Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Taiping and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Taiping: $851 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Taiping
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Taiping Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Taiping

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$851

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $851 in Taiping versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Taiping $851
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,309 in Taiping versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Taiping $1,309
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,768 in Taiping versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Taiping $1,768
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Taiping costs roughly 62% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Taiping is 37% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.00 MYR 8.17

$16.65 €14.96

-87.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.84 MYR 102

$61.7 €55.5

-59.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.87 MYR 19.90

$11.36 €10.20

-57.13%

Cappuccino

$1.50 MYR 6.12

$2.97 €2.67

-49.49%

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

$0.76 MYR 3.09

$2.29 €2.06

-66.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.23 MYR 0.94

$1.74 €1.56

-86.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.14 MYR 8.73

$3.40 €3.06

-37.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.06 MYR 24.78

$3.31 €2.97

83.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 MYR 5.37

$1.16 €1.04

12.93%

White Bread (500g)

$0.76 MYR 3.11

$1.91 €1.72

-60.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MYR 7.85

$1.51 €1.36

27.15%

Eggs

$1.45 MYR 5.91

$4.02 €3.61

-63.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.73 MYR 56.1

$12.94 €11.62

6.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$1.98 MYR 8.10

$7.77 €6.99

-74.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.83 MYR 19.73

$17.76 €15.96

-72.80%

Apples (1kg)

$1.91 MYR 7.79

$2.30 €2.07

-16.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.77 MYR 7.23

$1.73 €1.56

2.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 MYR 8.07

$1.86 €1.67

5.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.96 MYR 3.90

$2.59 €2.33

-62.93%

Potato (1kg)

$0.95 MYR 3.89

$1.82 €1.64

-47.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.24 MYR 5.07

$1.97 €1.77

-37.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 MYR 4.19

$1.47 €1.32

-30.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.47 MYR 1.93

$0.72 €0.65

-34.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.42 MYR 18.07

$6.58 €5.92

-32.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.97 MYR 61.2

$5.61 €5.04

166.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.93 MYR 11.97

$1.36 €1.22

115.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.01 MYR 20.46

$2.14 €1.92

134.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 MYR 2.93

$2.33 €2.10

-69.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.12 MYR 49.55

$44.68 €40.14

-72.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.03 MYR 4.19

$3.85 €3.46

-73.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.51 MYR 2.09

$1.07 €0.96

-52.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MYR 20.03

$16.46 €14.79

-70.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.49 MYR 2.00

$2.20 €1.98

-77.73%

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

$24.1K MYR 98.4K

$34.2K €30.7K

-29.61%

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

$24.3K MYR 99.1K

$38.7K €34.8K

-37.36%

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

$63.2 MYR 258

$161 €145

-60.82%

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

$5.45 MYR 22.26

$18.41 €16.54

-70.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.56 MYR 100

$32.74 €29.41

-24.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.81 MYR 150

$44.55 €40.03

-17.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.43 MYR 26.30

$19.10 €17.16

-66.34%

Cinema Ticket

$4.86 MYR 19.86

$9.60 €8.62

-49.38%

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

$237 MYR 967

$668 €600

-64.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.1K MYR 53.6K

$17.6K €15.8K

-25.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.6 MYR 297

$102 €91.7

-28.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.74 MYR 175

$44.46 €39.95

-3.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.5 MYR 296

$98.5 €88.5

-26.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.5 MYR 386

$124 €111

-23.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$407 MYR 1,665

$1,608 €1,445

-74.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$288 MYR 1,177

$1,190 €1,069

-75.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$711 MYR 2,906

$2,812 €2,527

-74.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$543 MYR 2,218

$2,013 €1,809

-73.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,044 MYR 8,352

$7,839 €7,043

-73.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,142 MYR 4,665

$4,576 €4,111

-75.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$361 MYR 1,476

$1,575 €1,415

-77.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.90%

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

Last update for Taiping: October 26, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Taiping

$288 33.8%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 313% $902

Groceries & Markets

Taiping

$202 23.8%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 34.6% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Taiping

$127 14.9%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 30.6% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Taiping

$93 11%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 128% $119

Eating Out

Taiping

$75 8.9%

Lisbon

$243 11% 222% $167

Sport & Entertainment

Taiping

$47 5.5%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 37% $17

Getting Around

Taiping

$19 2.2%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 240% $45

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $407 in Taiping and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 4.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $25 in Taiping vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $202 vs $272 per month, with Taiping cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Taiping

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

19:56 7:56 PM

11:56 11:56 AM

8 h behind Taiping

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

241,517

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.09 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.55 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to MYR in detail →

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Between locations

Taiping Lisbon 11,370 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Taiping
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

Taiping vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Taiping and Lisbon differ by about 160% in total monthly costs ($851 vs $2,210 including rent). Taiping is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 77% lower in Taiping. 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: $407 in Taiping versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $237 in Taiping versus $668 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 35% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Taiping 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, Taiping 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 Taiping gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.