Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Gombak

For one person, living is cheaper in Gombak: $904 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $15,700 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Gombak
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Gombak Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Gombak

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$904

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Gombak

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 Gombak actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $904 in Gombak.

Lisbon $2,210
Gombak $904

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,437 in Gombak.

Lisbon $3,275
Gombak $1,437

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,970 in Gombak.

Lisbon $4,341
Gombak $1,970

Living in Lisbon is roughly 144% more expensive than in Gombak, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Gombak is 34% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$3.60 MYR 14.67

362.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$24.44 MYR 99.6

152.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$5.02 MYR 20.47

126.29%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$2.96 MYR 12.07

0.34%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$0.91 MYR 3.73

151.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.45 MYR 1.82

286.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$3.28 MYR 13.35

3.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$5.76 MYR 23.47

-42.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.92 MYR 7.84

-39.58%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$1.07 MYR 4.36

78.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.47 MYR 6.00

2.72%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$1.76 MYR 7.19

128.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$9.87 MYR 40.23

31.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$3.35 MYR 13.67

131.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$9.68 MYR 39.46

83.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$3.40 MYR 13.84

-32.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.88 MYR 7.66

-7.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$2.63 MYR 10.73

-29.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.81 MYR 7.36

43.09%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$2.08 MYR 8.49

-12.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.96 MYR 7.99

0.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.44 MYR 5.85

2.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.52 MYR 2.11

38.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$4.48 MYR 18.26

46.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$19.92 MYR 81.2

-71.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.68 MYR 10.91

-49.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$4.44 MYR 18.09

-51.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.82 MYR 3.35

184.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$12.38 MYR 50.4

260.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$1.20 MYR 4.88

220.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.36 MYR 1.45

197.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$9.10 MYR 37.06

80.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$0.87 MYR 3.55

152.87%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$46.0K MYR 187.5K

-25.69%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$35.1K MYR 143.1K

10.29%

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

$161 €145

$50.0 MYR 204

222.44%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$8.39 MYR 34.20

119.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$26.39 MYR 108

24.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$37.05 MYR 151

20.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$5.93 MYR 24.17

222.09%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$3.11 MYR 12.69

208.68%

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

$668 €600

$282 MYR 1,150

136.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$10.6K MYR 43.0K

66.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$51.7 MYR 211

97.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$29.84 MYR 122

48.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$76.1 MYR 310

29.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$84.2 MYR 343

46.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$411 MYR 1,673

291.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$285 MYR 1,163

317.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$732 MYR 2,984

284.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$608 MYR 2,475

231.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$1,943 MYR 7,917

303.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$1,168 MYR 4,760

291.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$542 MYR 2,209

190.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

4.51

-14.63%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Gombak: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Gombak

$285 31.6% 76% $905

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Gombak

$250 27.7% 8.1% $22

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Gombak

$113 12.5% 53.5% $130

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Gombak

$85 9.4% 60.1% $128

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Gombak

$109 12% 34.4% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Gombak

$43 4.8% 32.1% $20

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Gombak

$19 2.1% 70.5% $45

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $411 in Gombak. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $24 in Gombak for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $250 per month, with Gombak cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇾 Gombak

🕒 Local time

22:05 10:05 PM

06:05 6:05 AM

8 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

41,699

💱 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 Gombak 11,570 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

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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 Gombak: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Gombak wins on cost – living expenses run 59% lower than in Lisbon. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Gombak the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 2.9 times higher, 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $411 in Gombak. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 9% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Gombak – a meal for two runs $24 versus $62 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Gombak 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, Lisbon and Gombak are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Gombak gentler on the wallet – expenses run 59% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.