Cost of living comparison
compared to
Petaling Jaya vs. Madrid Cost of Living Summary
Petaling Jaya is 49.6% cheaper than Madrid.
- Restaurants
-
pay 74.0% less in Petaling Jaya
- Groceries
-
pay 24.4% less in Petaling Jaya
- Transportation
-
pay 60.6% less in Petaling Jaya
- Housing
-
pay 63.2% less in Petaling Jaya
- Childcare
-
pay 47.3% less in Petaling Jaya
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 32.3% less in Petaling Jaya
- Clothing
-
pay 45.2% less in Petaling Jaya
Expenses including restaurants, housing, transportation, childcare, clothing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Petaling Jaya.
Petaling Jaya vs. Madrid Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Petaling Jaya instead of Madrid, you would:
pay 74.0% less for restaurants
|
Madrid
|
Petaling Jaya
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.10
€15.55
|
$3.55
MYR14.61
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.68
€10.03
|
$4.74
MYR19.48
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.13
€2.69
|
$0.79
MYR3.23
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.19
€1.88
|
$0.41
MYR1.70
|
|
Madrid vs. Petaling Jaya - Cost of restaurants
pay 24.4% less for groceries
|
Madrid
|
Petaling Jaya
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.71
€1.47
|
$0.99
MYR4.06
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.25
€6.22
|
$5.33
MYR21.92
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.61
€3.96
|
$7.24
MYR29.75
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.36
€2.88
|
$2.23
MYR9.16
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.05
€3.48
|
$1.52
MYR6.25
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.18
€1.01
|
$1.24
MYR5.08
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.02
€0.88
|
$0.78
MYR3.20
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.19
€1.03
|
$1.15
MYR4.72
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.26
€1.08
|
$0.56
MYR2.31
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.81
|
$0.53
MYR2.18
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.01
€0.87
|
$0.62
MYR2.55
|
|
Madrid vs. Petaling Jaya - Cost of groceries
pay 60.6% less for transportation
|
Madrid
|
Petaling Jaya
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.08
€6.08
|
$1.84
MYR7.56
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$45.84
€39.37
|
$11.85
MYR48.71
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$38,541.72
€33,100.05
|
$31,621.80
MYR129,997.22
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.23
€13.94
|
$3.85
MYR15.83
|
|
Madrid vs. Petaling Jaya - Cost of transportation
pay 63.2% less for housing
|
Madrid
|
Petaling Jaya
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$34.54
€29.66
|
$22.69
MYR93.28
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,540.98
€1,323.41
|
$465.05
MYR1,911.81
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,118.82
€960.85
|
$345.29
MYR1,419.51
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.78
€132.07
|
$31.51
MYR129.55
|
|
Madrid vs. Petaling Jaya - Cost of housing
pay 47.3% less for childcare
|
Madrid
|
Petaling Jaya
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$673.20
€578.15
|
$229.86
MYR944.95
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,119.76
€11,267.39
|
$9,360.19
MYR38,479.74
|
|
Madrid vs. Petaling Jaya - Cost of childcare
pay 32.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Madrid
|
Petaling Jaya
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.50
€3.86
|
$3.55
MYR14.61
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.20
€2.75
|
$2.95
MYR12.11
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.01
€6.02
|
$4.25
MYR17.49
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.05
€43.85
|
$32.94
MYR135.41
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.68
€10.03
|
$4.98
MYR20.46
|
|
Madrid vs. Petaling Jaya - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 45.2% less for clothing
|
Madrid
|
Petaling Jaya
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$98.88
€84.92
|
$49.76
MYR204.58
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.27
€35.44
|
$34.52
MYR141.90
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$107.49
€92.31
|
$53.55
MYR220.16
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.44
€107.73
|
$44.55
MYR183.14
|
|
Madrid vs. Petaling Jaya - Cost of clothing
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
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Spain vs. Malaysia.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Spain and Malaysia.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Petaling Jaya or Madrid. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.