Cost of living comparison

compared to

Shah Alam vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Shah Alam is 4.9% cheaper than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 12.5% more in Shah Alam
Groceries: pay 17.4% more in Shah Alam
Transportation: pay 1.9% less in Shah Alam
Housing: pay 1.0% more in Shah Alam
Childcare: pay 70.4% less in Shah Alam
Entertainment and Sports: pay 32.0% more in Shah Alam
Clothing: pay 24.6% less in Shah Alam

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

Shah Alam vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Shah Alam instead of Beijing, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 12.5% more for restaurants

	Beijing	Shah Alam
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.21 CN¥29.67	$3.55 MYR14.56	-15.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 CN¥34.62	$4.27 MYR17.48	-13.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 CN¥3.38	$0.70 MYR2.86	+45.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.17	$0.41 MYR1.67	+32.8%
Average			+12.5%

Beijing vs. Shah Alam - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.4% more for groceries

	Beijing	Shah Alam
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 CN¥12.04	$0.99 MYR4.05	-42.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.47 CN¥52.69	$7.11 MYR29.13	-4.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.64 CN¥46.85	$7.04 MYR28.85	+6.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.78 CN¥12.53	$2.08 MYR8.52	+17.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥10.80	$2.20 MYR9.03	+43.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 CN¥6.93	$1.24 MYR5.06	+25.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.43	$0.70 MYR2.86	-9.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 CN¥5.65	$1.15 MYR4.70	+43.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 CN¥4.25	$0.65 MYR2.67	+8.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 CN¥2.46	$0.53 MYR2.17	+52.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.41 CN¥2.91	$0.62 MYR2.54	+50.3%
Average			+17.4%

Beijing vs. Shah Alam - Cost of groceries

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pay 1.9% less for transportation

	Beijing	Shah Alam
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.21 CN¥29.71	$1.84 MYR7.53	-56.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$31.54 CN¥222.53	$15.40 MYR63.11	-51.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,225.66 CN¥128,572.93	$33,767.77 MYR138,356.69	+85.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.63 CN¥32.64	$5.31 MYR21.75	+14.7%
Average			-1.9%

Beijing vs. Shah Alam - Cost of transportation

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pay 1.0% more for housing

	Beijing	Shah Alam
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.93 CN¥91.22	$30.45 MYR124.76	+135.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$935.23 CN¥6,597.60	$313.98 MYR1,286.47	-66.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$504.41 CN¥3,558.33	$274.88 MYR1,126.27	-45.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.27 CN¥277.00	$31.51 MYR129.12	-19.7%
Average			+1.0%

Beijing vs. Shah Alam - Cost of housing

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pay 70.4% less for childcare

	Beijing	Shah Alam
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$710.76 CN¥5,014.09	$229.86 MYR941.80	-67.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,242.73 CN¥163,965.81	$6,250.00 MYR25,608.13	-73.1%
Average			-70.4%

Beijing vs. Shah Alam - Cost of childcare

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pay 32.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Shah Alam
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 CN¥7.91	$3.55 MYR14.56	+216.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.90 CN¥20.47	$2.91 MYR11.93	+0.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.21 CN¥29.67	$4.27 MYR17.48	+1.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.84 CN¥408.00	$38.51 MYR157.78	-33.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 CN¥59.34	$6.28 MYR25.73	-25.3%
Average			+32.0%

Beijing vs. Shah Alam - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 24.6% less for clothing

	Beijing	Shah Alam
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.30 CN¥439.49	$55.45 MYR227.20	-11.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.37 CN¥256.59	$34.52 MYR141.43	-5.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.74 CN¥576.64	$61.57 MYR252.28	-24.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.53 CN¥744.46	$44.55 MYR182.53	-57.8%
Average			-24.6%

Beijing vs. Shah Alam - 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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