Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Miri

For one person, living is cheaper in Miri: $805 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,900 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Miri
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Miri Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Miri

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$805

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Miri

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $805 in Miri.

Lisbon $2,210
Miri $805

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,224 in Miri.

Lisbon $3,275
Miri $1,224

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,644 in Miri.

Lisbon $4,341
Miri $1,644

Living in Lisbon is roughly 175% more expensive than in Miri, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Miri is 41% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$3.55 MYR 14.40

369.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$12.12 MYR 49.15

409.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$4.42 MYR 17.91

157.01%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.26 MYR 9.15

31.42%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$0.80 MYR 3.24

186.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.30 MYR 1.22

480.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$2.90 MYR 11.77

17.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$3.86 MYR 15.65

-14.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.40 MYR 5.69

-17.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.80 MYR 7.29

6.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$0.99 MYR 4.02

52.53%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$3.43 MYR 13.89

17.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$4.88 MYR 19.80

59.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$14.99 MYR 60.8

18.48%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.96 MYR 7.95

-11.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.39 MYR 1.57

84.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$4.29 MYR 17.39

53.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$19.71 MYR 79.9

-71.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$3.00 MYR 12.15

-54.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.33 MYR 9.46

-8.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.47 MYR 1.92

395.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

$14.01 MYR 56.8

218.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$1.25 MYR 5.05

208.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.59 MYR 2.38

81.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$5.98 MYR 24.24

175.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$0.64 MYR 2.61

243.75%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$49.6K MYR 201.0K

-31.04%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$32.5K MYR 131.8K

19.12%

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

$161 €144

$49.18 MYR 199

227.82%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$9.92 MYR 40.21

85.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$33.44 MYR 136

-2.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$29.19 MYR 118

52.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

$6.25 MYR 25.35

205.60%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$4.33 MYR 17.57

121.71%

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

$668 €598

$99.5 MYR 403

571.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$6,535 MYR 26.5K

169.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$44.80 MYR 182

127.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$23.11 MYR 93.7

92.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$55.3 MYR 224

78.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$43.17 MYR 175

186.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$348 MYR 1,409

362.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$289 MYR 1,173

311.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$589 MYR 2,388

377.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$578 MYR 2,343

248.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

$1,201 MYR 4,868

552.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

$680 MYR 2,756

573.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$688 MYR 2,789

128.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

4.12

-6.55%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Miri: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Miri

$289 36% 75.7% $901

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Miri

$195 * 24.2% 28.6% $78

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Miri

$95 11.9% 60.7% $147

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Miri

$93 11.5% 56.4% $120

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Miri

$75 9.3% 54.9% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Miri

$38 4.7% 40.6% $26

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Miri

$20 2.5% 68.2% $43

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $348 in Miri. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.3 times 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 Miri for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $195 per month, with Miri cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇾 Miri

🕒 Local time

12:27 12:27 PM

20:27 8:27 PM

8 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

248,877

💱 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 = 4.52 MYR (1 MYR = 0.221 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Miri 12,470 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Miri

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 Miri: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $805 in Miri, so Miri is about 64% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 2.3 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 $348 in Miri. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $99 in Miri. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 40% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $805 in Miri versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Miri but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Miri 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 Miri are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Miri gentler on the wallet – expenses run 64% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.