Cost of living comparison

compared to

Kota Kinabalu vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Kota Kinabalu is 3.7% cheaper than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 11.2% more in Kota Kinabalu
Groceries: pay 41.1% more in Kota Kinabalu
Transportation: pay 3.1% more in Kota Kinabalu
Housing: pay 7.4% more in Kota Kinabalu
Childcare: pay 79.7% less in Kota Kinabalu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.4% more in Kota Kinabalu
Clothing: pay 16.1% less in Kota Kinabalu

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

Kota Kinabalu vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kota Kinabalu instead of Beijing, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 11.2% more for restaurants

	Beijing	Kota Kinabalu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.21 CN¥29.74	$3.55 MYR14.61	-15.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 CN¥34.69	$4.74 MYR19.48	-3.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 CN¥3.39	$0.67 MYR2.77	+40.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.17	$0.38 MYR1.56	+23.5%
Average			+11.2%

Beijing vs. Kota Kinabalu - Cost of restaurants

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pay 41.1% more for groceries

	Beijing	Kota Kinabalu
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 CN¥12.07	$1.15 MYR4.71	-32.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.47 CN¥52.80	$13.03 MYR53.58	+74.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.64 CN¥46.96	$6.50 MYR26.73	-2.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.78 CN¥12.56	$2.54 MYR10.42	+42.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥10.83	$1.85 MYR7.61	+20.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 CN¥6.95	$1.24 MYR5.08	+25.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.44	$0.56 MYR2.28	-27.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 CN¥5.66	$1.77 MYR7.29	+121.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 CN¥4.26	$0.86 MYR3.54	+42.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 CN¥2.46	$0.68 MYR2.80	+95.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.41 CN¥2.92	$0.79 MYR3.24	+91.1%
Average			+41.1%

Beijing vs. Kota Kinabalu - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.1% more for transportation

	Beijing	Kota Kinabalu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.21 CN¥29.77	$1.84 MYR7.56	-56.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$31.54 CN¥223.02	$41.21 MYR169.42	+30.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,225.66 CN¥128,857.25	$28,436.02 MYR116,900.47	+56.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.63 CN¥32.71	$3.79 MYR15.59	-18.0%
Average			+3.1%

Beijing vs. Kota Kinabalu - Cost of transportation

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pay 7.4% more for housing

	Beijing	Kota Kinabalu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.93 CN¥91.43	$33.00 MYR135.65	+155.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$935.23 CN¥6,612.19	$379.15 MYR1,558.67	-59.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$504.41 CN¥3,566.20	$165.88 MYR681.92	-67.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.27 CN¥277.61	$39.62 MYR162.89	+0.9%
Average			+7.4%

Beijing vs. Kota Kinabalu - Cost of housing

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pay 79.7% less for childcare

	Beijing	Kota Kinabalu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$710.76 CN¥5,025.17	$130.33 MYR535.79	-81.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,242.73 CN¥164,328.40	$5,213.27 MYR21,431.75	-77.6%
Average			-79.7%

Beijing vs. Kota Kinabalu - Cost of childcare

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pay 7.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Kota Kinabalu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 CN¥7.93	$2.37 MYR9.74	+111.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.90 CN¥20.52	$2.65 MYR10.88	-8.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.21 CN¥29.74	$4.15 MYR17.05	-1.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.84 CN¥408.91	$43.44 MYR178.60	-24.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 CN¥59.47	$5.09 MYR20.94	-39.4%
Average			+7.4%

Beijing vs. Kota Kinabalu - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 16.1% less for clothing

	Beijing	Kota Kinabalu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.30 CN¥440.46	$59.77 MYR245.73	-4.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.37 CN¥257.16	$22.90 MYR94.14	-37.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.74 CN¥577.91	$71.09 MYR292.25	-13.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.53 CN¥746.11	$94.79 MYR389.67	-10.2%
Average			-16.1%

Beijing vs. Kota Kinabalu - 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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