Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Tawau

For one person, living is cheaper in Tawau: $932 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $15,300 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Tawau
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Tawau Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Tawau

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$932

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Tawau

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $932 in Tawau.

Lisbon $2,210
Tawau $932

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,391 in Tawau.

Lisbon $3,275
Tawau $1,391

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,851 in Tawau.

Lisbon $4,341
Tawau $1,851

Living in Lisbon is roughly 137% more expensive than in Tawau, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Tawau is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$3.24 MYR 13.22

413.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$19.61 MYR 79.9

214.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$4.20 MYR 17.13

170.48%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$3.06 MYR 12.46

-2.94%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$0.94 MYR 3.81

143.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.36 MYR 1.45

383.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.71 MYR 11.04

25.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$4.58 MYR 18.68

-27.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.79 MYR 7.28

-35.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$1.03 MYR 4.20

85.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.43 MYR 5.82

5.59%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$2.24 MYR 9.15

79.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$11.71 MYR 47.71

10.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$4.38 MYR 17.86

77.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$9.45 MYR 38.50

87.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$3.10 MYR 12.63

-25.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.53 MYR 6.25

13.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$2.54 MYR 10.36

-26.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.36 MYR 5.53

90.44%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$1.41 MYR 5.75

29.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.46 MYR 5.93

34.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.13 MYR 4.60

30.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.52 MYR 2.10

38.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$4.44 MYR 18.09

48.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$19.05 MYR 77.6

-70.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$3.03 MYR 12.33

-55.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$4.60 MYR 18.73

-53.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.69 MYR 2.83

237.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$11.10 MYR 45.21

302.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$1.20 MYR 4.89

220.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.54 MYR 2.19

98.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$7.62 MYR 31.05

116.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$0.78 MYR 3.17

182.05%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$51.4K MYR 209.3K

-33.45%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$34.9K MYR 142.0K

11.10%

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

$161 €145

$50.5 MYR 206

219.18%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$10.55 MYR 42.97

74.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$28.09 MYR 114

16.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$43.09 MYR 176

3.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$6.77 MYR 27.60

182.13%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$3.71 MYR 15.12

158.76%

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

$668 €600

$240 MYR 979

177.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$7,864 MYR 32.0K

123.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$55.7 MYR 227

83.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$35.86 MYR 146

23.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$75.4 MYR 307

30.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$68.2 MYR 278

81.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$460 MYR 1,875

249.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$315 MYR 1,284

277.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$780 MYR 3,178

260.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$519 MYR 2,115

287.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$2,240 MYR 9,125

250.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$1,307 MYR 5,325

250.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$424 MYR 1,727

271.55%

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 Tawau: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Tawau

$315 33.8% 73.5% $875

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Tawau

$250 26.9% 8.1% $22

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Tawau

$103 11.1% 57.5% $139

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Tawau

$89 9.6% 58% $123

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Tawau

$106 11.4% 36.2% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Tawau

$51 5.4% 20.8% $13

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Tawau

$18 1.9% 71.9% $45

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $460 in Tawau. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 3.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $20 in Tawau for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $250 per month, with Tawau cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇾 Tawau

🕒 Local time

20:27 8:27 PM

04:27 4:27 AM

8 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

420,806

💱 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 = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Tawau 12,790 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

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 Tawau: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $932 in Tawau, so Tawau is about 58% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 3.7 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 $460 in Tawau. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $240 in Tawau. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 9% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Tawau 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 Tawau are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Tawau gentler on the wallet – expenses run 58% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.