Cost of living comparison

Malaysia

compared to

Maldives

Male vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary

Male is 34.1% more expensive than Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurants: pay 43.1% more in Male
Groceries: pay 28.1% more in Male
Transportation: pay 29.8% more in Male
Housing: pay 77.6% more in Male
Childcare: pay 62.4% less in Male
Entertainment and Sports: pay 53.4% more in Male
Clothing: pay 22.5% less in Male

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

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Male vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 43.1% more for restaurants

	Kuala Lumpur	Male
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.89 MYR19.86	$6.00 MVR92.74	+22.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.89 MYR19.86	$9.73 MVR150.39	+98.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.81 MYR3.28	$1.63 MVR25.12	+101.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.46 MYR1.87	$0.30 MVR4.59	-35.5%
Average			+43.1%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Male - Cost of restaurants

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pay 28.1% more for groceries

	Kuala Lumpur	Male
Bread 1 loaf	$1.09 MYR4.44	$1.65 MVR25.57	+51.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.00 MYR28.40	$5.34 MVR82.43	-23.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.96 MYR32.31	$7.69 MVR118.80	-3.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.53 MYR10.26	$1.92 MVR29.70	-24.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.02 MYR8.20	$2.77 MVR42.73	+36.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.55 MYR6.28	$1.80 MVR27.83	+16.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 MYR3.32	$1.39 MVR21.40	+69.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.04 MYR4.20	$1.85 MVR28.65	+79.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 MYR2.89	$1.22 MVR18.84	+71.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 MYR2.40	$0.93 MVR14.40	+57.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.62 MYR2.52	$0.86 MVR13.30	+38.6%
Average			+28.1%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Male - Cost of groceries

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pay 29.8% more for transportation

	Kuala Lumpur	Male
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.22 MYR13.06	$3.81 MVR58.81	+18.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$12.24 MYR49.65	$30.82 MVR476.23	+151.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$41,736.41 MYR169K	$32,446.46 MVR501K	-22.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.01 MYR44.69	$17.52 MVR270.70	+59.1%
Average			+29.8%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Male - Cost of transportation

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pay 77.6% more for housing

	Kuala Lumpur	Male
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$26.27 MYR106.62	$73.00 MVR1,127.92	+177.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$617.87 MYR2,507.45	$951.14 MVR14,695.19	+53.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$371.37 MYR1,507.10	$699.92 MVR10,813.71	+88.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$47.56 MYR193.02	$90.98 MVR1,405.60	+91.3%
Average			+77.6%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Male - Cost of housing

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pay 62.4% less for childcare

	Kuala Lumpur	Male
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$299.09 MYR1,213.76	$184.98 MVR2,857.90	-38.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,124.70 MYR53,262.64	$3,004.83 MVR46,424.59	-77.1%
Average			-62.4%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Male - Cost of childcare

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pay 53.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Kuala Lumpur	Male
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.40 MYR17.87	$4.87 MVR75.19	+10.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.10 MYR12.56	$3.55 MVR54.84	+14.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.40 MYR17.87	$14.93 MVR230.60	+238.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$48.89 MYR198.40	$70.81 MVR1,093.98	+44.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.02 MYR20.36	$9.73 MVR150.39	+94.0%
Average			+53.4%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Male - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 22.5% less for clothing

	Kuala Lumpur	Male
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$71.46 MYR289.99	$39.51 MVR610.48	-44.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.92 MYR170.13	$49.64 MVR766.88	+18.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.22 MYR349.90	$87.13 MVR1,346.11	+1.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$96.07 MYR389.89	$52.52 MVR811.39	-45.3%
Average			-22.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Male - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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