Cost of living comparison

compared to

Kuala Lumpur vs. Addis Ababa Cost of Living Summary

Kuala Lumpur is 21.5% more expensive than Addis Ababa.

Restaurants: pay 4.0% more in Kuala Lumpur
Groceries: pay 18.1% more in Kuala Lumpur
Transportation: pay 26.4% more in Kuala Lumpur
Housing: pay 50.9% less in Kuala Lumpur
Childcare: pay 55.5% more in Kuala Lumpur
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.1 times more in Kuala Lumpur
Clothing: pay 12.2% less in Kuala Lumpur

The cost of entertainment and sports, childcare, transportation, groceries, and restaurants in Kuala Lumpur are more expensive than in Addis Ababa. Expenses including housing and clothing are lower in Kuala Lumpur. Notably, entertainment and sports is significantly more expensive in Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Lumpur vs. Addis Ababa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kuala Lumpur instead of Addis Ababa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 4.0% more for restaurants

	Addis Ababa	Kuala Lumpur
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.26 ETB655.54	$4.74 MYR19.59	+11.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.50 ETB1,000.24	$4.74 MYR19.59	-27.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.61 ETB93.51	$0.89 MYR3.66	+45.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.57 ETB87.20	$0.49 MYR2.01	-14.1%
Average			+4.0%

Addis Ababa vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of restaurants

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pay 18.1% more for groceries

	Addis Ababa	Kuala Lumpur
Bread 1 loaf	$1.26 ETB193.73	$0.98 MYR4.03	-22.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.34 ETB667.36	$7.13 MYR29.45	+64.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.42 ETB834.53	$7.98 MYR32.96	+47.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.28 ETB351.02	$2.23 MYR9.21	-2.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.76 ETB886.79	$2.09 MYR8.65	-63.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.08 ETB473.48	$1.32 MYR5.45	-57.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.43 ETB66.40	$0.75 MYR3.09	+73.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.06 ETB162.78	$1.22 MYR5.04	+15.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.40 ETB62.30	$0.69 MYR2.86	+70.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.28 ETB42.45	$0.57 MYR2.34	+104.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.91 ETB139.43	$0.62 MYR2.56	-31.5%
Average			+18.1%

Addis Ababa vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of groceries

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pay 26.4% more for transportation

	Addis Ababa	Kuala Lumpur
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.81 ETB740.52	$1.87 MYR7.71	-61.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$12.00 ETB1,846.60	$11.85 MYR48.96	-1.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$55,000.00 ETB8,463,587.61	$40,284.36 MYR166,475.12	-26.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.62 ETB556.29	$10.66 MYR44.07	+195.0%
Average			+26.4%

Addis Ababa vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of transportation

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pay 50.9% less for housing

	Addis Ababa	Kuala Lumpur
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$130.20 ETB20,035.62	$25.49 MYR105.32	-80.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$815.99 ETB125,568.08	$573.16 MYR2,368.60	-29.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$512.43 ETB78,854.26	$350.71 MYR1,449.31	-31.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$121.97 ETB18,769.25	$46.59 MYR192.54	-61.8%
Average			-50.9%

Addis Ababa vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of housing

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pay 55.5% more for childcare

	Addis Ababa	Kuala Lumpur
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$94.05 ETB14,472.47	$264.45 MYR1,092.86	+181.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,187.50 ETB4,645,355.47	$9,004.74 MYR37,212.09	-70.2%
Average			+55.5%

Addis Ababa vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports

	Addis Ababa	Kuala Lumpur
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.90 ETB138.50	$4.27 MYR17.63	+373.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.09 ETB167.35	$3.06 MYR12.65	+181.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.10 ETB784.81	$4.27 MYR17.63	-16.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$62.10 ETB9,556.74	$46.43 MYR191.86	-25.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.75 ETB577.06	$4.98 MYR20.56	+32.7%
Average			+109.3%

Addis Ababa vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.2% less for clothing

	Addis Ababa	Kuala Lumpur
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.03 ETB6,929.81	$61.66 MYR254.80	+36.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$75.17 ETB11,566.90	$37.10 MYR153.34	-50.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.08 ETB14,477.62	$87.80 MYR362.83	-6.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$115.09 ETB17,709.97	$82.47 MYR340.83	-28.3%
Average			-12.2%

Addis Ababa vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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