Cost of living comparison

Malaysia

compared to

United Arab Emirates

Al Ain vs. Johor Bahru Cost of Living Summary

Al Ain is 77.9% more expensive than Johor Bahru.

Restaurants: pay 39.7% more in Al Ain
Groceries: pay 20.7% more in Al Ain
Transportation: pay 51.1% more in Al Ain
Housing: pay 2.4 times more in Al Ain
Childcare: pay 2.5 times more in Al Ain
Entertainment and Sports: pay 87.1% more in Al Ain
Clothing: pay 58.4% more in Al Ain

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, clothing, transportation, and restaurants in Al Ain are more expensive than in Johor Bahru. Notably, childcare, housing, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Al Ain.

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Al Ain vs. Johor Bahru Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Al Ain instead of Johor Bahru, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 39.7% more for restaurants

	Johor Bahru	Al Ain
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.55 MYR14.56	$7.49 AED27.50	+110.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.74 MYR19.41	$8.44 AED31.00	+78.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.78 MYR3.21	$0.77 AED2.81	-2.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 MYR1.93	$0.34 AED1.25	-27.7%
Average			+39.7%

Johor Bahru vs. Al Ain - Cost of restaurants

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pay 20.7% more for groceries

	Johor Bahru	Al Ain
Bread 1 loaf	$0.98 MYR4.01	$1.60 AED5.89	+63.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.33 MYR21.84	$5.28 AED19.39	-1.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.01 MYR28.72	$6.96 AED25.55	-0.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.86 MYR7.63	$3.64 AED13.37	+95.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.20 MYR9.01	$4.12 AED15.11	+87.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.24 MYR5.06	$1.15 AED4.21	-7.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.68 MYR2.78	$0.82 AED3.00	+20.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.15 MYR4.70	$0.83 AED3.05	-27.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 MYR2.31	$0.67 AED2.46	+19.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 MYR2.17	$0.52 AED1.93	-1.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.62 MYR2.54	$0.49 AED1.81	-20.3%
Average			+20.7%

Johor Bahru vs. Al Ain - Cost of groceries

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pay 51.1% more for transportation

	Johor Bahru	Al Ain
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.84 MYR7.55	$2.91 AED10.69	+58.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.85 MYR48.53	$24.51 AED90.00	+106.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,545.02 MYR146K	$44,639.07 AED164K	+25.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.69 MYR27.42	$7.62 AED28.00	+13.9%
Average			+51.1%

Johor Bahru vs. Al Ain - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.4 times more for housing

	Johor Bahru	Al Ain
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$30.15 MYR123.51	$100.96 AED370.79	+234.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$494.94 MYR2,027.24	$717.04 AED2,633.33	+44.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$375.20 MYR1,536.77	$778.22 AED2,858.00	+107.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$31.51 MYR129.08	$86.72 AED318.49	+175.2%
Average			+140.6%

Johor Bahru vs. Al Ain - Cost of housing

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pay 2.5 times more for childcare

	Johor Bahru	Al Ain
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$153.04 MYR626.84	$625.43 AED2,296.88	+308.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,279.62 MYR25,720.70	$5,445.88 AED20,000.00	-13.3%
Average			+147.7%

Johor Bahru vs. Al Ain - Cost of childcare

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pay 87.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Johor Bahru	Al Ain
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.55 MYR14.56	$8.17 AED30.00	+129.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 MYR11.90	$4.77 AED17.50	+64.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.25 MYR17.42	$5.31 AED19.50	+24.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$34.36 MYR140.74	$49.16 AED180.56	+43.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.98 MYR20.38	$13.61 AED50.00	+173.6%
Average			+87.1%

Johor Bahru vs. Al Ain - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 58.4% more for clothing

	Johor Bahru	Al Ain
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.76 MYR203.82	$60.62 AED222.62	+21.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.59 MYR67.94	$28.59 AED105.00	+72.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$71.09 MYR291.18	$71.25 AED261.67	+0.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$40.23 MYR164.76	$96.21 AED353.33	+139.2%
Average			+58.4%

Johor Bahru vs. Al Ain - Cost of clothing

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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: July 2026

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