Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Shah Alam

For one person, living is cheaper in Shah Alam: $937 a month against $2,202 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
45

Cost of Living Index in Shah Alam
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Shah Alam Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Shah Alam

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$937

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Shah Alam

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $937 in Shah Alam.

Lisbon $2,202
Shah Alam $937

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $1,432 in Shah Alam.

Lisbon $3,274
Shah Alam $1,432

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $1,927 in Shah Alam.

Lisbon $4,346
Shah Alam $1,927

Living in Lisbon is roughly 135% more expensive than in Shah Alam, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Shah Alam is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$3.69 MYR 15.07

361.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$19.56 MYR 79.8

218.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$4.05 MYR 16.52

172.10%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$2.98 MYR 12.17

4.70%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$0.72 MYR 2.95

215.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.38 MYR 1.57

357.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$3.40 MYR 13.86

0.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$4.34 MYR 17.69

-13.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.87 MYR 7.63

-37.43%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.09 MYR 4.43

70.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.48 MYR 6.05

4.05%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$2.24 MYR 9.12

81.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$13.92 MYR 56.8

-7.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$4.37 MYR 17.81

80.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$9.48 MYR 38.67

86.08%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$3.45 MYR 14.08

-34.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.64 MYR 6.71

6.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$2.75 MYR 11.20

-31.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$1.82 MYR 7.40

40.66%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.21 MYR 4.93

52.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$2.02 MYR 8.26

-2.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.44 MYR 5.86

0.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$0.58 MYR 2.35

32.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$4.37 MYR 17.82

53.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$18.51 MYR 75.5

-69.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$2.67 MYR 10.90

-48.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$4.45 MYR 18.15

-52.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$0.75 MYR 3.07

209.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

$16.00 MYR 65.3

177.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$1.24 MYR 5.05

218.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$0.37 MYR 1.53

183.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$7.23 MYR 29.51

137.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$0.80 MYR 3.26

173.75%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$46.1K MYR 188.3K

-26.80%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$36.2K MYR 147.7K

5.70%

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

$164 €146

$37.60 MYR 153

335.66%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$10.01 MYR 40.84

84.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$28.97 MYR 118

13.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$40.53 MYR 165

13.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

$5.02 MYR 20.48

272.11%

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$6.41 MYR 26.17

52.11%

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

$684 €608

$196 MYR 800

248.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$4,644 MYR 18.9K

279.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$58.4 MYR 238

77.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$39.89 MYR 163

15.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$67.8 MYR 276

47.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$68.5 MYR 279

82.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$339 MYR 1,384

368.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$308 MYR 1,258

279.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$569 MYR 2,322

400.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$553 MYR 2,255

260.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$1,519 MYR 6,197

413.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$1,170 MYR 4,772

277.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

$1,244 MYR 5,076

28.58%

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 19, 2026

Last update for Shah Alam: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Shah Alam

$308 32.9% 73.6% $861

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Shah Alam

$263 28.1% 3.6% $9.8

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Shah Alam

$108 11.5% 56.5% $140

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Shah Alam

$77 8.2% 64.4% $139

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Shah Alam

$106 11.3% 37.4% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Shah Alam

$53 5.7% 18.4% $12

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Shah Alam

$22 2.4% 64.9% $41

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,589 in Lisbon and $339 in Shah Alam. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 29% 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: $62.0 in Lisbon vs $20.00 in Shah Alam for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $263 per month, with Shah Alam cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇾 Shah Alam

🕒 Local time

12:37 12:37 PM

19:37 7:37 PM

7 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

812,327

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Shah Alam 11,560 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

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Shah Alam

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 Shah Alam: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Shah Alam differ by about 135% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $937 including rent). Shah Alam is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 29% 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: $1,589 in Lisbon versus $339 in Shah Alam. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $684 in Lisbon versus $196 in Shah Alam. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 4% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $937 in Shah Alam versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Shah Alam but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Shah Alam 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 Shah Alam 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 Shah Alam gentler on the wallet – expenses run 135% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.