Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiayi and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiayi: $1,041 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Chiayi
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Chiayi Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Chiayi

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,041

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chiayi 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 Chiayi and in Lisbon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,041 in Chiayi versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Chiayi $1,041
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,471 in Chiayi versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Chiayi $1,471
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,901 in Chiayi versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Chiayi $1,901
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Chiayi costs roughly 53% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chiayi is 24% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.59 NT$150

$16.65 €14.92

-72.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.34 NT$1,511

$61.7 €55.3

-24.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.65 NT$184

$11.36 €10.18

-50.26%

Cappuccino

$3.29 NT$107

$2.97 €2.66

10.77%

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

$0.85 NT$27.72

$2.29 €2.05

-62.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 NT$21.81

$1.74 €1.56

-61.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.98 NT$97.2

$3.40 €3.05

-12.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.58 NT$117

$3.31 €2.97

8.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.95 NT$96.2

$1.16 €1.04

154.31%

White Bread (500g)

$1.95 NT$63.5

$1.91 €1.71

2.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.05 NT$99.5

$1.51 €1.36

101.99%

Eggs

$2.63 NT$85.8

$4.02 €3.60

-34.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.97 NT$619

$12.94 €11.59

46.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.89 NT$322

$7.77 €6.97

27.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.28 NT$694

$17.76 €15.92

19.82%

Apples (1kg)

$4.72 NT$154

$2.30 €2.06

105.22%

Banana (1kg)

$3.28 NT$107

$1.73 €1.55

89.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 NT$93.5

$1.86 €1.66

54.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.23 NT$138

$2.59 €2.32

63.32%

Potato (1kg)

$2.65 NT$86.2

$1.82 €1.63

45.60%

Onion (1kg)

$2.20 NT$71.6

$1.97 €1.76

11.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.72 NT$56.1

$1.47 €1.32

17.01%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 NT$36.48

$0.72 €0.65

55.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.75 NT$122

$6.58 €5.90

-43.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.48 NT$146

$5.61 €5.02

-20.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 NT$51.4

$1.36 €1.22

16.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 NT$69.5

$2.14 €1.91

-0.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.12 NT$395

$44.68 €40.04

-72.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.54 NT$82.8

$3.85 €3.45

-34.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.45 NT$14.70

$1.07 €0.96

-57.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 NT$292

$16.46 €14.75

-45.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.00 NT$32.62

$2.20 €1.97

-54.55%

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

$34.1K NT$1.1M

$34.2K €30.6K

-0.36%

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

$23.5K NT$765.9K

$38.7K €34.7K

-39.34%

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

$64.7 NT$2,108

$161 €144

-59.89%

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

$17.55 NT$572

$18.41 €16.50

-4.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.76 NT$872

$32.74 €29.34

-18.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.55 NT$996

$44.55 €39.92

-31.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

Cinema Ticket

$9.62 NT$314

$9.60 €8.60

0.21%

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

$712 NT$23.2K

$668 €598

6.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.1K NT$525.9K

$17.6K €15.8K

-8.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.2 NT$2,027

$102 €91.4

-39.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.01 NT$1,272

$44.46 €39.85

-12.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 NT$2,698

$98.5 €88.3

-16.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 NT$3,317

$124 €111

-17.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$374 NT$12.2K

$1,608 €1,441

-76.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$244 NT$7,940

$1,190 €1,066

-79.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,070 NT$100.1K

$7,839 €7,025

-60.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,843 NT$60.1K

$4,576 €4,100

-59.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,038 NT$66.4K

$1,575 €1,411

29.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.4

3.85

-37.66%

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

Last update for Chiayi: 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

Chiayi

$372 35.7%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 26.7% $99

Accommodation & Living

Chiayi

$244 23.4%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 389% $947

Clothing & Footwear

Chiayi

$129 12.4%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 29.1% $37

Eating Out

Chiayi

$121 11.7%

Lisbon

$243 11% 100% $121

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiayi

$109 10.5%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 94.9% $103

Sport & Entertainment

Chiayi

$50 4.8%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 28% $14

Getting Around

Chiayi

$17 * 1.6%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 274% $46

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 $374 in Chiayi and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Chiayi pays 29% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $46 in Chiayi vs $62 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $372 vs $272, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Chiayi

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

18:18 6:18 PM

10:18 10:18 AM

8 h behind Chiayi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

269,874

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.07 USD

100 TWD = 2.75 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to TWD – New Taiwan Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇼 New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 32.61 TWD (100 TWD = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 36.39 TWD (100 TWD = 2.75 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chiayi Lisbon 11,340 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiayi
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

Chiayi vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiayi wins on cost – living expenses run 53% lower than in Lisbon. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Chiayi the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 29% higher in Chiayi, 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: $374 in Chiayi versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,041 per month in Chiayi versus $2,210 in Lisbon – Chiayi is about 53% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Chiayi runs roughly 73% less than in Lisbon. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Chiayi is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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