Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Kedah

For one person, living is cheaper in Kedah: $877 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Kedah
Learn more

Kedah Living Index

Jump to prices

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Kedah

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$877

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Kedah

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $877 in Kedah.

Lisbon $2,210
Kedah $877

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,399 in Kedah.

Lisbon $3,275
Kedah $1,399

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,920 in Kedah.

Lisbon $4,341
Kedah $1,920

Living in Lisbon is roughly 152% more expensive than in Kedah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Kedah is 36% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.85

$3.72 MYR 15.13

347.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.1

$12.32 MYR 50.2

401.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.13

$4.56 MYR 18.57

149.12%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.65

$2.91 MYR 11.86

2.06%

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

$2.29 €2.04

$0.77 MYR 3.14

197.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.39 MYR 1.59

346.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.04

$4.24 MYR 17.24

-19.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.95

$4.36 MYR 17.73

-24.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.03

$1.88 MYR 7.65

-38.30%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.06 MYR 4.31

80.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$1.72 MYR 6.98

-12.21%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.59

$2.19 MYR 8.90

83.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.54

$13.55 MYR 55.1

-4.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.94

$4.34 MYR 17.68

79.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.85

$8.84 MYR 35.99

100.90%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$2.94 MYR 11.97

-21.77%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.63 MYR 6.65

6.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$2.75 MYR 11.19

-32.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.31

$1.45 MYR 5.92

78.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.10 MYR 4.48

65.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.09 MYR 4.43

80.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.13 MYR 4.61

30.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.57 MYR 2.33

26.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.87

$4.62 MYR 18.81

42.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.00

$18.76 MYR 76.4

-70.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.98 MYR 12.14

-54.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$5.33 MYR 21.70

-59.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.08

$0.76 MYR 3.10

206.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €39.86

$12.85 MYR 52.3

247.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.43

$1.66 MYR 6.75

131.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.95

$0.38 MYR 1.54

181.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.69

$7.29 MYR 29.67

125.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.96

$0.60 MYR 2.46

266.67%

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

$34.2K €30.5K

$45.6K MYR 185.8K

-25.08%

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

$38.7K €34.5K

$35.8K MYR 145.9K

8.03%

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

$161 €144

$36.47 MYR 148

342.06%

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

$18.41 €16.43

$9.66 MYR 39.31

90.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.21

$29.48 MYR 120

11.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.74

$34.63 MYR 141

28.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.04

$6.85 MYR 27.89

178.83%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.56

$4.79 MYR 19.51

100.42%

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

$668 €596

$388 MYR 1,578

72.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$10.7K MYR 43.4K

65.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.0

$58.9 MYR 240

73.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.67

$34.76 MYR 141

27.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €87.9

$81.6 MYR 332

20.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €110

$70.7 MYR 288

75.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,435

$358 MYR 1,456

349.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,062

$258 MYR 1,050

361.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,509

$712 MYR 2,899

294.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,796

$607 MYR 2,469

231.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €6,994

$1,930 MYR 7,857

306.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,082

$1,258 MYR 5,119

263.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,405

$1,339 MYR 5,451

17.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

4.04

-4.70%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Kedah: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Kedah

$258 29.4% 78.3% $932

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Kedah

$257 29.3% 5.8% $16

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Kedah

$113 12.9% 53.5% $130

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Kedah

$76 8.6% 64.4% $137

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Kedah

$111 12.6% 33.3% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Kedah

$44 5% 30.6% $20

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Kedah

$19 2.2% 69.2% $44

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $358 in Kedah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 18% 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 $12 in Kedah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $257 per month, with Kedah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇾 Kedah

🕒 Local time

18:18 6:18 PM

02:18 2:18 AM

8 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

417,800

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 MYR = 0.246 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 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 = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Kedah 11,240 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Kedah

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 Kedah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $877 in Kedah, so Kedah is about 60% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 18% 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 $358 in Kedah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $388 in Kedah. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 6% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $877 in Kedah versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Kedah but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Kedah 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 Kedah are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Kedah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 60% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.