Cost of living comparison

compared to

Abu Dhabi vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary

Abu Dhabi is 76.2% more expensive than Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurants: pay 66.7% more in Abu Dhabi
Groceries: pay 13.9% more in Abu Dhabi
Transportation: pay 39.5% more in Abu Dhabi
Housing: pay 3.1 times more in Abu Dhabi
Childcare: pay 89.2% more in Abu Dhabi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.0 times more in Abu Dhabi
Clothing: pay 16.7% more in Abu Dhabi

The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, childcare, restaurants, transportation, and clothing in Abu Dhabi are more expensive than in Kuala Lumpur. Notably, housing, entertainment and sports, and childcare are significantly more expensive in Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Abu Dhabi instead of Kuala Lumpur, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 66.7% more for restaurants

	Kuala Lumpur	Abu Dhabi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.74 MYR19.59	$10.89 AED40.00	+129.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.74 MYR19.59	$9.53 AED35.00	+101.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 MYR3.66	$1.29 AED4.74	+45.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 MYR2.01	$0.44 AED1.61	-9.6%
Average			+66.7%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 13.9% more for groceries

	Kuala Lumpur	Abu Dhabi
Bread 1 loaf	$0.98 MYR4.03	$1.60 AED5.89	+64.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.13 MYR29.45	$5.28 AED19.39	-25.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.98 MYR32.96	$7.50 AED27.54	-6.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.23 MYR9.21	$3.64 AED13.37	+63.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.09 MYR8.65	$4.12 AED15.11	+96.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.32 MYR5.45	$1.15 AED4.21	-13.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 MYR3.09	$0.82 AED3.00	+9.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 MYR5.04	$0.83 AED3.05	-32.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 MYR2.86	$0.67 AED2.46	-3.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.57 MYR2.34	$0.53 AED1.96	-5.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.62 MYR2.56	$0.65 AED2.39	+5.0%
Average			+13.9%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of groceries

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pay 39.5% more for transportation

	Kuala Lumpur	Abu Dhabi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.87 MYR7.71	$2.94 AED10.80	+57.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.85 MYR48.96	$25.87 AED95.00	+118.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,284.36 MYR166,475.12	$44,639.07 AED163,937.00	+10.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.66 MYR44.07	$7.62 AED28.00	-28.5%
Average			+39.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.1 times more for housing

	Kuala Lumpur	Abu Dhabi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$25.49 MYR105.32	$100.96 AED370.79	+296.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$573.16 MYR2,368.60	$1,490.68 AED5,474.52	+160.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$350.71 MYR1,449.31	$1,109.19 AED4,073.48	+216.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$46.59 MYR192.54	$115.93 AED425.75	+148.8%
Average			+205.3%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of housing

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pay 89.2% more for childcare

	Kuala Lumpur	Abu Dhabi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$264.45 MYR1,092.86	$625.43 AED2,296.88	+136.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,004.74 MYR37,212.09	$12,786.81 AED46,959.57	+42.0%
Average			+89.2%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.0 times more for entertainment and sports

	Kuala Lumpur	Abu Dhabi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.27 MYR17.63	$11.29 AED41.45	+164.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.06 MYR12.65	$5.77 AED21.18	+88.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.27 MYR17.63	$6.26 AED23.00	+46.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.43 MYR191.86	$62.90 AED230.98	+35.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.98 MYR20.56	$13.61 AED50.00	+173.6%
Average			+101.8%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 16.7% more for clothing

	Kuala Lumpur	Abu Dhabi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.66 MYR254.80	$60.62 AED222.62	-1.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.10 MYR153.34	$51.93 AED190.71	+40.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.80 MYR362.83	$98.09 AED360.23	+11.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.47 MYR340.83	$96.21 AED353.33	+16.7%
Average			+16.7%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Abu Dhabi - 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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