Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Sungai Petani

For one person, living is cheaper in Sungai Petani: $804 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 Sungai Petani
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Sungai Petani Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Sungai Petani

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$804

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Sungai Petani

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $804 in Sungai Petani.

Lisbon $2,210
Sungai Petani $804

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,203 in Sungai Petani.

Lisbon $3,275
Sungai Petani $1,203

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,602 in Sungai Petani.

Lisbon $4,341
Sungai Petani $1,602

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.91

$2.51 MYR 10.19

563.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$17.12 MYR 69.5

260.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.17

$4.49 MYR 18.23

153.01%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.47 MYR 10.03

20.24%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$0.75 MYR 3.06

205.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.39 MYR 1.56

346.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$3.53 MYR 14.30

-3.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.96

$4.44 MYR 18.03

-25.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.79 MYR 7.28

-35.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.10 MYR 4.47

73.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$1.69 MYR 6.85

-10.65%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$2.26 MYR 9.18

77.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$9.98 MYR 40.49

29.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.96

$4.52 MYR 18.34

71.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.91

$8.89 MYR 36.06

99.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$3.02 MYR 12.24

-23.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.62 MYR 6.56

6.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$2.71 MYR 11.01

-31.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$1.40 MYR 5.68

85.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.09 MYR 4.44

66.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.07 MYR 4.35

84.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.13 MYR 4.60

30.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.59 MYR 2.38

22.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$4.31 MYR 17.48

52.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$19.25 MYR 78.1

-70.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.86 MYR 11.61

-52.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$5.15 MYR 20.90

-58.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.70 MYR 2.84

232.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.01

$12.26 MYR 49.74

264.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$1.75 MYR 7.08

120.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.38 MYR 1.53

181.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.74

$7.49 MYR 30.38

119.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$0.48 MYR 1.97

358.33%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$44.6K MYR 181.1K

-23.39%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$35.0K MYR 141.9K

10.70%

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

$161 €144

$36.69 MYR 149

339.41%

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

$18.41 €16.49

$9.93 MYR 40.28

85.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.32

$19.96 MYR 81.0

64.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.90

$24.41 MYR 99.0

82.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.10

$14.42 MYR 58.5

32.45%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$2.86 MYR 11.62

235.66%

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

$668 €598

$397 MYR 1,609

68.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$10.6K MYR 42.8K

66.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$59.4 MYR 241

71.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.82

$34.60 MYR 140

28.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.2

$74.4 MYR 302

32.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$69.8 MYR 283

77.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,440

$180 MYR 731

792.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$241 MYR 976

394.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,519

$480 MYR 1,947

486.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,803

$365 MYR 1,481

451.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,021

$1,202 MYR 4,877

552.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,098

$480 MYR 1,948

852.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$490 MYR 1,986

221.68%

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 27, 2026

Last update for Sungai Petani: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Sungai Petani

$241 29.9% 79.8% $949

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Sungai Petani

$247 30.7% 9.4% $26

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Sungai Petani

$94 11.7% 61.1% $148

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Sungai Petani

$67 8.3% 68.6% $146

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Sungai Petani

$107 13.3% 35.4% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Sungai Petani

$30 3.8% 52.7% $34

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Sungai Petani

$19 2.3% 70.4% $45

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $180 in Sungai Petani. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 3.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $17 in Sungai Petani for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $247 per month, with Sungai Petani cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇾 Sungai Petani

🕒 Local time

23:23 11:23 PM

07:23 7:23 AM

8 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

545,053

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 MYR = 0.246 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 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 4.06 MYR (1 MYR = 0.246 USD). 1 EUR = 4.53 MYR (1 MYR = 0.221 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Sungai Petani 11,290 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

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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 Sungai Petani: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $804 in Sungai Petani, so Sungai Petani is about 64% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 3.2 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 $180 in Sungai Petani. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $397 in Sungai Petani. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 10% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $804 in Sungai Petani versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Sungai Petani but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Sungai Petani 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 Sungai Petani are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Sungai Petani 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.