Cost of living comparison

Pakistan

compared to

Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur vs. Islamabad Cost of Living Summary

Kuala Lumpur is 64.7% more expensive than Islamabad.

Restaurants: pay 30.0% more in Kuala Lumpur
Groceries: pay 2.4 times more in Kuala Lumpur
Transportation: pay 28.7% less in Kuala Lumpur
Housing: pay 94.4% more in Kuala Lumpur
Childcare: pay 3.2 times more in Kuala Lumpur
Entertainment and Sports: pay 36.3% more in Kuala Lumpur
Clothing: pay 64.5% more in Kuala Lumpur

The cost of childcare, groceries, housing, clothing, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in Kuala Lumpur are more expensive than in Islamabad. Notably, childcare, groceries, and housing are significantly more expensive in Kuala Lumpur.

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Kuala Lumpur vs. Islamabad Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 30.0% more for restaurants

	Islamabad	Kuala Lumpur
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.61 PKR1,001.00	$4.89 MYR19.98	+35.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.42 PKR1,501.50	$4.89 MYR19.98	-9.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.34 PKR94.38	$0.81 MYR3.30	+137.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.22 PKR60.62	$0.46 MYR1.88	+110.7%
Average			+30.0%

Islamabad vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.4 times more for groceries

	Islamabad	Kuala Lumpur
Bread 1 loaf	$0.75 PKR208.08	$1.09 MYR4.47	+45.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.07 PKR851.66	$7.00 MYR28.58	+127.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.63 PKR1,006.51	$7.96 MYR32.51	+119.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.24 PKR343.64	$2.53 MYR10.32	+103.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.41 PKR390.48	$2.02 MYR8.25	+43.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.59 PKR163.19	$1.55 MYR6.32	+163.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.38 PKR106.19	$0.82 MYR3.34	+113.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.47 PKR131.67	$1.04 MYR4.23	+118.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.25 PKR68.12	$0.71 MYR2.91	+189.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.13 PKR35.52	$0.59 MYR2.41	+361.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.17 PKR46.29	$0.62 MYR2.54	+272.1%
Average			+136.6%

Islamabad vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of groceries

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pay 28.7% less for transportation

	Islamabad	Kuala Lumpur
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.11 PKR1,415.96	$3.22 MYR13.14	-37.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$21.66 PKR6,006.00	$12.24 MYR49.96	-43.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$54,159.34 PKR15M	$41,736.41 MYR170K	-22.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.04 PKR1,951.95	$11.01 MYR44.96	+56.4%
Average			-28.7%

Islamabad vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of transportation

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pay 94.4% more for housing

	Islamabad	Kuala Lumpur
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$17.07 PKR4,732.00	$26.27 MYR107.27	+53.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$273.02 PKR75,692.28	$617.87 MYR2,522.90	+126.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$139.79 PKR38,755.38	$371.37 MYR1,516.38	+165.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$77.95 PKR21,609.82	$47.56 MYR194.21	-39.0%
Average			+94.4%

Islamabad vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of housing

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pay 3.2 times more for childcare

	Islamabad	Kuala Lumpur
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$74.62 PKR20,687.33	$299.09 MYR1,221.23	+300.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,015.34 PKR1M	$13,124.70 MYR53,590.76	+161.7%
Average			+223.9%

Islamabad vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of childcare

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pay 36.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Islamabad	Kuala Lumpur
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.61 PKR1,001.00	$4.40 MYR17.99	+22.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.65 PKR734.15	$3.10 MYR12.64	+16.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.30 PKR637.64	$4.40 MYR17.99	+91.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$28.23 PKR7,826.00	$48.89 MYR199.62	+73.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.33 PKR1,201.20	$5.02 MYR20.48	+15.8%
Average			+36.3%

Islamabad vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 64.5% more for clothing

	Islamabad	Kuala Lumpur
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$24.82 PKR6,881.88	$71.46 MYR291.78	+187.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.87 PKR9,666.47	$41.92 MYR171.18	+20.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$96.43 PKR26,735.16	$86.22 MYR352.05	-10.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$40.62 PKR11,261.25	$96.07 MYR392.29	+136.5%
Average			+64.5%

Islamabad 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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