Cost of living comparison

compared to

Phnom Penh vs. Kota Kinabalu Cost of Living Summary

Phnom Penh is 31.6% more expensive than Kota Kinabalu.

Restaurants: pay 66.8% more in Phnom Penh
Groceries: pay 8.9% more in Phnom Penh
Transportation: pay 67.5% more in Phnom Penh
Housing: pay 41.5% more in Phnom Penh
Childcare: pay 81.0% more in Phnom Penh
Entertainment and Sports: pay 27.8% less in Phnom Penh
Clothing: pay 16.9% less in Phnom Penh

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

Phnom Penh vs. Kota Kinabalu Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Phnom Penh instead of Kota Kinabalu, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 66.8% more for restaurants

	Kota Kinabalu	Phnom Penh
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.55 MYR14.61	$5.00 KHR20,018.85	+40.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.74 MYR19.48	$7.00 KHR28,026.39	+47.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.67 MYR2.77	$0.93 KHR3,721.15	+38.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.38 MYR1.56	$0.91 KHR3,656.62	+140.9%
Average			+66.8%

Kota Kinabalu vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of restaurants

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pay 8.9% more for groceries

	Kota Kinabalu	Phnom Penh
Bread 1 loaf	$1.15 MYR4.71	$1.65 KHR6,608.28	+44.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.03 MYR53.58	$6.70 KHR26,825.26	-48.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.50 MYR26.73	$8.17 KHR32,701.82	+25.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.54 MYR10.42	$1.82 KHR7,282.41	-28.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.85 MYR7.61	$2.01 KHR8,041.21	+8.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.24 MYR5.08	$1.81 KHR7,249.19	+46.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.56 MYR2.28	$0.88 KHR3,541.36	+59.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.77 MYR7.29	$1.91 KHR7,663.87	+7.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.86 MYR3.54	$0.73 KHR2,942.05	-14.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.68 MYR2.80	$0.88 KHR3,511.09	+28.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.79 MYR3.24	$0.54 KHR2,149.03	-31.9%
Average			+8.9%

Kota Kinabalu vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of groceries

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pay 67.5% more for transportation

	Kota Kinabalu	Phnom Penh
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.84 MYR7.56	$4.33 KHR17,336.51	+135.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$41.21 MYR169.42	$9.60 KHR38,436.20	-76.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,436.02 MYR116,900.47	$49,000.00 KHR196,184,757.29	+72.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.79 MYR15.59	$9.05 KHR36,245.37	+138.8%
Average			+67.5%

Kota Kinabalu vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of transportation

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pay 41.5% more for housing

	Kota Kinabalu	Phnom Penh
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$33.00 MYR135.65	$21.29 KHR85,223.90	-35.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$379.15 MYR1,558.67	$481.60 KHR1,928,225.26	+27.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$165.88 MYR681.92	$273.92 KHR1,096,705.90	+65.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.62 MYR162.89	$82.99 KHR332,257.04	+109.4%
Average			+41.5%

Kota Kinabalu vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of housing

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pay 81.0% more for childcare

	Kota Kinabalu	Phnom Penh
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$130.33 MYR535.79	$293.33 KHR1,174,439.36	+125.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,213.27 MYR21,431.75	$7,141.67 KHR28,593,594.73	+37.0%
Average			+81.0%

Kota Kinabalu vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of childcare

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pay 27.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Kota Kinabalu	Phnom Penh
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.37 MYR9.74	$1.21 KHR4,837.39	-49.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.65 MYR10.88	$2.53 KHR10,114.79	-4.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.15 MYR17.05	$1.88 KHR7,507.07	-54.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$43.44 MYR178.60	$41.67 KHR166,823.77	-4.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.09 MYR20.94	$3.75 KHR15,014.14	-26.4%
Average			-27.8%

Kota Kinabalu vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 16.9% less for clothing

	Kota Kinabalu	Phnom Penh
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$59.77 MYR245.73	$25.75 KHR103,097.09	-56.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$22.90 MYR94.14	$23.33 KHR93,421.31	+1.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$71.09 MYR292.25	$88.00 KHR352,331.81	+23.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$94.79 MYR389.67	$60.20 KHR241,026.99	-36.5%
Average			-16.9%

Kota Kinabalu vs. Phnom Penh - 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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