Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Johor Bahru

For one person, living is cheaper in Johor Bahru: $1,080 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,600 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
52

Cost of Living Index in Johor Bahru
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Johor Bahru Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Johor Bahru

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$1,080

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Johor Bahru

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,080 in Johor Bahru.

Lisbon $2,210
Johor Bahru $1,080

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,611 in Johor Bahru.

Lisbon $3,275
Johor Bahru $1,611

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,141 in Johor Bahru.

Lisbon $4,341
Johor Bahru $2,141

Living in Lisbon is roughly 105% more expensive than in Johor Bahru, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Johor Bahru is 21% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.85

$3.57 MYR 14.52

366.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.1

$18.54 MYR 75.5

233.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.13

$5.03 MYR 20.47

125.84%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.65

$3.00 MYR 12.20

-1.00%

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

$2.29 €2.04

$0.85 MYR 3.45

169.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.56 MYR 2.30

210.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.04

$4.54 MYR 18.48

-25.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.95

$6.27 MYR 25.50

-47.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.03

$1.70 MYR 6.92

-31.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.05 MYR 4.28

81.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$1.42 MYR 5.77

6.34%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.59

$1.73 MYR 7.03

132.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.54

$18.23 MYR 74.2

-29.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.94

$4.57 MYR 18.60

70.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.85

$10.51 MYR 42.77

68.98%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$3.28 MYR 13.37

-29.88%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.74 MYR 7.09

-0.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$3.91 MYR 15.93

-52.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.31

$1.64 MYR 6.67

57.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.41 MYR 5.72

29.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.65 MYR 6.70

19.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.37 MYR 5.56

7.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.56 MYR 2.26

28.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.87

$4.19 MYR 17.05

57.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.00

$14.20 MYR 57.8

-60.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.92 MYR 11.90

-53.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$3.03 MYR 12.32

-29.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.08

$0.70 MYR 2.83

232.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €39.86

$12.36 MYR 50.3

261.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.43

$0.94 MYR 3.84

309.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.95

$0.75 MYR 3.07

42.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.69

$9.95 MYR 40.50

65.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.96

$0.83 MYR 3.37

165.06%

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

$34.2K €30.5K

$43.9K MYR 178.6K

-22.07%

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

$38.7K €34.5K

$35.7K MYR 145.4K

8.38%

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

$161 €144

$52.7 MYR 214

206.09%

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

$18.41 €16.43

$11.01 MYR 44.82

67.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.21

$28.28 MYR 115

15.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.74

$41.28 MYR 168

7.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.04

$5.80 MYR 23.59

229.31%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.56

$4.81 MYR 19.59

99.58%

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

$668 €596

$239 MYR 974

179.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$4,518 MYR 18.4K

289.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.0

$54.6 MYR 222

86.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.67

$16.53 MYR 67.3

168.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €87.9

$81.3 MYR 331

21.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €110

$98.3 MYR 400

25.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,435

$523 MYR 2,130

207.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,062

$416 MYR 1,692

186.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,509

$983 MYR 4,000

186.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,796

$707 MYR 2,879

184.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €6,994

$2,002 MYR 8,147

291.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,082

$1,214 MYR 4,940

277.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,405

$1,076 MYR 4,378

46.43%

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 Johor Bahru: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Johor Bahru

$416 38.5% 65.1% $774

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Johor Bahru

$269 24.9% 1.4% $3.8

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Johor Bahru

$120 11.2% 50.3% $122

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Johor Bahru

$92 8.5% 56.7% $120

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Johor Bahru

$113 10.4% 32% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Johor Bahru

$51 4.7% 20.1% $13

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Johor Bahru

$20 1.8% 68.6% $43

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $523 in Johor Bahru. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 46% 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: $62 in Lisbon vs $19 in Johor Bahru for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $269 per month, with Johor Bahru cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇾 Johor Bahru

🕒 Local time

20:16 8:16 PM

04:16 4:16 AM

8 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

858,118

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 MYR = 0.246 USD

1 MYR = 0.219 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.246 USD). 1 EUR = 4.56 MYR (1 MYR = 0.219 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Johor Bahru 11,870 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

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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 Johor Bahru: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,080 in Johor Bahru, so Johor Bahru is about 51% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 46% higher in Lisbon, 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 $523 in Johor Bahru. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $239 in Johor Bahru. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Johor Bahru – a meal for two runs $19 versus $62 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,080 in Johor Bahru versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Johor Bahru but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Johor Bahru 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, Lisbon and Johor Bahru are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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