Cost of living comparison

compared to

Kathmandu vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary

Kathmandu is 37.3% cheaper than Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurants: pay 33.2% less in Kathmandu
Groceries: pay 44.2% less in Kathmandu
Transportation: pay 34.6% more in Kathmandu
Housing: pay 64.5% less in Kathmandu
Childcare: pay 67.7% less in Kathmandu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 40.8% less in Kathmandu
Clothing: pay 45.5% less in Kathmandu

Expenses including childcare, housing, clothing, groceries, entertainment and sports, and restaurants are lower in Kathmandu.

Kathmandu vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 33.2% less for restaurants

	Kuala Lumpur	Kathmandu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.74 MYR19.59	$1.76 NPR251.43	-62.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.74 MYR19.59	$6.34 NPR905.14	+33.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 MYR3.66	$0.54 NPR77.36	-38.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 MYR2.01	$0.17 NPR24.29	-65.0%
Average			-33.2%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Kathmandu - Cost of restaurants

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pay 44.2% less for groceries

	Kuala Lumpur	Kathmandu
Bread 1 loaf	$0.98 MYR4.03	$0.55 NPR78.26	-43.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.13 MYR29.45	$4.49 NPR641.40	-36.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.98 MYR32.96	$3.16 NPR450.40	-60.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.23 MYR9.21	$1.77 NPR252.25	-20.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.09 MYR8.65	$1.40 NPR200.11	-33.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.32 MYR5.45	$0.97 NPR138.93	-26.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 MYR3.09	$0.45 NPR64.66	-39.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 MYR5.04	$0.54 NPR77.46	-55.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 MYR2.86	$0.30 NPR42.90	-56.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.57 MYR2.34	$0.22 NPR31.20	-61.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.62 MYR2.56	$0.29 NPR41.60	-53.0%
Average			-44.2%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Kathmandu - Cost of groceries

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pay 34.6% more for transportation

	Kuala Lumpur	Kathmandu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.87 MYR7.71	$4.57 NPR652.11	+144.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.85 MYR48.96	$10.57 NPR1,508.56	-10.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,284.36 MYR166,475.12	$31,715.30 NPR4,525,675.66	-21.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.66 MYR44.07	$13.39 NPR1,910.84	+25.6%
Average			+34.6%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Kathmandu - Cost of transportation

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pay 64.5% less for housing

	Kuala Lumpur	Kathmandu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$25.49 MYR105.32	$8.25 NPR1,177.13	-67.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$573.16 MYR2,368.60	$179.99 NPR25,683.31	-68.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$350.71 MYR1,449.31	$93.92 NPR13,402.12	-73.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$46.59 MYR192.54	$23.92 NPR3,412.74	-48.7%
Average			-64.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Kathmandu - Cost of housing

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pay 67.7% less for childcare

	Kuala Lumpur	Kathmandu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$264.45 MYR1,092.86	$80.28 NPR11,456.30	-69.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,004.74 MYR37,212.09	$3,085.67 NPR440,316.24	-65.7%
Average			-67.7%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Kathmandu - Cost of childcare

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pay 40.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Kuala Lumpur	Kathmandu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.27 MYR17.63	$2.61 NPR372.11	-38.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.06 MYR12.65	$1.78 NPR254.59	-41.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.27 MYR17.63	$2.82 NPR402.28	-33.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.43 MYR191.86	$21.82 NPR3,113.82	-53.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.98 MYR20.56	$3.17 NPR452.57	-36.3%
Average			-40.8%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Kathmandu - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 45.5% less for clothing

	Kuala Lumpur	Kathmandu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.66 MYR254.80	$22.91 NPR3,268.54	-62.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.10 MYR153.34	$26.63 NPR3,799.33	-28.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.80 MYR362.83	$56.89 NPR8,117.48	-35.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.47 MYR340.83	$36.56 NPR5,217.10	-55.7%
Average			-45.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Kathmandu - 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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