Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Cheras

For one person, living is cheaper in Cheras: $1,139 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $12,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Cheras
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Cheras Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Cheras

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$1,139

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Cheras

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

A single person spends $2,210 per month in Lisbon vs $1,139 in Cheras, rent included.

Lisbon $2,210
Cheras $1,139

A couple spends around $3,275 per month in Lisbon vs $1,560 in Cheras, rent included.

Lisbon $3,275
Cheras $1,560

A family of three spends $4,341 per month in Lisbon vs $1,982 in Cheras, rent included.

Lisbon $4,341
Cheras $1,982

Lisbon costs about 94% more than Cheras, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Lisbon sits 62% above the global median, while Cheras is 16% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$3.61 MYR 14.72

361.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$24.03 MYR 97.9

156.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$5.02 MYR 20.44

126.29%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$2.99 MYR 12.17

-0.67%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$0.91 MYR 3.71

151.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.57 MYR 2.32

205.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$4.33 MYR 17.63

-21.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$6.32 MYR 25.74

-47.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.89 MYR 7.69

-38.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$1.07 MYR 4.36

78.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.49 MYR 6.07

1.34%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$1.78 MYR 7.26

125.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$18.03 MYR 73.5

-28.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$4.56 MYR 18.59

70.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$10.89 MYR 44.39

63.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$3.58 MYR 14.59

-35.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.86 MYR 7.58

-6.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$2.63 MYR 10.73

-29.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.67 MYR 6.80

55.09%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$2.08 MYR 8.48

-12.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.65 MYR 6.73

19.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.33 MYR 5.43

10.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.50 MYR 2.05

44.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$4.30 MYR 17.53

53.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$14.15 MYR 57.7

-60.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.66 MYR 10.82

-48.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$3.15 MYR 12.83

-32.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.76 MYR 3.11

206.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$12.45 MYR 50.7

258.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$0.94 MYR 3.84

309.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.36 MYR 1.46

197.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$9.17 MYR 37.38

79.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$0.86 MYR 3.52

155.81%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$45.0K MYR 183.5K

-24.09%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$35.8K MYR 146.0K

8.10%

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

$161 €145

$49.55 MYR 202

225.37%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$10.91 MYR 44.46

68.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$27.88 MYR 114

17.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$52.1 MYR 212

-14.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$6.66 MYR 27.12

186.79%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$4.99 MYR 20.35

92.38%

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

$668 €600

$164 MYR 667

307.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$4,411 MYR 18.0K

299.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$53.6 MYR 218

90.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$30.08 MYR 123

47.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$81.9 MYR 334

20.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$97.3 MYR 396

27.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$386 MYR 1,574

316.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$463 MYR 1,886

157.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$666 MYR 2,713

322.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$490 MYR 1,995

311.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$2,001 MYR 8,155

291.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$1,081 MYR 4,402

323.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$1,161 MYR 4,730

35.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

4.06

-5.17%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Cheras: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Cheras

$463 40.6% 61.1% $727

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Cheras

$269 23.6% 1.2% $3.3

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Cheras

$120 10.5% 50.5% $123

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Cheras

$88 7.8% 58.4% $124

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Cheras

$118 10.4% 28.7% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Cheras

$62 5.5% 2.6% $1.7

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Cheras

$18 1.6% 71.2% $45

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,608 in Lisbon versus $386 in Cheras. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 36% higher in Lisbon, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $62 in Lisbon versus $24 in Cheras. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $272 vs $269 – making Cheras the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇾 Cheras

🕒 Local time

18:39 6:39 PM

02:39 2:39 AM

8 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

440,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

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

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Cheras 11,580 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

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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

Lisbon vs Cheras: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Lisbon is pricier by about 94%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,315 per month in Lisbon and $1,708 in Cheras. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cheras, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $386 there versus $1,608 in Lisbon.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,139 in Cheras. That’s a gap of about 94%.

Kindergarten costs $668 per month in Lisbon and $164 in Cheras. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Cheras, where all-in costs run around $1,139, than in Lisbon at $2,210. In Cheras it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lisbon it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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