Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Semenyih and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Semenyih: $958 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in Semenyih
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Semenyih Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Semenyih

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$958

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Semenyih 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 Semenyih and in Lisbon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $958 in Semenyih versus $2,202 in Lisbon.

Semenyih $958
Lisbon $2,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,428 in Semenyih versus $3,274 in Lisbon.

Semenyih $1,428
Lisbon $3,274

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,899 in Semenyih versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Semenyih $1,899
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Semenyih costs roughly 56% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Semenyih is 29% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.71 MYR 15.14

$17.04 €15.15

-78.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.05 MYR 73.6

$62.3 €55.4

-71.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.05 MYR 20.59

$11.02 €9.80

-54.17%

Cappuccino

$2.90 MYR 11.83

$3.12 €2.78

-7.05%

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

$0.64 MYR 2.61

$2.27 €2.02

-71.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.59 MYR 2.42

$1.74 €1.55

-66.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.29 MYR 17.49

$3.42 €3.04

25.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.07 MYR 24.78

$3.74 €3.33

62.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.69 MYR 6.88

$1.17 €1.04

44.44%

White Bread (500g)

$1.00 MYR 4.09

$1.86 €1.66

-46.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 MYR 5.85

$1.54 €1.37

-7.14%

Eggs

$1.72 MYR 7.02

$4.06 €3.61

-57.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.23 MYR 74.4

$12.91 €11.49

41.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.66 MYR 19.00

$7.90 €7.03

-41.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.49 MYR 42.80

$17.64 €15.69

-40.53%

Apples (1kg)

$3.24 MYR 13.23

$2.26 €2.01

43.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 MYR 6.92

$1.75 €1.55

-2.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.82 MYR 15.60

$1.89 €1.68

102.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.62 MYR 6.62

$2.56 €2.27

-36.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.43 MYR 5.83

$1.85 €1.64

-22.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.68 MYR 6.84

$1.97 €1.75

-14.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.38 MYR 5.62

$1.45 €1.29

-4.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 MYR 2.07

$0.77 €0.69

-33.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.24 MYR 17.30

$6.71 €5.97

-36.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.80 MYR 56.3

$5.67 €5.04

143.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.87 MYR 11.71

$1.37 €1.22

109.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.12 MYR 12.73

$2.11 €1.88

47.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 MYR 3.05

$2.32 €2.07

-67.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.19 MYR 49.73

$44.43 €39.52

-72.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.94 MYR 3.82

$3.95 €3.51

-76.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 MYR 2.89

$1.05 €0.93

-32.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.73 MYR 39.70

$17.15 €15.26

-43.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.52 MYR 2.13

$2.19 €1.95

-76.26%

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

$42.0K MYR 171.4K

$33.8K €30.0K

24.39%

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

$35.2K MYR 143.8K

$38.3K €34.0K

-7.89%

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

$53.1 MYR 217

$164 €146

-67.58%

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

$11.18 MYR 45.59

$18.48 €16.43

-39.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.15 MYR 115

$32.96 €29.32

-14.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.45 MYR 165

$45.87 €40.80

-11.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.15 MYR 29.18

$18.68 €16.61

-61.72%

Cinema Ticket

$5.04 MYR 20.54

$9.75 €8.67

-48.31%

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

$161 MYR 657

$684 €608

-76.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,497 MYR 18.3K

$17.6K €15.7K

-74.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 MYR 220

$104 €92.3

-48.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.40 MYR 66.9

$46.20 €41.09

-64.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.2 MYR 327

$99.7 €88.7

-19.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.2 MYR 405

$125 €111

-20.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$401 MYR 1,635

$1,589 €1,414

-74.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$299 MYR 1,219

$1,169 €1,040

-74.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$689 MYR 2,813

$2,851 €2,536

-75.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$476 MYR 1,940

$1,993 €1,773

-76.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,017 MYR 8,228

$7,793 €6,932

-74.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,075 MYR 4,386

$4,418 €3,930

-75.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$668 MYR 2,724

$1,600 €1,423

-58.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

3.85

5.45%

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

Last update for Semenyih: October 20, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Semenyih

$299 31.2%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1% 291% $870

Groceries & Markets

Semenyih

$266 27.8%

Lisbon

$273 12.4% 2.6% $6.8

Eating Out

Semenyih

$118 12.3%

Lisbon

$247 11.2% 110% $129

Clothing & Footwear

Semenyih

$112 11.7%

Lisbon

$168 7.7% 50% $56

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Semenyih

$92 9.7%

Lisbon

$215 9.8% 133% $123

Sport & Entertainment

Semenyih

$51 5.3%

Lisbon

$65 3% 29.4% $15

Getting Around

Semenyih

$20 2.1%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 220% $43

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $401 in Semenyih and $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 140% 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: $18.00 in Semenyih vs $62.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $273 per month, with Semenyih cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Semenyih

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

13:41 1:41 PM

05:41 5:41 AM

8 h behind Semenyih

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

45,000

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 25, 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 25, 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

Semenyih Lisbon 11,600 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Semenyih
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

Semenyih vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Semenyih and Lisbon differ by about 130% in total monthly costs ($958 vs $2,202 including rent). Semenyih is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 140% 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: $401 in Semenyih versus $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $161 in Semenyih versus $684 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 3% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $958 in Semenyih versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Semenyih but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Semenyih 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, Semenyih 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 Semenyih gentler on the wallet – expenses run 130% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.