Cost of living comparison

Cuba

compared to

Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur vs. Havana Cost of Living Summary

Kuala Lumpur is 27.1% more expensive than Havana.

Restaurants: pay 3.4% less in Kuala Lumpur
Groceries: pay 25.8% less in Kuala Lumpur
Transportation: pay 29.2% less in Kuala Lumpur
Housing: pay 74.1% more in Kuala Lumpur
Childcare: pay 2.2 times more in Kuala Lumpur
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.2 times more in Kuala Lumpur
Clothing: pay 47.3% more in Kuala Lumpur

The cost of entertainment and sports, childcare, housing, and clothing in Kuala Lumpur are more expensive than in Havana. Expenses including transportation, groceries, and restaurants are lower in Kuala Lumpur. Notably, entertainment and sports and childcare are significantly more expensive in Kuala Lumpur.

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Kuala Lumpur vs. Havana Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kuala Lumpur instead of Havana, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.4% less for restaurants

	Havana	Kuala Lumpur
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.71 CUC3.71	$4.89 MYR19.98	+32.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.00 CUC5.00	$4.89 MYR19.98	-2.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.70 CUC1.70	$0.81 MYR3.30	-52.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.00 CUC1.00	$0.46 MYR1.88	-53.9%
Average			-3.4%

Havana vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of restaurants

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pay 25.8% less for groceries

	Havana	Kuala Lumpur
Bread 1 loaf	$1.49 CUC1.49	$1.09 MYR4.47	-26.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.22 CUC2.22	$7.00 MYR28.58	+215.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$14.20 CUC14.20	$7.96 MYR32.51	-43.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.71 CUC3.71	$2.53 MYR10.32	-31.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.07 CUC2.07	$2.02 MYR8.25	-2.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.75 CUC2.75	$1.55 MYR6.32	-43.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.48 CUC0.48	$0.82 MYR3.34	+69.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.79 CUC1.79	$1.04 MYR4.23	-42.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.04 CUC1.04	$0.71 MYR2.91	-31.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.73 CUC1.73	$0.59 MYR2.41	-65.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.85 CUC1.85	$0.62 MYR2.54	-66.4%
Average			-25.8%

Havana vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of groceries

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pay 29.2% less for transportation

	Havana	Kuala Lumpur
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.83 CUC4.83	$3.22 MYR13.14	-33.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.50 CUC22.50	$12.24 MYR49.96	-45.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$60,000.00 CUC60,000.00	$41,736.41 MYR170K	-30.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.20 CUC6.20	$11.01 MYR44.96	+77.6%
Average			-29.2%

Havana vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of transportation

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pay 74.1% more for housing

	Havana	Kuala Lumpur
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$90.21 CUC90.21	$26.27 MYR107.27	-70.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$254.03 CUC254.03	$617.87 MYR2,522.90	+143.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$214.40 CUC214.40	$371.37 MYR1,516.38	+73.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$36.20 CUC36.20	$47.56 MYR194.21	+31.4%
Average			+74.1%

Havana vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of housing

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pay 2.2 times more for childcare

	Havana	Kuala Lumpur
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$112.00 CUC112.00	$299.09 MYR1,221.23	+167.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,000.00 CUC7,000.00	$13,124.70 MYR53,590.76	+87.5%
Average			+123.8%

Havana vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of childcare

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pay 3.2 times more for entertainment and sports

	Havana	Kuala Lumpur
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.60 CUC1.60	$4.40 MYR17.99	+174.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.11 CUC1.11	$3.10 MYR12.64	+178.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.00 CUC2.00	$4.40 MYR17.99	+120.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$19.00 CUC19.00	$48.89 MYR199.62	+157.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$0.85 CUC0.85	$5.02 MYR20.48	+490.2%
Average			+221.1%

Havana vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 47.3% more for clothing

	Havana	Kuala Lumpur
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$37.00 CUC37.00	$71.46 MYR291.78	+93.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.00 CUC37.00	$41.92 MYR171.18	+13.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$68.67 CUC68.67	$86.22 MYR352.05	+25.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$56.00 CUC56.00	$96.07 MYR392.29	+71.6%
Average			+47.3%

Havana vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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