Cost of living comparison

compared to

Panama City vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary

Panama City is 65.5% more expensive than Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurants: pay 2.1 times more in Panama City
Groceries: pay 50.5% more in Panama City
Transportation: pay 67.9% more in Panama City
Housing: pay 2.2 times more in Panama City
Childcare: pay 77.3% more in Panama City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 16.5% more in Panama City
Clothing: pay 16.2% more in Panama City

The cost of housing, restaurants, childcare, transportation, groceries, and entertainment and sports in Panama City are more expensive than in Kuala Lumpur. Notably, housing, restaurants, and childcare are significantly more expensive in Panama City.

Panama City vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Panama City instead of Kuala Lumpur, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.1 times more for restaurants

	Kuala Lumpur	Panama City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.74 MYR19.59	$10.00 PAB10.00	+111.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.74 MYR19.59	$8.00 PAB8.00	+68.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 MYR3.66	$1.70 PAB1.70	+91.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 MYR2.01	$1.33 PAB1.33	+174.3%
Average			+111.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Panama City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 50.5% more for groceries

	Kuala Lumpur	Panama City
Bread 1 loaf	$0.98 MYR4.03	$2.56 PAB2.56	+162.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.13 MYR29.45	$5.81 PAB5.81	-18.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.98 MYR32.96	$6.82 PAB6.82	-14.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.23 MYR9.21	$2.84 PAB2.84	+27.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.09 MYR8.65	$3.29 PAB3.29	+57.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.32 MYR5.45	$1.65 PAB1.65	+24.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 MYR3.09	$0.70 PAB0.70	-5.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 MYR5.04	$1.40 PAB1.40	+14.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 MYR2.86	$1.46 PAB1.46	+111.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.57 MYR2.34	$1.00 PAB1.00	+76.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.62 MYR2.56	$1.37 PAB1.37	+120.1%
Average			+50.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Panama City - Cost of groceries

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pay 67.9% more for transportation

	Kuala Lumpur	Panama City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.87 MYR7.71	$3.44 PAB3.44	+84.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.85 MYR48.96	$22.50 PAB22.50	+89.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,284.36 MYR166,475.12	$19,750.00 PAB19,750.00	-51.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.66 MYR44.07	$26.50 PAB26.50	+148.5%
Average			+67.9%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Panama City - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.2 times more for housing

	Kuala Lumpur	Panama City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$25.49 MYR105.32	$49.20 PAB49.20	+93.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$573.16 MYR2,368.60	$1,164.71 PAB1,164.71	+103.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$350.71 MYR1,449.31	$953.85 PAB953.85	+172.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$46.59 MYR192.54	$95.90 PAB95.90	+105.8%
Average			+118.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Panama City - Cost of housing

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pay 77.3% more for childcare

	Kuala Lumpur	Panama City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$264.45 MYR1,092.86	$476.00 PAB476.00	+80.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,004.74 MYR37,212.09	$15,733.33 PAB15,733.33	+74.7%
Average			+77.3%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Panama City - Cost of childcare

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pay 16.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Kuala Lumpur	Panama City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.27 MYR17.63	$3.00 PAB3.00	-29.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.06 MYR12.65	$3.61 PAB3.61	+18.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.27 MYR17.63	$5.92 PAB5.92	+38.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.43 MYR191.86	$43.86 PAB43.86	-5.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.98 MYR20.56	$8.00 PAB8.00	+60.8%
Average			+16.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Panama City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 16.2% more for clothing

	Kuala Lumpur	Panama City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.66 MYR254.80	$50.00 PAB50.00	-18.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.10 MYR153.34	$47.50 PAB47.50	+28.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.80 MYR362.83	$89.55 PAB89.55	+2.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.47 MYR340.83	$126.88 PAB126.88	+53.8%
Average			+16.2%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Panama City - 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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