Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Sentul

For one person, living is cheaper in Sentul: $869 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Sentul
Learn more

Sentul Living Index

Jump to prices

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Sentul

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$869

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Sentul

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $869 in Sentul.

Lisbon $2,210
Sentul $869

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,351 in Sentul.

Lisbon $3,275
Sentul $1,351

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,833 in Sentul.

Lisbon $4,341
Sentul $1,833

Living in Lisbon is roughly 154% more expensive than in Sentul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.96

$3.58 MYR 14.63

365.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$22.02 MYR 90.0

180.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$4.75 MYR 19.40

139.16%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$2.93 MYR 11.97

1.37%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$0.82 MYR 3.36

179.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.51 MYR 2.09

241.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$3.27 MYR 13.37

3.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$5.82 MYR 23.78

-43.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.72 MYR 7.05

-32.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$1.02 MYR 4.17

87.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.44 MYR 5.89

4.86%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$1.73 MYR 7.08

132.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$9.77 MYR 39.92

32.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.99

$3.35 MYR 13.70

131.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.96

$9.69 MYR 39.59

83.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$3.30 MYR 13.50

-30.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.67 MYR 6.84

3.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$2.74 MYR 11.18

-32.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.60 MYR 6.54

61.87%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$1.42 MYR 5.80

28.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.68 MYR 6.85

17.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.33 MYR 5.45

10.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.54 MYR 2.21

33.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.92

$4.33 MYR 17.71

51.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$13.96 MYR 57.1

-59.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.67 MYR 10.92

-49.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$3.04 MYR 12.42

-29.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.84 MYR 3.43

177.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$12.36 MYR 50.5

261.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$1.02 MYR 4.16

277.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.38 MYR 1.57

181.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$8.91 MYR 36.41

84.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$0.80 MYR 3.26

175.00%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$43.9K MYR 179.5K

-22.15%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$35.2K MYR 144.0K

9.92%

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

$161 €145

$48.67 MYR 199

231.25%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$8.10 MYR 33.09

127.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$26.45 MYR 108

23.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.03

$38.55 MYR 158

15.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$7.36 MYR 30.09

159.51%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$4.86 MYR 19.85

97.53%

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

$668 €600

$234 MYR 956

185.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$4,527 MYR 18.5K

289.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.7

$52.0 MYR 212

96.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.95

$16.61 MYR 67.9

167.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$78.4 MYR 321

25.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$85.6 MYR 350

44.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$426 MYR 1,741

277.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$275 MYR 1,125

332.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,527

$825 MYR 3,372

240.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,809

$528 MYR 2,158

281.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,043

$2,029 MYR 8,294

286.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,111

$1,176 MYR 4,807

289.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$872 MYR 3,563

80.69%

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 Sentul: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Sentul

$275 31.7% 76.9% $915

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Sentul

$228 26.2% 16.4% $45

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Sentul

$111 12.8% 54.1% $131

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Sentul

$83 9.6% 60.8% $129

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Sentul

$105 12.1% 36.9% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Sentul

$48 5.6% 24.3% $15

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Sentul

$19 2.2% 70.5% $45

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $426 in Sentul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 81% 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 $22 in Sentul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $228 per month, with Sentul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇾 Sentul

🕒 Local time

14:01 2:01 PM

22:01 10:01 PM

8 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

100,000

💱 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 = 4.09 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.55 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Sentul 11,570 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Sentul

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 Sentul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Sentul differ by about 154% in total monthly costs ($2,210 vs $869 including rent). Sentul is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 81% 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 $426 in Sentul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $234 in Sentul. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 20% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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

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 Sentul are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Sentul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 61% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.