Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tawau and Lisbon

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.

44

Cost of Living Index in Tawau
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Tawau Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Tawau

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$932

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Tawau $932
Lisbon $2,210

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

Tawau $1,391
Lisbon $3,275

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

Tawau $1,851
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Tawau costs roughly 58% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.24 MYR 13.22

$16.65 €14.95

-80.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.61 MYR 79.9

$61.7 €55.5

-68.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.20 MYR 17.13

$11.36 €10.20

-63.03%

Cappuccino

$3.06 MYR 12.46

$2.97 €2.67

3.03%

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

$0.94 MYR 3.81

$2.29 €2.06

-58.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.36 MYR 1.45

$1.74 €1.56

-79.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.71 MYR 11.04

$3.40 €3.06

-20.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.58 MYR 18.68

$3.31 €2.97

38.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 MYR 7.28

$1.16 €1.04

54.31%

White Bread (500g)

$1.03 MYR 4.20

$1.91 €1.72

-46.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 MYR 5.82

$1.51 €1.36

-5.30%

Eggs

$2.24 MYR 9.15

$4.02 €3.61

-44.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 MYR 47.71

$12.94 €11.62

-9.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.38 MYR 17.86

$7.77 €6.98

-43.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.45 MYR 38.50

$17.76 €15.95

-46.79%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MYR 12.63

$2.30 €2.07

34.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 MYR 6.25

$1.73 €1.56

-11.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.54 MYR 10.36

$1.86 €1.67

36.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 MYR 5.53

$2.59 €2.33

-47.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.41 MYR 5.75

$1.82 €1.64

-22.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.46 MYR 5.93

$1.97 €1.77

-25.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 MYR 4.60

$1.47 €1.32

-23.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 MYR 2.10

$0.72 €0.65

-27.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.44 MYR 18.09

$6.58 €5.91

-32.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.05 MYR 77.6

$5.61 €5.04

239.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.03 MYR 12.33

$1.36 €1.22

122.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 MYR 18.73

$2.14 €1.92

114.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 MYR 2.83

$2.33 €2.10

-70.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.10 MYR 45.21

$44.68 €40.14

-75.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.20 MYR 4.89

$3.85 €3.46

-68.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.54 MYR 2.19

$1.07 €0.96

-49.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.62 MYR 31.05

$16.46 €14.79

-53.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.78 MYR 3.17

$2.20 €1.98

-64.55%

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

$51.4K MYR 209.3K

$34.2K €30.7K

50.27%

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

$34.9K MYR 142.0K

$38.7K €34.8K

-9.99%

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

$50.5 MYR 206

$161 €145

-68.67%

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

$10.55 MYR 42.97

$18.41 €16.54

-42.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.09 MYR 114

$32.74 €29.41

-14.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.09 MYR 176

$44.55 €40.02

-3.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.77 MYR 27.60

$19.10 €17.16

-64.55%

Cinema Ticket

$3.71 MYR 15.12

$9.60 €8.62

-61.35%

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

$240 MYR 979

$668 €600

-64.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,864 MYR 32.0K

$17.6K €15.8K

-55.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.7 MYR 227

$102 €91.6

-45.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.86 MYR 146

$44.46 €39.94

-19.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.4 MYR 307

$98.5 €88.5

-23.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.2 MYR 278

$124 €111

-44.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$460 MYR 1,875

$1,608 €1,445

-71.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$315 MYR 1,284

$1,190 €1,069

-73.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$780 MYR 3,178

$2,812 €2,526

-72.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$519 MYR 2,115

$2,013 €1,808

-74.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,240 MYR 9,125

$7,839 €7,042

-71.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,307 MYR 5,325

$4,576 €4,110

-71.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$424 MYR 1,727

$1,575 €1,415

-73.09%

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 Tawau: October 27, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tawau

$315 33.8%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 278% $875

Groceries & Markets

Tawau

$250 26.9%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 8.8% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Tawau

$106 11.4%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 56.8% $60

Eating Out

Tawau

$103 11.1%

Lisbon

$243 11% 135% $139

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tawau

$89 9.6%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 138% $123

Sport & Entertainment

Tawau

$51 5.4%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 26.2% $13

Getting Around

Tawau

$18 1.9%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 256% $45

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $460 in Tawau and $1,608 in Lisbon. 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: $20 in Tawau vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $250 vs $272 per month, with Tawau cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Tawau

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

22:56 10:56 PM

14:56 2:56 PM

8 h behind Tawau

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

420,806

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.221 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 = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.53 MYR (1 MYR = 0.221 EUR).

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

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tawau Lisbon 12,790 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Tawau
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

Tawau vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tawau and Lisbon differ by about 137% in total monthly costs ($932 vs $2,210 including rent). Tawau is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 73% lower in Tawau. 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: $460 in Tawau versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $240 in Tawau 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 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, Tawau 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 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.