Cost of living comparison
compared to
Hanoi vs. Kota Kinabalu Cost of Living Summary
Hanoi is 1.6% more expensive than Kota Kinabalu.
- Restaurants
-
pay 30.1% less in Hanoi
- Groceries
-
pay 30.6% less in Hanoi
- Transportation
-
pay 18.5% more in Hanoi
- Housing
-
pay 4.0% more in Hanoi
- Childcare
-
pay 2.0 times more in Hanoi
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 44.3% less in Hanoi
- Clothing
-
pay 7.9% less in Hanoi
The cost of childcare, transportation, and housing in Hanoi are more expensive than in Kota Kinabalu. Expenses including entertainment and sports, groceries, restaurants, and clothing are lower in Hanoi. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Hanoi.
Hanoi vs. Kota Kinabalu Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Hanoi instead of Kota Kinabalu, you would:
pay 30.1% less for restaurants
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
Hanoi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$3.55
MYR14.61
|
$1.89
₫49,934
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.74
MYR19.48
|
$4.32
₫113,850
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.67
MYR2.77
|
$0.47
₫12,484
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.38
MYR1.56
|
$0.25
₫6,483
|
|
Kota Kinabalu vs. Hanoi - Cost of restaurants
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pay 30.6% less for groceries
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
Hanoi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.15
MYR4.71
|
$0.91
₫23,872
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$13.03
MYR53.58
|
$4.95
₫130,628
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.50
MYR26.73
|
$5.27
₫139,054
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.54
MYR10.42
|
$1.51
₫39,740
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.85
MYR7.61
|
$1.59
₫41,885
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.24
MYR5.08
|
$1.44
₫37,840
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.56
MYR2.28
|
$0.47
₫12,396
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.77
MYR7.29
|
$0.66
₫17,423
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.86
MYR3.54
|
$0.50
₫13,178
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.68
MYR2.80
|
$0.44
₫11,648
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.79
MYR3.24
|
$0.46
₫12,155
|
|
Kota Kinabalu vs. Hanoi - Cost of groceries
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pay 18.5% more for transportation
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
Hanoi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$1.84
MYR7.56
|
$3.20
₫84,485
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$41.21
MYR169.42
|
$7.58
₫199,737
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,436.02
MYR116,900.47
|
$37,880.00
₫998,682,893
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$3.79
MYR15.59
|
$5.61
₫147,805
|
|
Kota Kinabalu vs. Hanoi - Cost of transportation
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pay 4.0% more for housing
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
Hanoi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$33.00
MYR135.65
|
$8.67
₫228,698
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$379.15
MYR1,558.67
|
$348.52
₫9,188,554
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$165.88
MYR681.92
|
$258.44
₫6,813,720
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$39.62
MYR162.89
|
$56.25
₫1,482,868
|
|
Kota Kinabalu vs. Hanoi - Cost of housing
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pay 2.0 times more for childcare
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
Hanoi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$130.33
MYR535.79
|
$231.49
₫6,103,062
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$5,213.27
MYR21,431.75
|
$11,784.89
₫310,701,344
|
|
Kota Kinabalu vs. Hanoi - Cost of childcare
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pay 44.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
Hanoi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.37
MYR9.74
|
$0.95
₫24,967
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.65
MYR10.88
|
$1.79
₫47,250
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.15
MYR17.05
|
$1.33
₫34,954
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$43.44
MYR178.60
|
$27.93
₫736,415
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$5.09
MYR20.94
|
$3.79
₫99,868
|
|
Kota Kinabalu vs. Hanoi - Cost of entertainment and sports
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pay 7.9% less for clothing
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
Hanoi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$59.77
MYR245.73
|
$41.82
₫1,102,467
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$22.90
MYR94.14
|
$22.94
₫604,758
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$71.09
MYR292.25
|
$86.52
₫2,281,051
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$94.79
MYR389.67
|
$72.39
₫1,908,594
|
|
Kota Kinabalu vs. Hanoi - 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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