Cost of living comparison
compared to
Malaysia vs. Kota Kinabalu Cost of Living Summary
Malaysia is 3.9% more expensive than Kota Kinabalu.
- Restaurants
-
pay 1.1% less in Malaysia
- Groceries
-
pay 12.0% less in Malaysia
- Transportation
-
pay 9.0% more in Malaysia
- Housing
-
pay 2.6% more in Malaysia
- Childcare
-
pay 25.2% more in Malaysia
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 6.3% more in Malaysia
- Clothing
-
pay 2.9% less in Malaysia
The cost of childcare, transportation, entertainment and sports, and housing in Malaysia are more expensive than in Kota Kinabalu. Expenses including groceries, clothing, and restaurants are lower in Malaysia.
Malaysia vs. Kota Kinabalu Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Malaysia instead of Kota Kinabalu, you would:
pay 1.1% less for restaurants
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$3.55
MYR14.61
|
$3.22
MYR13.24
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.74
MYR19.48
|
$4.41
MYR18.14
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.67
MYR2.77
|
$0.73
MYR3.00
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.38
MYR1.56
|
$0.39
MYR1.62
|
|
Kota Kinabalu vs. Malaysia - Cost of restaurants
pay 12.0% less for groceries
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.15
MYR4.71
|
$1.02
MYR4.18
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$13.03
MYR53.58
|
$7.79
MYR32.02
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.50
MYR26.73
|
$6.67
MYR27.41
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.54
MYR10.42
|
$1.99
MYR8.17
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.85
MYR7.61
|
$1.93
MYR7.95
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.24
MYR5.08
|
$1.28
MYR5.26
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.56
MYR2.28
|
$0.67
MYR2.74
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.77
MYR7.29
|
$1.29
MYR5.31
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.86
MYR3.54
|
$0.73
MYR3.01
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.68
MYR2.80
|
$0.53
MYR2.19
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.79
MYR3.24
|
$0.59
MYR2.41
|
|
Kota Kinabalu vs. Malaysia - Cost of groceries
pay 9.0% more for transportation
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$1.84
MYR7.56
|
$1.86
MYR7.63
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$41.21
MYR169.42
|
$15.26
MYR62.75
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,436.02
MYR116,900.47
|
$35,849.31
MYR147,376.52
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$3.79
MYR15.59
|
$6.52
MYR26.79
|
|
Kota Kinabalu vs. Malaysia - Cost of transportation
pay 2.6% more for housing
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$33.00
MYR135.65
|
$27.18
MYR111.74
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$379.15
MYR1,558.67
|
$349.73
MYR1,437.75
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$165.88
MYR681.92
|
$247.40
MYR1,017.08
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$39.62
MYR162.89
|
$34.37
MYR141.31
|
|
Kota Kinabalu vs. Malaysia - Cost of housing
pay 25.2% more for childcare
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$130.33
MYR535.79
|
$170.62
MYR701.42
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$5,213.27
MYR21,431.75
|
$6,229.51
MYR25,609.50
|
|
Kota Kinabalu vs. Malaysia - Cost of childcare
pay 6.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.37
MYR9.74
|
$3.72
MYR15.30
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.65
MYR10.88
|
$2.63
MYR10.79
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.15
MYR17.05
|
$4.18
MYR17.17
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$43.44
MYR178.60
|
$36.40
MYR149.64
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$5.09
MYR20.94
|
$4.62
MYR18.97
|
|
Kota Kinabalu vs. Malaysia - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 2.9% less for clothing
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$59.77
MYR245.73
|
$59.37
MYR244.08
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$22.90
MYR94.14
|
$29.69
MYR122.04
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$71.09
MYR292.25
|
$70.68
MYR290.55
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$94.79
MYR389.67
|
$56.86
MYR233.75
|
|
Kota Kinabalu vs. Malaysia - Cost of clothing
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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