Cost of living comparison

Kuwait

compared to

Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur vs. Kuwait City Cost of Living Summary

Kuala Lumpur is 15.9% cheaper than Kuwait City.

Restaurants: pay 44.6% less in Kuala Lumpur
Groceries: pay 13.2% more in Kuala Lumpur
Transportation: pay 8.7% more in Kuala Lumpur
Housing: pay 32.3% less in Kuala Lumpur
Childcare: pay 18.2% more in Kuala Lumpur
Entertainment and Sports: pay 34.7% less in Kuala Lumpur
Clothing: pay 17.9% more in Kuala Lumpur

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

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Kuala Lumpur vs. Kuwait City Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 44.6% less for restaurants

	Kuwait City	Kuala Lumpur
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.89 KWD3.980	$4.89 MYR19.98	-62.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.86 KWD2.740	$4.89 MYR19.98	-44.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.72 KWD0.220	$0.81 MYR3.30	+11.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 KWD0.090	$0.46 MYR1.88	+52.5%
Average			-44.6%

Kuwait City vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of restaurants

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pay 13.2% more for groceries

	Kuwait City	Kuala Lumpur
Bread 1 loaf	$1.50 KWD0.460	$1.09 MYR4.47	-27.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.18 KWD0.670	$7.00 MYR28.58	+220.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.08 KWD1.880	$7.96 MYR32.51	+30.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.10 KWD0.650	$2.53 MYR10.32	+20.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.02 KWD0.930	$2.02 MYR8.25	-33.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.11 KWD0.340	$1.55 MYR6.32	+39.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.86 KWD0.270	$0.82 MYR3.34	-4.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 KWD0.250	$1.04 MYR4.23	+25.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 KWD0.210	$0.71 MYR2.91	+3.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.61 KWD0.190	$0.59 MYR2.41	-2.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.66 KWD0.200	$0.62 MYR2.54	-5.9%
Average			+13.2%

Kuwait City vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of groceries

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pay 8.7% more for transportation

	Kuwait City	Kuala Lumpur
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.28 KWD0.400	$3.22 MYR13.14	+151.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$48.33 KWD14.940	$12.24 MYR49.96	-74.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,942.34 KWD6,474.120	$41,736.41 MYR170K	+99.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$30.61 KWD9.460	$11.01 MYR44.96	-64.0%
Average			+8.7%

Kuwait City vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of transportation

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pay 32.3% less for housing

	Kuwait City	Kuala Lumpur
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$29.92 KWD9.250	$26.27 MYR107.27	-12.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$924.68 KWD285.860	$617.87 MYR2,522.90	-33.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$635.52 KWD196.460	$371.37 MYR1,516.38	-41.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$50.13 KWD15.500	$47.56 MYR194.21	-5.1%
Average			-32.3%

Kuwait City vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of housing

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pay 18.2% more for childcare

	Kuwait City	Kuala Lumpur
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$299.37 KWD92.550	$299.09 MYR1,221.23	-0.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,387.00 KWD2,901.900	$13,124.70 MYR53,590.76	+39.8%
Average			+18.2%

Kuwait City vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of childcare

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pay 34.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Kuwait City	Kuala Lumpur
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.22 KWD1.000	$4.40 MYR17.99	+36.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.21 KWD1.610	$3.10 MYR12.64	-40.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.74 KWD0.850	$4.40 MYR17.99	+60.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$122.83 KWD37.970	$48.89 MYR199.62	-60.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.28 KWD3.490	$5.02 MYR20.48	-55.5%
Average			-34.7%

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

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pay 17.9% more for clothing

	Kuwait City	Kuala Lumpur
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$37.59 KWD11.620	$71.46 MYR291.78	+90.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.47 KWD12.200	$41.92 MYR171.18	+6.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$97.66 KWD30.190	$86.22 MYR352.05	-11.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$88.60 KWD27.390	$96.07 MYR392.29	+8.4%
Average			+17.9%

Kuwait City vs. Kuala Lumpur - 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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