Cost of living comparison
compared to
Malaysia vs. George Town Cost of Living Summary
Malaysia is 4.3% more expensive than George Town.
- Restaurants
-
pay 0.9% more in Malaysia
- Groceries
-
pay 12.5% more in Malaysia
- Transportation
-
pay 20.2% more in Malaysia
- Housing
-
pay 19.3% less in Malaysia
- Childcare
-
pay 16.9% more in Malaysia
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 6.6% less in Malaysia
- Clothing
-
pay 5.7% more in Malaysia
The cost of transportation, childcare, groceries, clothing, and restaurants in Malaysia are more expensive than in George Town. Expenses including housing and entertainment and sports are lower in Malaysia.
Malaysia vs. George Town Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Malaysia instead of George Town, you would:
pay 0.9% more for restaurants
|
George Town
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$3.32
MYR13.64
|
$3.22
MYR13.24
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.27
MYR17.54
|
$4.41
MYR18.14
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.79
MYR3.25
|
$0.73
MYR3.00
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.36
MYR1.46
|
$0.39
MYR1.62
|
|
George Town vs. Malaysia - Cost of restaurants
pay 12.5% more for groceries
|
George Town
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.13
MYR4.63
|
$1.02
MYR4.18
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.89
MYR32.44
|
$7.79
MYR32.02
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.04
MYR28.94
|
$6.67
MYR27.41
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.08
MYR8.55
|
$1.99
MYR8.17
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.23
MYR9.17
|
$1.93
MYR7.95
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.06
MYR4.36
|
$1.28
MYR5.26
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.64
MYR2.65
|
$0.67
MYR2.74
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.00
MYR4.12
|
$1.29
MYR5.31
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.65
MYR2.68
|
$0.73
MYR3.01
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.37
MYR1.53
|
$0.53
MYR2.19
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.36
MYR1.47
|
$0.59
MYR2.41
|
|
George Town vs. Malaysia - Cost of groceries
pay 20.2% more for transportation
|
George Town
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$1.84
MYR7.58
|
$1.86
MYR7.63
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$10.66
MYR43.84
|
$15.26
MYR62.75
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,767.77
MYR138,819.31
|
$35,849.31
MYR147,376.52
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$4.98
MYR20.46
|
$6.52
MYR26.79
|
|
George Town vs. Malaysia - Cost of transportation
pay 19.3% less for housing
|
George Town
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$30.45
MYR125.18
|
$27.18
MYR111.74
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$489.73
MYR2,013.29
|
$349.73
MYR1,437.75
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$355.45
MYR1,461.26
|
$247.40
MYR1,017.08
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$37.15
MYR152.72
|
$34.37
MYR141.31
|
|
George Town vs. Malaysia - Cost of housing
pay 16.9% more for childcare
|
George Town
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$165.88
MYR681.92
|
$170.62
MYR701.42
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$4,763.03
MYR19,580.83
|
$6,229.51
MYR25,609.50
|
|
George Town vs. Malaysia - Cost of childcare
pay 6.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
George Town
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.27
MYR17.54
|
$3.72
MYR15.30
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.46
MYR10.13
|
$2.63
MYR10.79
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.38
MYR18.02
|
$4.18
MYR17.17
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$39.10
MYR160.74
|
$36.40
MYR149.64
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$5.45
MYR22.41
|
$4.62
MYR18.97
|
|
George Town vs. Malaysia - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 5.7% more for clothing
|
George Town
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.07
MYR214.07
|
$59.37
MYR244.08
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$29.03
MYR119.34
|
$29.69
MYR122.04
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$71.09
MYR292.25
|
$70.68
MYR290.55
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$53.02
MYR217.97
|
$56.86
MYR233.75
|
|
George Town vs. Malaysia - 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
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