Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Taipei

For one person, living is cheaper in Taipei: $1,330 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $10,600 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
64

Cost of Living Index in Taipei
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Taipei Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Taipei

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,330

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Taipei

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,330 in Taipei.

Lisbon $2,210
Taipei $1,330

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $2,145 in Taipei.

Lisbon $3,275
Taipei $2,145

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,959 in Taipei.

Lisbon $4,341
Taipei $2,959

Living in Lisbon is roughly 66% more expensive than in Taipei, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Taipei is 2% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.85

$4.70 NT$153

254.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.1

$46.13 NT$1,502

33.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.13

$5.80 NT$189

95.86%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.65

$3.37 NT$110

-11.87%

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

$2.29 €2.04

$0.91 NT$29.57

151.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.66 NT$21.55

163.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.04

$2.98 NT$97.0

14.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.95

$3.64 NT$119

-9.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.03

$2.95 NT$96.1

-60.68%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.92 NT$62.7

-0.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$3.10 NT$101

-51.29%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.59

$2.62 NT$85.2

53.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.54

$19.04 NT$620

-32.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.94

$9.54 NT$311

-18.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.85

$20.87 NT$680

-14.90%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$4.72 NT$154

-51.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$3.33 NT$109

-48.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$2.95 NT$96.0

-36.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.31

$4.26 NT$139

-39.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$2.75 NT$89.7

-33.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$2.22 NT$72.4

-11.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.66 NT$54.0

-11.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.08 NT$35.04

-33.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.87

$3.95 NT$128

66.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.00

$13.89 NT$452

-59.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.58 NT$51.6

-13.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.18 NT$70.9

-1.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.08

$0.58 NT$18.96

301.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €39.86

$36.25 NT$1,180

23.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.43

$2.54 NT$82.6

51.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.95

$0.75 NT$24.41

42.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.69

$8.99 NT$293

83.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.96

$1.00 NT$32.58

120.00%

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

$34.2K €30.5K

$34.6K NT$1.1M

-1.31%

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

$38.7K €34.5K

$23.0K NT$749.9K

68.14%

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

$161 €144

$85.6 NT$2,787

88.36%

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

$18.41 €16.43

$16.94 NT$552

8.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.21

$26.94 NT$877

21.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.74

$39.55 NT$1,288

12.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.04

$15.36 NT$500

24.35%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.56

$9.72 NT$316

-1.23%

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

$668 €596

$710 NT$23.1K

-5.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$16.3K NT$532.1K

7.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.0

$62.0 NT$2,019

64.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.67

$39.30 NT$1,280

13.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €87.9

$84.1 NT$2,738

17.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €110

$102 NT$3,312

21.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,435

$961 NT$31.3K

67.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,062

$456 NT$14.8K

161.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,509

$1,511 NT$49.2K

86.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,796

$919 NT$29.9K

119.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €6,994

$11.4K NT$371.5K

-31.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,082

$6,882 NT$224.1K

-33.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,405

$1,703 NT$55.5K

-7.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

2.4

60.42%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Taipei: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Taipei

$456 34.3% 61.7% $734

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Taipei

$388 29.2% 42.5% $116

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Taipei

$124 9.3% 49% $119

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Taipei

$129 9.7% 39% $83

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Taipei

$129 9.7% 22.1% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Taipei

$59 4.4% 7.5% $4.8

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Taipei

$45 3.4% 29% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $961 in Taipei. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Taipei pays 8% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $46 in Taipei. Groceries flip the comparison at $272 vs $388, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇹🇼 Taipei

🕒 Local time

00:41 12:41 AM

08:41 8:41 AM

8 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

2,635,286 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 TWD = 3.07 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 32.56 TWD (100 TWD = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 36.5 TWD (100 TWD = 2.74 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Taipei 11,270 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

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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 Taipei: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,330 in Taipei, so Taipei is about 40% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 8% lower in Lisbon. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $961 in Taipei. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $710 in Taipei. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 30% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,330 in Taipei versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Taipei but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Taipei 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 Taipei are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.