Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Kepong

For one person, living is cheaper in Kepong: $896 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $15,800 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
43

Cost of Living Index in Kepong
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Kepong Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Kepong

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$896

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Kepong

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

A single person spends $2,210 per month in Lisbon vs $896 in Kepong, rent included.

Lisbon $2,210
Kepong $896

A couple spends around $3,275 per month in Lisbon vs $1,392 in Kepong, rent included.

Lisbon $3,275
Kepong $1,392

A family of three spends $4,341 per month in Lisbon vs $1,888 in Kepong, rent included.

Lisbon $4,341
Kepong $1,888

Lisbon costs about 147% more than Kepong, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Lisbon sits 62% above the global median, while Kepong is 34% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$3.74 MYR 15.23

345.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$24.13 MYR 98.3

155.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$4.99 MYR 20.31

127.66%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$2.98 MYR 12.13

-0.34%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$0.86 MYR 3.49

166.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.41 MYR 1.69

324.39%

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

$5.59 MYR 22.78

-40.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.74 MYR 7.09

-33.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$1.03 MYR 4.20

85.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.42 MYR 5.77

6.34%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$1.82 MYR 7.43

120.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$9.82 MYR 40.02

31.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$3.32 MYR 13.52

134.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$9.29 MYR 37.84

91.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$3.40 MYR 13.85

-32.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.74 MYR 7.07

-0.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$2.62 MYR 10.69

-29.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.66 MYR 6.77

56.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$1.46 MYR 5.93

24.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.72 MYR 7.02

14.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.32 MYR 5.38

11.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.51 MYR 2.08

41.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$4.37 MYR 17.82

50.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$13.83 MYR 56.4

-59.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.64 MYR 10.77

-48.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$3.02 MYR 12.30

-29.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.82 MYR 3.34

184.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$12.44 MYR 50.7

259.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$0.95 MYR 3.86

305.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.35 MYR 1.44

205.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$8.86 MYR 36.10

85.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$0.88 MYR 3.59

150.00%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$43.6K MYR 177.6K

-21.56%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$34.8K MYR 141.9K

11.18%

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

$161 €145

$49.67 MYR 202

224.58%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$8.29 MYR 33.78

122.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$27.18 MYR 111

20.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$40.69 MYR 166

9.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$6.25 MYR 25.47

205.60%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$4.85 MYR 19.75

97.94%

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

$668 €600

$238 MYR 968

181.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$4,440 MYR 18.1K

296.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$53.3 MYR 217

91.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$24.40 MYR 99.4

82.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$82.9 MYR 338

18.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$87.0 MYR 354

42.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$406 MYR 1,654

296.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$291 MYR 1,184

309.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$713 MYR 2,906

294.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$550 MYR 2,242

265.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$1,993 MYR 8,122

293.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$1,166 MYR 4,751

292.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$650 MYR 2,647

142.45%

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 Kepong: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Kepong

$291 32.4% 75.6% $899

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Kepong

$227 25.3% 16.7% $45

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Kepong

$113 12.6% 53.3% $129

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Kepong

$85 9.5% 59.9% $127

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Kepong

$111 12.4% 32.9% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Kepong

$50 5.6% 20.9% $13

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Kepong

$18 2.1% 70.8% $45

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,608 in Lisbon versus $406 in Kepong. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Lisbon are about 2.4 times higher, 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 Kepong. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $272 vs $227 – making Kepong the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇾 Kepong

🕒 Local time

22:05 10:05 PM

06:05 6:05 AM

8 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

85,960

💱 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 →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Kepong 11,560 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Kepong

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 Kepong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon, $896 in Kepong – Kepong comes out roughly 59% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,315 per month in Lisbon and $1,344 in Kepong. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kepong, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $406 there versus $1,608 in Lisbon.

Public transport costs about 72% less in Kepong. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $668 per month in Lisbon and $238 in Kepong. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Kepong, where all-in costs run around $896, than in Lisbon at $2,210. In Kepong it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lisbon it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

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