Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Kaohsiung

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.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
53

Cost of Living Index in Kaohsiung
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Kaohsiung Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Kaohsiung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,105

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Kaohsiung

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

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

Lisbon $2,210
Kaohsiung $1,105

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

Lisbon $3,275
Kaohsiung $1,796

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

Lisbon $4,341
Kaohsiung $2,487

Living in Lisbon is roughly 100% more expensive than in Kaohsiung, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.91

$4.74 NT$155

251.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$30.77 NT$1,003

100.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.17

$4.60 NT$150

146.96%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.93 NT$95.4

1.37%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.05 NT$34.21

118.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.69 NT$22.61

152.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$1.51 NT$49.24

125.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.96

$2.39 NT$78.1

38.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$3.16 NT$103

-63.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$2.18 NT$71.1

-12.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$2.87 NT$93.5

-47.39%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$2.54 NT$82.9

58.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$15.21 NT$496

-14.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.96

$8.03 NT$262

-3.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.91

$14.77 NT$481

20.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$6.40 NT$209

-64.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$2.79 NT$90.9

-37.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$2.42 NT$78.8

-23.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$3.02 NT$98.6

-14.24%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$2.68 NT$87.4

-32.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.97 NT$64.4

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$2.30 NT$74.9

-36.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.02 NT$33.12

-29.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$4.24 NT$138

55.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$15.44 NT$503

-63.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.61 NT$52.5

-15.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.09 NT$68.0

2.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.62 NT$20.35

275.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.01

$12.04 NT$393

271.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$2.64 NT$86.0

45.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.78 NT$25.48

37.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.74

$5.68 NT$185

189.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$0.97 NT$31.78

126.80%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$37.1K NT$1.2M

-7.95%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$22.7K NT$739.4K

70.76%

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

$161 €144

$82.1 NT$2,676

96.44%

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

$18.41 €16.49

$16.89 NT$551

9.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.32

$25.27 NT$824

29.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.90

$39.20 NT$1,278

13.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.10

$10.12 NT$330

88.74%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$10.11 NT$330

-5.04%

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

$668 €598

$448 NT$14.6K

48.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$13.7K NT$445.8K

28.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$90.0 NT$2,935

13.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.82

$31.24 NT$1,019

42.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.2

$86.0 NT$2,805

14.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$99.3 NT$3,239

24.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,440

$430 NT$14.0K

273.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$301 NT$9,806

295.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,519

$985 NT$32.1K

185.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,803

$681 NT$22.2K

195.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,021

$4,146 NT$135.2K

89.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,098

$2,875 NT$93.7K

59.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$1,401 NT$45.7K

12.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

2.56

50.39%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Kaohsiung: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Kaohsiung

$301 27.2% 74.7% $889

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Kaohsiung

$355 32.1% 30.4% $83

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Kaohsiung

$106 9.6% 56.2% $136

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Kaohsiung

$124 11.3% 41.5% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Kaohsiung

$138 12.5% 16.8% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Kaohsiung

$59 5.4% 6.8% $4.3

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Kaohsiung

$21 1.9% 66.6% $42

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $430 in Kaohsiung. 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: $62 in Lisbon vs $31 in Kaohsiung. Groceries flip the comparison at $272 vs $355, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇹🇼 Kaohsiung

🕒 Local time

16:42 4:42 PM

00:42 12:42 AM

8 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

2,777,873

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 TWD = 3.07 USD

100 TWD = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 32.61 TWD (100 TWD = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 36.41 TWD (100 TWD = 2.75 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Kaohsiung 11,400 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 Kaohsiung: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,105 in Kaohsiung, so Kaohsiung is about 50% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 12% 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 $430 in Kaohsiung. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $448 in Kaohsiung. 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, Lisbon and Kaohsiung are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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.