Cost of living comparison

Malaysia

compared to

Botswana

Gaborone vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary

Gaborone is 20.7% cheaper than Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurants: pay 48.5% more in Gaborone
Groceries: pay 21.2% less in Gaborone
Transportation: pay 25.6% more in Gaborone
Housing: pay 33.6% less in Gaborone
Childcare: pay 71.5% less in Gaborone
Entertainment and Sports: pay 24.4% less in Gaborone
Clothing: pay 34.7% less in Gaborone

The cost of restaurants and transportation in Gaborone are more expensive than in Kuala Lumpur. Expenses including childcare, clothing, housing, entertainment and sports, and groceries are lower in Gaborone.

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Gaborone vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 48.5% more for restaurants

	Kuala Lumpur	Gaborone
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.89 MYR19.98	$10.85 BWP148.87	+121.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.89 MYR19.98	$5.79 BWP79.40	+18.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.81 MYR3.30	$0.72 BWP9.92	-10.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.46 MYR1.88	$0.42 BWP5.71	-9.7%
Average			+48.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Gaborone - Cost of restaurants

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pay 21.2% less for groceries

	Kuala Lumpur	Gaborone
Bread 1 loaf	$1.09 MYR4.47	$0.88 BWP12.02	-20.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.00 MYR28.58	$3.16 BWP43.42	-54.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.96 MYR32.51	$5.47 BWP75.12	-31.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.53 MYR10.32	$2.47 BWP33.83	-2.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.02 MYR8.25	$2.11 BWP28.88	+4.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.55 MYR6.32	$0.75 BWP10.31	-51.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 MYR3.34	$0.64 BWP8.75	-22.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.04 MYR4.23	$0.90 BWP12.38	-12.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 MYR2.91	$0.74 BWP10.15	+4.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 MYR2.41	$0.58 BWP7.97	-1.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.62 MYR2.54	$0.53 BWP7.25	-14.9%
Average			-21.2%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Gaborone - Cost of groceries

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pay 25.6% more for transportation

	Kuala Lumpur	Gaborone
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.22 MYR13.14	$5.15 BWP70.71	+60.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$12.24 MYR49.96	$29.66 BWP406.91	+142.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$41,736.41 MYR170K	$19,891.73 BWP273K	-52.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.01 MYR44.96	$20.87 BWP286.32	+89.5%
Average			+25.6%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Gaborone - Cost of transportation

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pay 33.6% less for housing

	Kuala Lumpur	Gaborone
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$26.27 MYR107.27	$42.10 BWP577.61	+60.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$617.87 MYR2,522.90	$356.36 BWP4,889.51	-42.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$371.37 MYR1,516.38	$221.34 BWP3,036.92	-40.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$47.56 MYR194.21	$45.63 BWP626.12	-4.1%
Average			-33.6%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Gaborone - Cost of housing

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pay 71.5% less for childcare

	Kuala Lumpur	Gaborone
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$299.09 MYR1,221.23	$127.13 BWP1,744.25	-57.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,124.70 MYR53,590.76	$2,500.03 BWP34,301.86	-81.0%
Average			-71.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Gaborone - Cost of childcare

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pay 24.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Kuala Lumpur	Gaborone
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.40 MYR17.99	$1.99 BWP27.29	-54.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.10 MYR12.64	$2.32 BWP31.83	-25.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.40 MYR17.99	$3.62 BWP49.62	-17.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$48.89 MYR199.62	$33.58 BWP460.78	-31.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.02 MYR20.48	$6.15 BWP84.36	+22.6%
Average			-24.4%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Gaborone - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 34.7% less for clothing

	Kuala Lumpur	Gaborone
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$71.46 MYR291.78	$47.53 BWP652.19	-33.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.92 MYR171.18	$16.75 BWP229.75	-60.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.22 MYR352.05	$72.33 BWP992.46	-16.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$96.07 MYR392.29	$78.36 BWP1,075.16	-18.4%
Average			-34.7%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Gaborone - Cost of clothing

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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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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