Cost of living comparison

compared to

Malaysia vs. Kenya Cost of Living Summary

Malaysia is 37.7% more expensive than Kenya overall.

Restaurants: pay 4.5% less in Malaysia
Groceries: pay 70.1% more in Malaysia
Transportation: pay 18.8% less in Malaysia
Housing: pay 45.5% more in Malaysia
Childcare: pay 8.7% less in Malaysia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 29.6% more in Malaysia
Clothing: pay 2.5 times more in Malaysia

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

Malaysia vs. Kenya Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Malaysia instead of Kenya, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 4.5% less for restaurants

	Kenya	Malaysia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.74 KES484.15	$3.22 MYR13.31	-13.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.17 KES798.62	$4.41 MYR18.24	-28.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.54 KES69.44	$0.73 MYR3.01	+35.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.44 KES57.53	$0.39 MYR1.63	-11.5%
Average			-4.5%

Kenya vs. Malaysia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 70.1% more for groceries

	Kenya	Malaysia
Bread 1 loaf	$0.54 KES70.01	$1.02 MYR4.21	+88.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.37 KES565.28	$7.79 MYR32.19	+78.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.52 KES326.23	$6.67 MYR27.55	+164.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.60 KES207.28	$1.99 MYR8.21	+24.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.57 KES332.87	$1.93 MYR7.99	-24.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.08 KES139.60	$1.28 MYR5.29	+18.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.40 KES51.88	$0.67 MYR2.75	+66.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.69 KES89.87	$1.29 MYR5.34	+86.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.32 KES41.21	$0.73 MYR3.03	+130.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.30 KES38.21	$0.53 MYR2.20	+80.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.37 KES47.67	$0.59 MYR2.42	+58.9%
Average			+70.1%

Kenya vs. Malaysia - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.8% less for transportation

	Kenya	Malaysia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.40 KES698.69	$1.86 MYR7.67	-65.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$26.41 KES3,419.10	$15.26 MYR63.08	-42.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,331.14 KES2,502,416.20	$35,849.31 MYR148,147.28	+85.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.74 KES1,778.12	$6.52 MYR26.93	-52.6%
Average			-18.8%

Kenya vs. Malaysia - Cost of transportation

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pay 45.5% more for housing

	Kenya	Malaysia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$37.35 KES4,834.47	$27.18 MYR112.33	-27.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$194.00 KES25,113.52	$349.73 MYR1,445.27	+80.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$131.26 KES16,990.97	$247.40 MYR1,022.40	+88.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$24.47 KES3,167.26	$34.37 MYR142.05	+40.5%
Average			+45.5%

Kenya vs. Malaysia - Cost of housing

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pay 8.7% less for childcare

	Kenya	Malaysia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$172.28 KES22,301.68	$170.62 MYR705.09	-1.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,439.34 KES963,022.59	$6,229.51 MYR25,743.43	-16.3%
Average			-8.7%

Kenya vs. Malaysia - Cost of childcare

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pay 29.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Kenya	Malaysia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.03 KES262.67	$3.72 MYR15.38	+83.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.28 KES294.98	$2.63 MYR10.85	+15.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.80 KES362.51	$4.18 MYR17.26	+49.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$29.27 KES3,788.44	$36.40 MYR150.42	+24.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.10 KES790.23	$4.62 MYR19.07	-24.4%
Average			+29.6%

Kenya vs. Malaysia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.5 times more for clothing

	Kenya	Malaysia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$12.46 KES1,612.32	$59.37 MYR245.35	+376.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$20.02 KES2,592.06	$29.69 MYR122.68	+48.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$34.44 KES4,457.72	$70.68 MYR292.07	+105.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$32.93 KES4,262.80	$56.86 MYR234.98	+72.7%
Average			+150.7%

Kenya vs. Malaysia - 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: December 2025

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