Cost of living comparison

Brunei

compared to

Maldives

Male vs. Bandar Seri Begawan Cost of Living Summary

Male is 38.5% more expensive than Bandar Seri Begawan.

Restaurants: pay 42.5% more in Male
Groceries: pay 14.6% more in Male
Transportation: pay 3.0 times more in Male
Housing: pay 45.1% more in Male
Childcare: pay 48.7% less in Male
Entertainment and Sports: pay 51.2% more in Male
Clothing: pay 35.8% less in Male

The cost of transportation, entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, and groceries in Male are more expensive than in Bandar Seri Begawan. Expenses including childcare and clothing are lower in Male. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in Male.

Planning a move to Maldives? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Male vs. Bandar Seri Begawan Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Male instead of Bandar Seri Begawan, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 42.5% more for restaurants

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Male
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.91 BND4.98	$6.00 MVR92.74	+53.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.17 BND7.87	$9.73 MVR150.39	+57.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.92 BND1.18	$1.63 MVR25.12	+75.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 BND0.66	$0.30 MVR4.59	-42.4%
Average			+42.5%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Male - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 14.6% more for groceries

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Male
Bread 1 loaf	$1.72 BND2.19	$1.65 MVR25.57	-3.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.69 BND5.98	$5.34 MVR82.43	+13.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.05 BND8.99	$7.69 MVR118.80	+9.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.04 BND2.61	$1.92 MVR29.70	-5.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.04 BND2.60	$2.77 MVR42.73	+35.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.42 BND1.81	$1.80 MVR27.83	+27.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.99 BND1.27	$1.39 MVR21.40	+39.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.33 BND1.70	$1.85 MVR28.65	+39.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.15 BND1.47	$1.22 MVR18.84	+5.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 BND0.98	$0.93 MVR14.40	+20.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.93 BND1.19	$0.86 MVR13.30	-7.5%
Average			+14.6%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Male - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.0 times more for transportation

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Male
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.55 BND1.98	$3.81 MVR58.81	+145.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$0.78 BND1.00	$30.82 MVR476.23	+3846.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$42,965.55 BND54,822.79	$32,446.46 MVR501K	-24.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$30.47 BND38.87	$17.52 MVR270.70	-42.5%
Average			+198.4%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Male - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 45.1% more for housing

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Male
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$65.10 BND83.06	$73.00 MVR1,127.92	+12.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$720.60 BND919.46	$951.14 MVR14,695.19	+32.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$473.37 BND604.01	$699.92 MVR10,813.71	+47.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$46.90 BND59.84	$90.98 MVR1,405.60	+94.0%
Average			+45.1%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Male - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 48.7% less for childcare

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Male
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$216.79 BND276.61	$184.98 MVR2,857.90	-14.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,724.87 BND12,408.65	$3,004.83 MVR46,424.59	-69.1%
Average			-48.7%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Male - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 51.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Male
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.95 BND2.49	$4.87 MVR75.19	+149.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.91 BND4.98	$3.55 MVR54.84	-9.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$15.63 BND19.94	$14.93 MVR230.60	-4.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.57 BND58.14	$70.81 MVR1,093.98	+55.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.47 BND6.98	$9.73 MVR150.39	+78.0%
Average			+51.2%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Male - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 35.8% less for clothing

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Male
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$76.16 BND97.18	$39.51 MVR610.48	-48.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$93.73 BND119.60	$49.64 MVR766.88	-47.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.14 BND130.33	$87.13 MVR1,346.11	-14.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.26 BND92.20	$52.52 MVR811.39	-27.3%
Average			-35.8%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Male - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Male

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Male?

More cost comparisons

Bandar Seri Begawan vs.

Paris

Bandar Seri Begawan vs.

Warsaw

Bandar Seri Begawan vs.

Toronto

Bandar Seri Begawan vs.

Sydney

Bandar Seri Begawan vs.

Vienna

Bandar Seri Begawan vs.

Shanghai

Bandar Seri Begawan vs.

Moscow

Bandar Seri Begawan vs.

Reykjavik

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Brunei vs. Maldives. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Brunei and Maldives.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Bandar Seri Begawan

Add prices for Male

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Male or Bandar Seri Begawan. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.