Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Taichung

For one person, living is cheaper in Taichung: $1,143 a month against $2,203 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $12,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

108

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
56

Cost of Living Index in Taichung
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Taichung Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,203

/mo nomad

Taichung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,143

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Taichung

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,203 in Lisbon versus $1,143 in Taichung.

Lisbon $2,203
Taichung $1,143

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,237 in Lisbon versus $1,887 in Taichung.

Lisbon $3,237
Taichung $1,887

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,272 in Lisbon versus $2,631 in Taichung.

Lisbon $4,272
Taichung $2,631

Living in Lisbon is roughly 93% more expensive than in Taichung, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 64% above, Taichung is 15% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.01 €15.18

$4.68 NT$149

263.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.7 €56.0

$32.12 NT$1,025

95.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.42 €10.19

$4.85 NT$155

135.46%

Cappuccino

$3.09 €2.76

$2.75 NT$87.6

12.36%

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

$2.37 €2.11

$1.03 NT$32.80

130.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.66 €1.48

$0.74 NT$23.56

124.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.46 €3.09

$1.56 NT$49.69

121.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.29 €2.93

$2.78 NT$88.7

18.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$3.27 NT$104

-64.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.76 NT$56.2

6.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.52 €1.36

$2.66 NT$84.7

-42.86%

Eggs

$3.88 €3.46

$2.62 NT$83.7

48.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 €11.49

$29.33 NT$936

-56.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.94 €7.08

$8.13 NT$259

-2.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.63 €15.73

$17.14 NT$547

2.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$4.22 NT$135

-46.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 €1.57

$1.92 NT$61.3

-8.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.88 €1.68

$2.99 NT$95.3

-37.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.47 €2.20

$2.15 NT$68.6

14.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.20 NT$38.28

55.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.97 NT$62.9

5.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.39 €1.24

$2.40 NT$76.7

-42.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 €0.73

$0.90 NT$28.80

-10.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.89 €6.15

$3.75 NT$120

83.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.53 €4.93

$15.53 NT$495

-64.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.33 €1.19

$1.64 NT$52.3

-18.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 €1.93

$2.47 NT$78.8

-12.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.24 €2.00

$0.72 NT$23.05

211.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.14 €40.29

$31.97 NT$1,020

41.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.00 €3.57

$2.70 NT$86.1

48.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.95

$0.92 NT$29.49

16.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.53 €14.75

$9.61 NT$307

72.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.26 €2.02

$1.03 NT$32.76

119.42%

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

$33.5K €29.9K

$33.0K NT$1.1M

1.44%

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

$40.5K €36.1K

$22.7K NT$725.9K

77.95%

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

$164 €146

$127 NT$4,037

29.31%

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

$18.54 €16.55

$14.84 NT$474

24.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.21 €29.64

$21.00 NT$670

58.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €41.06

$32.96 NT$1,052

39.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.80 €16.78

$11.63 NT$371

61.65%

Cinema Ticket

$9.47 €8.45

$10.02 NT$320

-5.49%

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

$690 €615

$347 NT$11.1K

98.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.0K

$16.8K NT$537.2K

0.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$105 €93.4

$72.5 NT$2,314

44.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.27 €40.40

$35.93 NT$1,147

25.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.0 €88.3

$85.8 NT$2,738

15.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$117 NT$3,727

6.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,583 €1,413

$396 NT$12.6K

300.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,209 €1,079

$273 NT$8,722

342.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,833 €2,528

$1,217 NT$38.8K

132.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,964 €1,753

$774 NT$24.7K

153.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,643 €6,821

$8,642 NT$275.8K

-11.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,431 €3,954

$5,368 NT$171.3K

-17.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,573 €1,403

$1,432 NT$45.7K

9.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.79

2.27

66.96%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 4, 2026

Last update for Taichung: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 54%

Taichung

$273 23.7% 77.4% $936

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.1%

Taichung

$379 32.8% 39.4% $107

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11%

Taichung

$105 9.1% 57.4% $142

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.6%

Taichung

$162 14.1% 24.6% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.5%

Taichung

$140 12.1% 16.6% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 2.9%

Taichung

$53 4.6% 18.4% $12

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Taichung

$42 3.7% 33.5% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,583 in Lisbon and $396 in Taichung. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 10% 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: $63.0 in Lisbon vs $32.00 in Taichung. Groceries flip the comparison at $272 vs $379, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇹🇼 Taichung

🕒 Local time

07:42 7:42 AM

14:42 2:42 PM

7 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

2,767,239

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 TWD = 3.13 USD

100 TWD = 2.79 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 31.91 TWD (100 TWD = 3.13 USD). 1 EUR = 35.79 TWD (100 TWD = 2.79 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Taichung 11,290 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

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Lisbon
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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 Taichung: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Taichung differ by about 93% in total monthly costs ($2,203 vs $1,143 including rent). Taichung is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 10% 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: $1,583 in Lisbon versus $396 in Taichung. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $690 in Lisbon versus $347 in Taichung. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 39% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,143 in Taichung versus $2,203 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Taichung but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Taichung 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 Taichung 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 Taichung gentler on the wallet – expenses run 93% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.