Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kota Bharu and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Kota Bharu: $694 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $18,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Kota Bharu
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Kota Bharu Living Index
106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Kota Bharu

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$694

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $694 per month in Kota Bharu vs $2,206 in Lisbon, rent included.

Kota Bharu $694
Lisbon $2,206

A couple spends around $1,075 per month in Kota Bharu vs $3,276 in Lisbon, rent included.

Kota Bharu $1,075
Lisbon $3,276

A family of three spends $1,455 per month in Kota Bharu vs $4,346 in Lisbon, rent included.

Kota Bharu $1,455
Lisbon $4,346

Kota Bharu is about 69% cheaper than Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Kota Bharu sits 49% below the global median, while Lisbon is 63% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 MYR 9.12

$16.86 €15.04

-86.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.43 MYR 79.2

$61.0 €54.5

-68.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.79 MYR 19.51

$10.98 €9.80

-56.38%

Cappuccino

$2.18 MYR 8.87

$3.05 €2.72

-28.52%

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

$0.47 MYR 1.93

$2.28 €2.04

-79.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 MYR 1.05

$1.68 €1.50

-84.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.27 MYR 17.40

$3.44 €3.07

24.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.34 MYR 17.68

$3.91 €3.48

11.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 MYR 6.38

$1.15 €1.02

36.52%

White Bread (500g)

$0.90 MYR 3.67

$1.89 €1.68

-52.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.78 MYR 3.18

$1.50 €1.34

-48.00%

Eggs

$1.60 MYR 6.51

$4.12 €3.67

-61.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.48 MYR 55.0

$13.01 €11.60

3.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.06 MYR 12.49

$8.04 €7.18

-61.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.52 MYR 26.57

$17.89 €15.96

-63.56%

Apples (1kg)

$3.07 MYR 12.52

$2.27 €2.03

35.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 MYR 5.89

$1.74 €1.56

-16.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.76 MYR 11.25

$1.82 €1.62

51.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.12 MYR 4.58

$2.69 €2.40

-58.36%

Potato (1kg)

$0.95 MYR 3.86

$1.77 €1.58

-46.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 MYR 4.46

$1.94 €1.73

-43.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 MYR 4.48

$1.46 €1.31

-24.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.45 MYR 1.83

$0.76 €0.68

-40.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.35 MYR 13.66

$6.66 €5.94

-49.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.31 MYR 78.7

$5.64 €5.03

242.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.93 MYR 11.93

$1.29 €1.15

127.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.45 MYR 22.19

$2.14 €1.91

154.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.76 MYR 3.11

$2.30 €2.05

-66.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.22 MYR 49.79

$44.02 €39.26

-72.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.77 MYR 7.20

$3.98 €3.55

-55.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.41 MYR 1.65

$0.64 €0.57

-35.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.75 MYR 15.29

$18.93 €16.88

-80.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.48 MYR 1.96

$2.28 €2.03

-78.95%

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

$31.4K MYR 128.1K

$33.4K €29.8K

-5.79%

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

$29.5K MYR 120.3K

$38.5K €34.3K

-23.32%

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

$37.70 MYR 154

$158 €141

-76.17%

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

$8.53 MYR 34.74

$17.54 €15.64

-51.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.29 MYR 107

$31.18 €27.82

-15.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 MYR 199

$44.64 €39.82

9.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.93

Cinema Ticket

$4.44 MYR 18.11

$9.58 €8.54

-53.65%

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

$122 MYR 497

$674 €601

-81.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MYR 47.3K

$18.7K €16.7K

-38.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.7 MYR 223

$102 €91.2

-46.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.81 MYR 80.7

$45.90 €40.94

-56.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.7 MYR 329

$102 €91.2

-21.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.8 MYR 284

$122 €109

-42.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$247 MYR 1,007

$1,641 €1,463

-84.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$123 MYR 502

$1,187 €1,059

-89.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$676 MYR 2,753

$2,825 €2,519

-76.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$224 MYR 913

$2,018 €1,800

-88.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €6,989

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,193

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$296 MYR 1,205

$1,687 €1,505

-82.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.24

3.82

10.99%

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

Last update for Kota Bharu: November 2, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kota Bharu

$229 33%

Lisbon

$275 12.5% 19.8% $45

Accommodation & Living

Kota Bharu

$123 17.7%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 864% $1.1K

Clothing & Footwear

Kota Bharu

$101 14.6%

Lisbon

$168 7.6% 65.5% $66

Eating Out

Kota Bharu

$91 13.2%

Lisbon

$245 11.1% 169% $154

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kota Bharu

$73 10.5%

Lisbon

$207 9.4% 185% $134

Sport & Entertainment

Kota Bharu

$58 8.3%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 10.5% $6.1

Getting Around

Kota Bharu

$19 2.8%

Lisbon

$60 2.7% 217% $41

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $247 in Kota Bharu versus $1,641 in Lisbon. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Lisbon are about 5.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Kota Bharu versus $61 in Lisbon. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $229 vs $275 – making Kota Bharu the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Kota Bharu

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

14:27 2:27 PM

06:27 6:27 AM

8 h behind Kota Bharu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

568,900

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.219 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.56 MYR (1 MYR = 0.219 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Kota Bharu Lisbon 11,400 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Kota Bharu
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

Kota Bharu vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon costs about 218% more than Kota Bharu, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,041 per month in Kota Bharu and $3,309 in Lisbon. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kota Bharu, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $247 there versus $1,641 in Lisbon.

Public transport costs about 72% less in Kota Bharu. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $122 per month in Kota Bharu and $674 in Lisbon. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Kota Bharu, where all-in costs run around $694, than in Lisbon at $2,206. In Kota Bharu it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lisbon it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Kota Bharu – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with Kota Bharu. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Lisbon makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.