Cost of living comparison

compared to

Apia vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary

Apia is 8.3% cheaper than Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurants
pay 4.9 times more in Apia
Groceries
pay 7.4% less in Apia
Transportation
pay 69.2% more in Apia
Housing
pay 56.9% less in Apia
Entertainment and Sports
pay 5.3% less in Apia

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

Apia vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown

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

pay 4.9 times more for restaurants

 
Kuala Lumpur
Apia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $4.89
MYR19.88
$47.26
WST130.00
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$4.89
MYR19.88
$14.54
WST40.00
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.81
MYR3.28
$1.82
WST5.00

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pay 7.4% less for groceries

 
Kuala Lumpur
Apia
Bread
1 loaf
$1.09
MYR4.45
$0.82
WST2.25
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.00
MYR28.43
$0.45
WST1.25
Milk (1 gallon) $7.96
MYR32.34
$6.88
WST18.93

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pay 69.2% more for transportation

 
Kuala Lumpur
Apia
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.22
MYR13.07
$4.13
WST11.36
Monthly public transit pass $12.24
MYR49.69
??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $41,736.41
MYR170K
??

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pay 56.9% less for housing

 
Kuala Lumpur
Apia
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$26.27
MYR106.70
$36.35
WST100.00
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $617.87
MYR2,509.49
??
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $371.37
MYR1,508.33
??

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Kuala Lumpur
Apia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $299.09
MYR1,214.74
??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $13,124.70
MYR53,305.95
??

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pay 5.3% less for entertainment and sports

 
Kuala Lumpur
Apia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $4.40
MYR17.89
$3.45
WST9.50
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.10
MYR12.58
$2.91
WST8.00
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$4.40
MYR17.89
$6.18
WST17.00

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Kuala Lumpur
Apia
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$71.46
MYR290.23
??
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$41.92
MYR170.27
??
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$86.22
MYR350.18
??

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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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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