Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kaohsiung and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Kaohsiung: $1,105 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

53

Cost of Living Index in Kaohsiung
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Kaohsiung Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Kaohsiung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,105

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,105 in Kaohsiung versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Kaohsiung $1,105
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,796 in Kaohsiung versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Kaohsiung $1,796
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,487 in Kaohsiung versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Kaohsiung $2,487
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Kaohsiung costs roughly 50% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kaohsiung is 19% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.74 NT$154

$16.65 €14.95

-71.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.77 NT$997

$61.7 €55.5

-50.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.60 NT$149

$11.36 €10.20

-59.51%

Cappuccino

$2.93 NT$94.8

$2.97 €2.67

-1.35%

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

$1.05 NT$33.99

$2.29 €2.06

-54.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.69 NT$22.47

$1.74 €1.56

-60.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 NT$48.93

$3.40 €3.06

-55.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 NT$77.6

$3.31 €2.97

-27.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.16 NT$102

$1.16 €1.04

172.41%

White Bread (500g)

$2.18 NT$70.7

$1.91 €1.72

14.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.87 NT$92.9

$1.51 €1.36

90.07%

Eggs

$2.54 NT$82.4

$4.02 €3.61

-36.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.21 NT$493

$12.94 €11.62

17.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.03 NT$260

$7.77 €6.98

3.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.77 NT$478

$17.76 €15.95

-16.84%

Apples (1kg)

$6.40 NT$207

$2.30 €2.07

178.26%

Banana (1kg)

$2.79 NT$90.3

$1.73 €1.56

61.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.42 NT$78.3

$1.86 €1.67

30.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.02 NT$98.0

$2.59 €2.33

16.60%

Potato (1kg)

$2.68 NT$86.9

$1.82 €1.64

47.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 NT$64.0

$1.97 €1.77

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 NT$74.5

$1.47 €1.32

56.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 NT$32.91

$0.72 €0.65

41.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.24 NT$137

$6.58 €5.91

-35.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.44 NT$500

$5.61 €5.04

175.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 NT$52.1

$1.36 €1.22

18.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 NT$67.6

$2.14 €1.92

-2.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.62 NT$20.22

$2.33 €2.10

-73.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.04 NT$390

$44.68 €40.14

-73.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.64 NT$85.4

$3.85 €3.46

-31.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 NT$25.32

$1.07 €0.96

-27.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.68 NT$184

$16.46 €14.79

-65.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.97 NT$31.58

$2.20 €1.98

-55.91%

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

$37.1K NT$1.2M

$34.2K €30.7K

8.64%

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

$22.7K NT$734.7K

$38.7K €34.8K

-41.44%

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

$82.1 NT$2,659

$161 €145

-49.09%

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

$16.89 NT$547

$18.41 €16.54

-8.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.27 NT$819

$32.74 €29.41

-22.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.20 NT$1,270

$44.55 €40.02

-12.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.12 NT$328

$19.10 €17.16

-47.02%

Cinema Ticket

$10.11 NT$328

$9.60 €8.62

5.31%

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

$448 NT$14.5K

$668 €600

-32.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.7K NT$443.0K

$17.6K €15.8K

-22.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.0 NT$2,916

$102 €91.6

-11.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.24 NT$1,012

$44.46 €39.94

-29.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.0 NT$2,787

$98.5 €88.5

-12.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.3 NT$3,218

$124 €111

-19.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$430 NT$13.9K

$1,608 €1,445

-73.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$301 NT$9,744

$1,190 €1,069

-74.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$985 NT$31.9K

$2,812 €2,526

-64.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$681 NT$22.1K

$2,013 €1,808

-66.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,146 NT$134.3K

$7,839 €7,042

-47.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,875 NT$93.1K

$4,576 €4,110

-37.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,401 NT$45.4K

$1,575 €1,415

-11.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.56

3.85

-33.51%

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

Last update for Kaohsiung: October 26, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kaohsiung

$355 32.1%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 23.3% $83

Accommodation & Living

Kaohsiung

$301 27.2%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 296% $889

Clothing & Footwear

Kaohsiung

$138 12.5%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 20.3% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kaohsiung

$124 11.3%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 70.9% $88

Eating Out

Kaohsiung

$106 9.6%

Lisbon

$243 11% 129% $136

Sport & Entertainment

Kaohsiung

$59 5.4%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 7.3% $4.3

Getting Around

Kaohsiung

$21 1.9%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 200% $42

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $430 in Kaohsiung and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 12% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $31 in Kaohsiung vs $62 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $355 vs $272, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Kaohsiung

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

22:03 10:03 PM

14:03 2:03 PM

8 h behind Kaohsiung

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,777,873

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.09 USD

100 TWD = 2.77 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 32.4 TWD (100 TWD = 3.09 USD). 1 EUR = 36.06 TWD (100 TWD = 2.77 EUR).

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

USD to TWD in detail →

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Between locations

Kaohsiung Lisbon 11,400 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Kaohsiung
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

Kaohsiung vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kaohsiung and Lisbon differ by about 100% in total monthly costs ($1,105 vs $2,210 including rent). Kaohsiung is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 11% lower in Kaohsiung. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $430 in Kaohsiung versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $448 in Kaohsiung versus $668 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 23% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,105 in Kaohsiung versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Kaohsiung but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Kaohsiung 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, Kaohsiung and Lisbon are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

It comes down to priorities – Kaohsiung wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.