Cost of living comparison
compared to
Kuching vs. Canberra Cost of Living Summary
Kuching is 50.8% cheaper than Canberra.
- Restaurants
-
pay 72.8% less in Kuching
- Groceries
-
pay 31.0% less in Kuching
- Transportation
-
pay 34.4% less in Kuching
- Housing
-
pay 74.4% less in Kuching
- Childcare
-
pay 70.5% less in Kuching
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 48.8% less in Kuching
- Clothing
-
pay 23.8% less in Kuching
Expenses including housing, restaurants, childcare, entertainment and sports, transportation, and groceries are lower in Kuching.
Kuching vs. Canberra Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Kuching instead of Canberra, you would:
pay 72.8% less for restaurants
|
Canberra
|
Kuching
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.34
A$24.61
|
$2.84
MYR11.69
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.81
A$14.76
|
$4.74
MYR19.48
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.59
A$3.90
|
$0.75
MYR3.08
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.24
A$3.37
|
$0.32
MYR1.30
|
|
Canberra vs. Kuching - Cost of restaurants
pay 31.0% less for groceries
|
Canberra
|
Kuching
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.71
A$4.07
|
$1.18
MYR4.84
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.99
A$7.51
|
$4.92
MYR20.21
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.50
A$8.27
|
$7.89
MYR32.45
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.31
A$6.50
|
$2.37
MYR9.74
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.17
A$6.28
|
$1.81
MYR7.46
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.48
A$2.23
|
$1.39
MYR5.73
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.35
A$2.03
|
$0.55
MYR2.26
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.33
A$2.01
|
$1.18
MYR4.86
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.86
A$2.80
|
$0.82
MYR3.38
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.01
A$1.52
|
$0.53
MYR2.19
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.04
A$1.57
|
$0.57
MYR2.33
|
|
Canberra vs. Kuching - Cost of groceries
pay 34.4% less for transportation
|
Canberra
|
Kuching
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.42
A$6.65
|
$1.84
MYR7.56
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$122.90
A$185.04
|
$11.85
MYR48.71
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$29,041.09
A$43,723.43
|
$45,319.91
MYR186,310.13
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.93
A$28.49
|
$10.43
MYR42.86
|
|
Canberra vs. Kuching - Cost of transportation
pay 74.4% less for housing
|
Canberra
|
Kuching
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$51.97
A$78.25
|
$25.28
MYR103.91
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,554.45
A$2,340.33
|
$267.58
MYR1,100.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,160.39
A$1,747.05
|
$203.40
MYR836.16
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$159.03
A$239.43
|
$30.37
MYR124.85
|
|
Canberra vs. Kuching - Cost of housing
pay 70.5% less for childcare
|
Canberra
|
Kuching
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,754.20
A$2,641.08
|
$138.86
MYR570.86
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,323.22
A$20,059.06
|
$6,793.05
MYR27,926.22
|
|
Canberra vs. Kuching - Cost of childcare
pay 48.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
Canberra
|
Kuching
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.54
A$9.84
|
$3.79
MYR15.59
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.41
A$5.13
|
$3.18
MYR13.07
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$31.05
A$46.75
|
$4.27
MYR17.54
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$58.70
A$88.37
|
$32.23
MYR132.49
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.07
A$19.69
|
$4.74
MYR19.48
|
|
Canberra vs. Kuching - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 23.8% less for clothing
|
Canberra
|
Kuching
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.40
A$104.48
|
$66.02
MYR271.40
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$57.75
A$86.94
|
$31.99
MYR131.51
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$94.06
A$141.61
|
$87.06
MYR357.91
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$118.40
A$178.26
|
$72.94
MYR299.85
|
|
Canberra vs. Kuching - Cost of clothing
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
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Australia vs. Malaysia.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Australia and Malaysia.
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
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Kuching or Canberra. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.