Cost of living comparison
compared to
George Town vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary
George Town is 3.7 times more expensive than Kuala Lumpur.
- Restaurants
-
pay 4.7 times more in George Town
- Groceries
-
pay 3.5 times more in George Town
- Transportation
-
pay 3.1 times more in George Town
- Housing
-
pay 5.7 times more in George Town
- Childcare
-
pay 4.6 times more in George Town
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.9 times more in George Town
- Clothing
-
pay 62.3% more in George Town
The cost of housing, restaurants, childcare, groceries, transportation, and entertainment and sports in George Town are more expensive than in Kuala Lumpur. Notably, housing, restaurants, and childcare are significantly more expensive in George Town.
George Town vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown
If you lived in George Town instead of Kuala Lumpur, you would:
pay 4.7 times more for restaurants
|
Kuala Lumpur
|
George Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$4.74
MYR19.59
|
$29.99
KYD24.92
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.74
MYR19.59
|
$15.60
KYD12.96
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.89
MYR3.66
|
$3.43
KYD2.85
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.49
MYR2.01
|
$2.64
KYD2.19
|
|
Kuala Lumpur vs. George Town - Cost of restaurants
pay 3.5 times more for groceries
|
Kuala Lumpur
|
George Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.98
MYR4.03
|
$5.68
KYD4.72
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.13
MYR29.45
|
$5.41
KYD4.49
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.98
MYR32.96
|
$13.11
KYD10.89
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.23
MYR9.21
|
$9.02
KYD7.50
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.09
MYR8.65
|
$7.20
KYD5.98
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.32
MYR5.45
|
$4.75
KYD3.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.75
MYR3.09
|
$2.05
KYD1.70
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.22
MYR5.04
|
$3.53
KYD2.93
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.69
MYR2.86
|
$3.47
KYD2.88
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.57
MYR2.34
|
$2.40
KYD2.00
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.62
MYR2.56
|
$2.51
KYD2.09
|
|
Kuala Lumpur vs. George Town - Cost of groceries
pay 3.1 times more for transportation
|
Kuala Lumpur
|
George Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$1.87
MYR7.71
|
$6.42
KYD5.34
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$11.85
MYR48.96
|
$29.99
KYD24.92
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$40,284.36
MYR166,475.12
|
$38,988.23
KYD32,398.05
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$10.66
MYR44.07
|
$57.34
KYD47.65
|
|
Kuala Lumpur vs. George Town - Cost of transportation
pay 5.7 times more for housing
|
Kuala Lumpur
|
George Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$25.49
MYR105.32
|
$110.49
KYD91.81
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$573.16
MYR2,368.60
|
$2,927.12
KYD2,432.35
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$350.71
MYR1,449.31
|
$2,409.27
KYD2,002.03
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$46.59
MYR192.54
|
$305.51
KYD253.87
|
|
Kuala Lumpur vs. George Town - Cost of housing
pay 4.6 times more for childcare
|
Kuala Lumpur
|
George Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$264.45
MYR1,092.86
|
$1,786.96
KYD1,484.91
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$9,004.74
MYR37,212.09
|
$22,296.47
KYD18,527.69
|
|
Kuala Lumpur vs. George Town - Cost of childcare
pay 2.9 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Kuala Lumpur
|
George Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.27
MYR17.63
|
$9.00
KYD7.48
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.06
MYR12.65
|
$6.80
KYD5.65
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.27
MYR17.63
|
$14.40
KYD11.96
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$46.43
MYR191.86
|
$153.57
KYD127.62
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$4.98
MYR20.56
|
$17.99
KYD14.95
|
|
Kuala Lumpur vs. George Town - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 62.3% more for clothing
|
Kuala Lumpur
|
George Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$61.66
MYR254.80
|
$74.98
KYD62.30
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$37.10
MYR153.34
|
$70.48
KYD58.57
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.80
MYR362.83
|
$139.96
KYD116.30
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$82.47
MYR340.83
|
$146.96
KYD122.12
|
|
Kuala Lumpur vs. George Town - 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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