varchar columns are not quite efficient.

Thanks.