Cost of living comparison

Rwanda

compared to

Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur vs. Kigali Cost of Living Summary

Kuala Lumpur is 22.4% more expensive than Kigali.

Restaurants: pay 14.6% more in Kuala Lumpur
Groceries: pay 74.8% more in Kuala Lumpur
Transportation: pay 30.8% less in Kuala Lumpur
Housing: pay 10.2% less in Kuala Lumpur
Childcare: pay 91.2% more in Kuala Lumpur
Entertainment and Sports: pay 95.3% more in Kuala Lumpur
Clothing: pay 3.3 times more in Kuala Lumpur

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

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Kuala Lumpur vs. Kigali Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 14.6% more for restaurants

	Kigali	Kuala Lumpur
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.71 RWF4,005	$4.89 MYR19.98	+80.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.77 RWF10,013	$4.89 MYR19.98	-27.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.78 RWF1,155	$0.81 MYR3.30	+3.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.56 RWF826	$0.46 MYR1.88	-17.6%
Average			+14.6%

Kigali vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of restaurants

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pay 74.8% more for groceries

	Kigali	Kuala Lumpur
Bread 1 loaf	$1.05 RWF1,548	$1.09 MYR4.47	+4.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.11 RWF3,115	$7.00 MYR28.58	+232.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.16 RWF4,675	$7.96 MYR32.51	+151.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.63 RWF2,412	$2.53 MYR10.32	+54.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.08 RWF3,078	$2.02 MYR8.25	-3.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 RWF1,618	$1.55 MYR6.32	+41.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.35 RWF522	$0.82 MYR3.34	+131.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.69 RWF1,019	$1.04 MYR4.23	+50.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 RWF707	$0.71 MYR2.91	+48.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.23 RWF333	$0.59 MYR2.41	+162.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.34 RWF499	$0.62 MYR2.54	+84.0%
Average			+74.8%

Kigali vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of groceries

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pay 30.8% less for transportation

	Kigali	Kuala Lumpur
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.00 RWF10,345	$3.22 MYR13.14	-54.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$25.40 RWF37,550	$12.24 MYR49.96	-51.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,080.15 RWF39M	$41,736.41 MYR170K	+60.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.97 RWF28,037	$11.01 MYR44.96	-41.9%
Average			-30.8%

Kigali vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of transportation

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pay 10.2% less for housing

	Kigali	Kuala Lumpur
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.00 RWF31,041	$26.27 MYR107.27	+25.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$666.07 RWF985K	$617.87 MYR2,522.90	-7.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$413.79 RWF612K	$371.37 MYR1,516.38	-10.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$64.32 RWF95,077	$47.56 MYR194.21	-26.1%
Average			-10.2%

Kigali vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of housing

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pay 91.2% more for childcare

	Kigali	Kuala Lumpur
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$112.90 RWF167K	$299.09 MYR1,221.23	+164.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,510.48 RWF14M	$13,124.70 MYR53,590.76	+38.0%
Average			+91.2%

Kigali vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of childcare

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pay 95.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Kigali	Kuala Lumpur
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.02 RWF1,502	$4.40 MYR17.99	+333.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.42 RWF3,578	$3.10 MYR12.64	+27.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.03 RWF3,004	$4.40 MYR17.99	+116.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$26.72 RWF39,497	$48.89 MYR199.62	+83.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.39 RWF5,007	$5.02 MYR20.48	+48.1%
Average			+95.3%

Kigali vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 3.3 times more for clothing

	Kigali	Kuala Lumpur
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$17.39 RWF25,701	$71.46 MYR291.78	+311.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.58 RWF23,031	$41.92 MYR171.18	+169.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$22.24 RWF32,877	$86.22 MYR352.05	+287.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$33.87 RWF50,067	$96.07 MYR392.29	+183.7%
Average			+232.1%

Kigali 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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