Cost of living comparison

compared to

Malaysia vs. Botswana Cost of Living Summary

Malaysia is 4.2% more expensive than Botswana overall.

Restaurants: pay 31.1% less in Malaysia
Groceries: pay 22.1% more in Malaysia
Transportation: pay 25.4% less in Malaysia
Housing: pay 1.0% more in Malaysia
Childcare: pay 44.8% more in Malaysia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 14.8% more in Malaysia
Clothing: pay 3.1% more in Malaysia

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

Malaysia vs. Botswana Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Malaysia instead of Botswana, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 31.1% less for restaurants

	Botswana	Malaysia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.33 BWP147.32	$3.22 MYR13.31	-68.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.01 BWP85.71	$4.41 MYR18.24	-26.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 BWP11.68	$0.73 MYR3.01	-11.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 BWP6.86	$0.39 MYR1.63	-18.2%
Average			-31.1%

Botswana vs. Malaysia - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 22.1% more for groceries

	Botswana	Malaysia
Bread 1 loaf	$0.86 BWP12.24	$1.02 MYR4.21	+18.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.42 BWP48.81	$7.79 MYR32.19	+127.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.53 BWP78.90	$6.67 MYR27.55	+20.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.32 BWP33.16	$1.99 MYR8.21	-14.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.34 BWP33.41	$1.93 MYR7.99	-17.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.80 BWP11.38	$1.28 MYR5.29	+60.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 BWP9.27	$0.67 MYR2.75	+2.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 BWP11.42	$1.29 MYR5.34	+61.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.73 BWP10.44	$0.73 MYR3.03	+0.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 BWP9.17	$0.53 MYR2.20	-17.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.58 BWP8.25	$0.59 MYR2.42	+1.2%
Average			+22.1%

Botswana vs. Malaysia - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 25.4% less for transportation

	Botswana	Malaysia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.28 BWP61.12	$1.86 MYR7.67	-56.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.79 BWP439.28	$15.26 MYR63.08	-50.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,652.69 BWP294,641.57	$35,849.31 MYR148,147.28	+73.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.46 BWP291.96	$6.52 MYR26.93	-68.2%
Average			-25.4%

Botswana vs. Malaysia - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 1.0% more for housing

	Botswana	Malaysia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$52.19 BWP744.64	$27.18 MYR112.33	-47.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$262.85 BWP3,749.98	$349.73 MYR1,445.27	+33.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$160.93 BWP2,295.91	$247.40 MYR1,022.40	+53.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$52.95 BWP755.42	$34.37 MYR142.05	-35.1%
Average			+1.0%

Botswana vs. Malaysia - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 44.8% more for childcare

	Botswana	Malaysia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$147.01 BWP2,097.31	$170.62 MYR705.09	+16.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,593.57 BWP51,267.63	$6,229.51 MYR25,743.43	+73.4%
Average			+44.8%

Botswana vs. Malaysia - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 14.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Botswana	Malaysia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 BWP32.14	$3.72 MYR15.38	+65.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.30 BWP32.75	$2.63 MYR10.85	+14.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.68 BWP52.50	$4.18 MYR17.26	+13.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$32.35 BWP461.48	$36.40 MYR150.42	+12.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.76 BWP96.43	$4.62 MYR19.07	-31.7%
Average			+14.8%

Botswana vs. Malaysia - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.1% more for clothing

	Botswana	Malaysia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$46.00 BWP656.25	$59.37 MYR245.35	+29.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.41 BWP348.21	$29.69 MYR122.68	+21.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$71.82 BWP1,024.55	$70.68 MYR292.07	-1.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$90.12 BWP1,285.71	$56.86 MYR234.98	-36.9%
Average			+3.1%

Botswana vs. Malaysia - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

Botswana vs.

Iceland

Botswana vs.

Vietnam

Botswana vs.

Germany

Botswana vs.

Egypt

Botswana vs.

Poland

Botswana vs.

Russia

Botswana vs.

Italy

Botswana vs.

United States

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Gaborone vs. Kuala Lumpur

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 Botswana

Add prices for Malaysia

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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