Cost of living comparison

compared to

Penang vs. Bali Cost of Living Summary

Penang is 2.6% cheaper than Bali.

Restaurants: pay 14.0% less in Penang
Groceries: pay 18.4% less in Penang
Transportation: pay 33.2% more in Penang
Housing: pay 39.6% less in Penang
Childcare: pay 1.1% less in Penang
Entertainment and Sports: pay 34.9% more in Penang
Clothing: pay 12.9% less in Penang

The cost of entertainment and sports and transportation in Penang are more expensive than in Bali. Expenses including housing, groceries, restaurants, clothing, and childcare are lower in Penang.

Penang vs. Bali Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Penang instead of Bali, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 14.0% less for restaurants

	Bali	Penang
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.98 IDR49,748.94	$3.55 MYR14.61	+19.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.17 IDR69,648.52	$4.27 MYR17.54	+2.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.18 IDR19,619.23	$0.70 MYR2.86	-40.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.56 IDR9,369.38	$0.36 MYR1.46	-36.7%
Average			-14.0%

Bali vs. Penang - Cost of restaurants

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pay 18.4% less for groceries

	Bali	Penang
Bread 1 loaf	$2.32 IDR38,654.12	$1.06 MYR4.35	-54.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.83 IDR130,687.71	$7.89 MYR32.44	+0.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.60 IDR110,118.90	$7.04 MYR28.94	+6.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.18 IDR36,389.10	$2.08 MYR8.55	-4.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.75 IDR29,124.84	$2.20 MYR9.06	+26.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.50 IDR25,112.05	$1.06 MYR4.36	-29.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.66 IDR11,095.40	$0.70 MYR2.87	+5.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.16 IDR19,332.77	$1.13 MYR4.64	-2.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.22 IDR20,319.62	$0.65 MYR2.68	-46.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.85 IDR14,165.07	$0.37 MYR1.53	-56.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.95 IDR15,833.15	$0.50 MYR2.05	-47.5%
Average			-18.4%

Bali vs. Penang - Cost of groceries

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pay 33.2% more for transportation

	Bali	Penang
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.04 IDR50,671.24	$1.84 MYR7.56	-39.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$8.29 IDR138,318.73	$17.77 MYR73.06	+114.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,369.74 IDR423,409,521.05	$33,767.77 MYR138,819.31	+33.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.07 IDR67,980.52	$5.07 MYR20.85	+24.5%
Average			+33.2%

Bali vs. Penang - Cost of transportation

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pay 39.6% less for housing

	Bali	Penang
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$22.24 IDR371,125.35	$30.78 MYR126.52	+38.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$941.26 IDR15,709,287.34	$325.83 MYR1,339.48	-65.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$655.25 IDR10,935,810.14	$196.68 MYR808.56	-70.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$65.74 IDR1,097,132.12	$25.46 MYR104.65	-61.3%
Average			-39.6%

Bali vs. Penang - Cost of housing

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pay 1.1% less for childcare

	Bali	Penang
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$264.18 IDR4,409,087.41	$239.34 MYR983.91	-9.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,829.73 IDR97,295,519.17	$6,250.00 MYR25,693.75	+7.2%
Average			-1.1%

Bali vs. Penang - Cost of childcare

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pay 34.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Bali	Penang
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.53 IDR42,286.60	$4.27 MYR17.54	+68.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.34 IDR39,031.66	$2.91 MYR11.97	+24.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.23 IDR37,287.22	$4.38 MYR18.02	+96.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$78.64 IDR1,312,527.92	$32.94 MYR135.41	-58.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.88 IDR64,673.62	$5.57 MYR22.89	+43.7%
Average			+34.9%

Bali vs. Penang - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.9% less for clothing

	Bali	Penang
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.94 IDR850,120.10	$55.09 MYR226.49	+8.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$35.42 IDR591,161.34	$29.03 MYR119.34	-18.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$84.41 IDR1,408,737.47	$71.09 MYR292.25	-15.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$71.76 IDR1,197,587.27	$53.02 MYR217.97	-26.1%
Average			-12.9%

Bali vs. Penang - 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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