P'yongyang vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary

P'yongyang is 51.0% cheaper than Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurants
pay 2.0 times more in P'yongyang
Groceries
pay 9.5% less in P'yongyang
Housing
pay 81.3% less in P'yongyang
Entertainment and Sports
pay 21.5% more in P'yongyang

The cost of restaurants and entertainment and sports in P'yongyang are more expensive than in Kuala Lumpur. Expenses including housing and groceries are lower in P'yongyang. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in P'yongyang.

P'yongyang vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown

If you lived in P'yongyang instead of Kuala Lumpur, you would:

pay 2.0 times more for restaurants

 
Kuala Lumpur
P'yongyang
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $4.89
MYR19.98
$4.81
KPW4,327
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$4.89
MYR19.98
$21.26
KPW19,136
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.81
MYR3.30
$2.21
KPW1,985

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pay 9.5% less for groceries

 
Kuala Lumpur
P'yongyang
Bread
1 loaf
$1.09
MYR4.47
$2.30
KPW2,071
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.00
MYR28.58
??
Milk (1 gallon) $7.96
MYR32.51
$3.55
KPW3,195

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pay (unknown) more for transportation

 
Kuala Lumpur
P'yongyang
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.22
MYR13.14
??
Monthly public transit pass $12.24
MYR49.96
??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $41,736.41
MYR170K
??

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pay 81.3% less for housing

 
Kuala Lumpur
P'yongyang
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$26.27
MYR107.27
??
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $617.87
MYR2,522.90
$89.58
KPW80,621
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $371.37
MYR1,516.38
$89.58
KPW80,621

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Kuala Lumpur
P'yongyang
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $299.09
MYR1,221.23
??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $13,124.70
MYR53,590.76
??

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pay 21.5% more for entertainment and sports

 
Kuala Lumpur
P'yongyang
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $4.40
MYR17.99
$13.44
KPW12,093
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.10
MYR12.64
$1.12
KPW1,008
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$4.40
MYR17.99
??

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Kuala Lumpur
P'yongyang
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$71.46
MYR291.78
??
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$41.92
MYR171.18
??
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$86.22
MYR352.05
??

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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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