Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Petaling Jaya and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Petaling Jaya: $1,037 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

51

Cost of Living Index in Petaling Jaya
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Petaling Jaya Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Petaling Jaya

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$1,037

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Petaling Jaya and in Lisbon

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Petaling Jaya and in Lisbon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,037 in Petaling Jaya versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Petaling Jaya $1,037
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,499 in Petaling Jaya versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Petaling Jaya $1,499
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,962 in Petaling Jaya versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Petaling Jaya $1,962
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Petaling Jaya costs roughly 53% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Petaling Jaya is 23% below, Lisbon is 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.58 MYR 14.62

$16.50 €14.67

-78.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 MYR 98.8

$61.3 €54.5

-60.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.76 MYR 19.40

$11.27 €10.03

-57.76%

Cappuccino

$2.99 MYR 12.21

$3.06 €2.72

-2.29%

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

$0.93 MYR 3.80

$2.26 €2.01

-58.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.44 MYR 1.81

$1.73 €1.54

-74.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 MYR 13.54

$3.39 €3.02

-2.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.64 MYR 23.01

$3.40 €3.02

65.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.85 MYR 7.53

$1.12 €1.00

65.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.02 MYR 4.16

$1.86 €1.65

-45.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MYR 6.02

$1.53 €1.36

-3.27%

Eggs

$1.83 MYR 7.48

$3.96 €3.53

-53.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.93 MYR 40.53

$12.76 €11.35

-22.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.29 MYR 13.42

$7.90 €7.02

-58.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.51 MYR 38.81

$16.97 €15.09

-43.96%

Apples (1kg)

$3.50 MYR 14.29

$2.27 €2.02

54.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MYR 7.70

$1.75 €1.55

8.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.71 MYR 11.07

$1.85 €1.64

46.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.82 MYR 7.44

$2.57 €2.28

-29.18%

Potato (1kg)

$2.15 MYR 8.79

$1.86 €1.65

15.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 MYR 8.02

$2.02 €1.80

-2.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 MYR 6.08

$1.44 €1.28

3.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 MYR 2.27

$0.82 €0.73

-31.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.62 MYR 18.86

$6.56 €5.83

-29.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.26 MYR 78.6

$5.62 €5.00

242.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.62 MYR 10.69

$1.28 €1.14

104.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.68 MYR 19.09

$2.07 €1.84

126.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.20 MYR 4.91

$2.35 €2.09

-48.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.34 MYR 50.3

$44.18 €39.30

-72.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.23 MYR 5.02

$3.99 €3.55

-69.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 MYR 1.55

$1.09 €0.97

-65.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.76 MYR 35.75

$16.64 €14.81

-47.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.80 MYR 3.26

$2.28 €2.03

-64.91%

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

$41.7K MYR 170.2K

$33.7K €30.0K

23.91%

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

$32.1K MYR 130.8K

$39.3K €35.0K

-18.39%

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

$49.70 MYR 203

$167 €149

-70.33%

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

$7.99 MYR 32.61

$18.80 €16.72

-57.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.77 MYR 109

$33.09 €29.43

-19.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.5 MYR 214

$46.01 €40.93

14.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.03 MYR 12.37

$19.19 €17.07

-84.21%

Cinema Ticket

$4.93 MYR 20.12

$9.84 €8.75

-49.90%

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

$273 MYR 1,114

$677 €602

-59.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K MYR 42.8K

$16.9K €15.1K

-37.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.7 MYR 211

$101 €90.1

-48.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.02 MYR 122

$45.76 €40.70

-34.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.4 MYR 320

$100.0 €88.9

-21.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.4 MYR 353

$123 €109

-29.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 MYR 1,966

$1,614 €1,436

-70.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$397 MYR 1,620

$1,197 €1,065

-66.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$832 MYR 3,394

$2,862 €2,545

-70.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$559 MYR 2,281

$1,990 €1,770

-71.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,184 MYR 13.0K

$7,577 €6,740

-57.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$978 MYR 3,990

$4,307 €3,831

-77.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,707 MYR 6,964

$1,588 €1,412

7.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.51

3.85

17.14%

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

Last update for Petaling Jaya: October 12, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Petaling Jaya

$397 38.3%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 201% $800

Groceries & Markets

Petaling Jaya

$249 24.1%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 8% $20

Eating Out

Petaling Jaya

$112 10.8%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 116% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Petaling Jaya

$111 10.7%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 50% $55

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Petaling Jaya

$84 8.2%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 160% $135

Sport & Entertainment

Petaling Jaya

$62 6%

Lisbon

$66 3% 5.3% $3.3

Getting Around

Petaling Jaya

$20 2%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 211% $43

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $482 in Petaling Jaya and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Petaling Jaya 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: $24.00 in Petaling Jaya vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $249 vs $269 per month, with Petaling Jaya cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Petaling Jaya

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

11:25 11:25 AM

04:25 4:25 AM

7 h behind Petaling Jaya

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

771,687

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Petaling Jaya Lisbon 11,570 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Petaling Jaya
Lisbon

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

Petaling Jaya vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Petaling Jaya and Lisbon differ by about 114% in total monthly costs ($1,037 vs $2,223 including rent). Petaling Jaya is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 8% higher in Petaling Jaya, 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: $482 in Petaling Jaya versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $273 in Petaling Jaya versus $677 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 8% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,037 in Petaling Jaya versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Petaling Jaya but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Petaling Jaya 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, Petaling Jaya and Lisbon 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 Petaling Jaya gentler on the wallet – expenses run 114% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.