Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Kota Kinabalu

For one person, living is cheaper in Kota Kinabalu: $946 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $15,200 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
46

Cost of Living Index in Kota Kinabalu
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Kota Kinabalu Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Kota Kinabalu

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$946

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Kota Kinabalu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $946 in Kota Kinabalu.

Lisbon $2,210
Kota Kinabalu $946

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,398 in Kota Kinabalu.

Lisbon $3,275
Kota Kinabalu $1,398

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,850 in Kota Kinabalu.

Lisbon $4,341
Kota Kinabalu $1,850

Living in Lisbon is roughly 134% more expensive than in Kota Kinabalu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Kota Kinabalu is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$3.63 MYR 14.72

358.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$19.53 MYR 79.2

216.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$4.75 MYR 19.24

139.16%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.61 MYR 10.57

13.79%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$0.55 MYR 2.22

316.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.30 MYR 1.21

480.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$2.47 MYR 10.00

37.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$3.63 MYR 14.72

-8.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.81 MYR 7.32

-35.91%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.32 MYR 5.36

44.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$2.26 MYR 9.16

-33.19%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$3.53 MYR 14.30

13.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$28.39 MYR 115

-54.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$3.76 MYR 15.25

106.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$6.62 MYR 26.82

168.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$2.24 MYR 9.09

2.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.45 MYR 5.88

19.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.99 MYR 8.08

-6.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$1.98 MYR 8.04

30.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.74 MYR 7.07

4.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$2.05 MYR 8.29

-3.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.94 MYR 3.81

56.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.48 MYR 1.94

50.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$4.91 MYR 19.89

34.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$15.67 MYR 63.5

-64.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$3.82 MYR 15.47

-64.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.40 MYR 9.74

-10.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.19 MYR 0.77

1126.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

$25.16 MYR 102

77.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$2.01 MYR 8.13

91.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.23 MYR 0.93

365.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$0.77 MYR 3.14

185.71%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$44.7K MYR 181.3K

-23.53%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$35.3K MYR 143.2K

9.62%

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

$161 €144

$70.5 MYR 286

128.68%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$9.30 MYR 37.69

97.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$32.18 MYR 130

1.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$35.85 MYR 145

24.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

$3.04 MYR 12.34

528.29%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$5.21 MYR 21.13

84.26%

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

$668 €598

$142 MYR 578

368.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$6,866 MYR 27.8K

156.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$82.7 MYR 335

23.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$37.42 MYR 152

18.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$92.8 MYR 376

6.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$49.47 MYR 201

149.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$619 MYR 2,511

159.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$253 MYR 1,026

370.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$708 MYR 2,870

297.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$376 MYR 1,523

436.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

$1,810 MYR 7,339

333.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

$1,097 MYR 4,447

317.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$584 MYR 2,366

169.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.9

-1.28%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Kota Kinabalu: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Kota Kinabalu

$253 26.8% 78.7% $937

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Kota Kinabalu

$290 30.7% 6.5% $18

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Kota Kinabalu

$98 10.3% 59.8% $145

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Kota Kinabalu

$112 11.8% 47.3% $100

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Kota Kinabalu

$118 12.5% 28.8% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Kota Kinabalu

$46 4.9% 27.4% $17

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Kota Kinabalu

$29 3.1% 54% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $619 in Kota Kinabalu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $20 in Kota Kinabalu. Groceries flip the comparison at $272 vs $290, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇾 Kota Kinabalu

🕒 Local time

05:01 5:01 AM

13:01 1:01 PM

8 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

500,425

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 MYR = 0.247 USD

1 MYR = 0.221 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 = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.05 MYR (1 MYR = 0.247 USD). 1 EUR = 4.53 MYR (1 MYR = 0.221 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Kota Kinabalu 12,510 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

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Lisbon
Kota Kinabalu

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 Kota Kinabalu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kota Kinabalu wins on cost – living expenses run 57% lower than in Lisbon. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Kota Kinabalu the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 2.7 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 $619 in Kota Kinabalu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Kota Kinabalu runs roughly 44% less than in Lisbon. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $142 in Kota Kinabalu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Kota Kinabalu is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both work as nomad bases, but Kota Kinabalu delivers better value at $946 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Kota Kinabalu hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Lisbon and Kota Kinabalu are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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