Cost of living comparison

compared to

Shanghai vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 48.9% more expensive than Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurants: pay 16.7% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 5.9% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 56.0% more in Shanghai
Housing: pay 13.6% more in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 4.0 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.4% less in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 1.9% less in Shanghai

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

Shanghai vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 16.7% less for restaurants

	Kuala Lumpur	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.74 MYR19.59	$4.21 CN¥29.76	-11.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.74 MYR19.59	$5.61 CN¥39.68	+18.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 MYR3.66	$0.52 CN¥3.71	-40.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 MYR2.01	$0.33 CN¥2.31	-32.9%
Average			-16.7%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 5.9% less for groceries

	Kuala Lumpur	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$0.98 MYR4.03	$1.86 CN¥13.15	+90.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.13 MYR29.45	$8.08 CN¥57.16	+13.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.98 MYR32.96	$8.27 CN¥58.50	+3.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.23 MYR9.21	$1.74 CN¥12.34	-21.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.09 MYR8.65	$1.36 CN¥9.62	-35.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.32 MYR5.45	$1.00 CN¥7.10	-24.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 MYR3.09	$0.78 CN¥5.51	+4.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 MYR5.04	$0.84 CN¥5.94	-31.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 MYR2.86	$0.66 CN¥4.68	-4.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.57 MYR2.34	$0.35 CN¥2.44	-38.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.62 MYR2.56	$0.49 CN¥3.47	-21.0%
Average			-5.9%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 56.0% more for transportation

	Kuala Lumpur	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.87 MYR7.71	$4.24 CN¥29.98	+127.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.85 MYR48.96	$35.05 CN¥247.98	+195.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,284.36 MYR166,475.12	$19,627.64 CN¥138,871.41	-51.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.66 MYR44.07	$5.61 CN¥39.68	-47.4%
Average			+56.0%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 13.6% more for housing

	Kuala Lumpur	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$25.49 MYR105.32	$12.37 CN¥87.55	-51.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$573.16 MYR2,368.60	$926.30 CN¥6,553.88	+61.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$350.71 MYR1,449.31	$551.44 CN¥3,901.63	+57.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$46.59 MYR192.54	$40.55 CN¥286.88	-13.0%
Average			+13.6%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 4.0 times more for childcare

	Kuala Lumpur	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$264.45 MYR1,092.86	$1,229.70 CN¥8,700.50	+365.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,004.74 MYR37,212.09	$29,777.93 CN¥210,687.77	+230.7%
Average			+297.9%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 0.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Kuala Lumpur	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.27 MYR17.63	$1.40 CN¥9.92	-67.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.06 MYR12.65	$3.25 CN¥22.99	+6.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.27 MYR17.63	$2.80 CN¥19.84	-34.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.43 MYR191.86	$57.60 CN¥407.52	+24.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.98 MYR20.56	$8.41 CN¥59.52	+69.0%
Average			-0.4%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 1.9% less for clothing

	Kuala Lumpur	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.66 MYR254.80	$46.70 CN¥330.45	-24.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.10 MYR153.34	$37.62 CN¥266.20	+1.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.80 MYR362.83	$72.33 CN¥511.76	-17.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.47 MYR340.83	$109.50 CN¥774.78	+32.8%
Average			-1.9%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Shanghai - 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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