Cost of living comparison

Malaysia

compared to

Rwanda

Kigali vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary

Kigali is 18.3% cheaper than Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurants: pay 12.7% less in Kigali
Groceries: pay 42.8% less in Kigali
Transportation: pay 44.5% more in Kigali
Housing: pay 11.3% more in Kigali
Childcare: pay 47.7% less in Kigali
Entertainment and Sports: pay 48.8% less in Kigali
Clothing: pay 69.9% less in Kigali

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

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Kigali vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 12.7% less for restaurants

	Kuala Lumpur	Kigali
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.89 MYR19.98	$2.71 RWF4,005	-44.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.89 MYR19.98	$6.77 RWF10,013	+38.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.81 MYR3.30	$0.78 RWF1,155	-3.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.46 MYR1.88	$0.56 RWF826	+21.3%
Average			-12.7%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Kigali - Cost of restaurants

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pay 42.8% less for groceries

	Kuala Lumpur	Kigali
Bread 1 loaf	$1.09 MYR4.47	$1.05 RWF1,548	-4.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.00 MYR28.58	$2.11 RWF3,115	-69.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.96 MYR32.51	$3.16 RWF4,675	-60.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.53 MYR10.32	$1.63 RWF2,412	-35.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.02 MYR8.25	$2.08 RWF3,078	+3.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.55 MYR6.32	$1.09 RWF1,618	-29.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 MYR3.34	$0.35 RWF522	-56.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.04 MYR4.23	$0.69 RWF1,019	-33.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 MYR2.91	$0.48 RWF707	-32.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 MYR2.41	$0.23 RWF333	-61.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.62 MYR2.54	$0.34 RWF499	-45.6%
Average			-42.8%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Kigali - Cost of groceries

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pay 44.5% more for transportation

	Kuala Lumpur	Kigali
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.22 MYR13.14	$7.00 RWF10,345	+117.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$12.24 MYR49.96	$25.40 RWF37,550	+107.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$41,736.41 MYR170K	$26,080.15 RWF39M	-37.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.01 MYR44.96	$18.97 RWF28,037	+72.2%
Average			+44.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Kigali - Cost of transportation

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pay 11.3% more for housing

	Kuala Lumpur	Kigali
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$26.27 MYR107.27	$21.00 RWF31,041	-20.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$617.87 MYR2,522.90	$666.07 RWF985K	+7.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$371.37 MYR1,516.38	$413.79 RWF612K	+11.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$47.56 MYR194.21	$64.32 RWF95,077	+35.2%
Average			+11.3%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Kigali - Cost of housing

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pay 47.7% less for childcare

	Kuala Lumpur	Kigali
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$299.09 MYR1,221.23	$112.90 RWF167K	-62.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,124.70 MYR53,590.76	$9,510.48 RWF14M	-27.5%
Average			-47.7%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Kigali - Cost of childcare

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pay 48.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Kuala Lumpur	Kigali
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.40 MYR17.99	$1.02 RWF1,502	-76.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.10 MYR12.64	$2.42 RWF3,578	-21.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.40 MYR17.99	$2.03 RWF3,004	-53.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$48.89 MYR199.62	$26.72 RWF39,497	-45.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.02 MYR20.48	$3.39 RWF5,007	-32.5%
Average			-48.8%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Kigali - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 69.9% less for clothing

	Kuala Lumpur	Kigali
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$71.46 MYR291.78	$17.39 RWF25,701	-75.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.92 MYR171.18	$15.58 RWF23,031	-62.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.22 MYR352.05	$22.24 RWF32,877	-74.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$96.07 MYR392.29	$33.87 RWF50,067	-64.7%
Average			-69.9%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Kigali - 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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