Cost of living comparison

Malaysia

compared to

Benin

Benin vs. Malaysia Cost of Living Summary

Benin is 0.2% cheaper than Malaysia overall.

Restaurants: pay 70.9% more in Benin
Groceries: pay 12.0% more in Benin
Transportation: pay 71.6% more in Benin
Housing: pay 23.8% less in Benin
Childcare: pay 37.5% less in Benin
Entertainment and Sports: pay 1.4% more in Benin
Clothing: pay 44.7% less in Benin

The cost of transportation, restaurants, groceries, and entertainment and sports in Benin are more expensive than in Malaysia. Expenses including clothing, childcare, and housing are lower in Benin.

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Benin vs. Malaysia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Benin instead of Malaysia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 70.9% more for restaurants

	Malaysia	Benin
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.42 MYR13.98	$5.12 F CFA2,990	+49.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.64 MYR18.95	$9.39 F CFA5,481	+102.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.75 MYR3.07	$1.02 F CFA598	+36.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 MYR1.72	$0.91 F CFA532	+115.9%
Average			+70.9%

Malaysia vs. Benin - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.0% more for groceries

	Malaysia	Benin
Bread 1 loaf	$1.10 MYR4.49	$1.22 F CFA710	+10.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.94 MYR28.32	$4.69 F CFA2,741	-32.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.18 MYR29.31	$11.42 F CFA6,665	+59.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.09 MYR8.53	$2.73 F CFA1,595	+30.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.90 MYR7.75	$2.44 F CFA1,424	+28.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.35 MYR5.53	$1.86 F CFA1,086	+37.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 MYR2.97	$0.83 F CFA482	+13.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.19 MYR4.84	$0.59 F CFA347	-49.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 MYR2.83	$1.20 F CFA701	+73.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.57 MYR2.34	$0.58 F CFA339	+1.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.61 MYR2.50	$0.77 F CFA452	+26.7%
Average			+12.0%

Malaysia vs. Benin - Cost of groceries

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pay 71.6% more for transportation

	Malaysia	Benin
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.76 MYR11.29	$4.61 F CFA2,689	+66.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$15.28 MYR62.39	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,802.19 MYR167K	??
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.46 MYR26.37	$12.29 F CFA7,176	+90.3%
Average			+71.6%

Malaysia vs. Benin - Cost of transportation

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pay 23.8% less for housing

	Malaysia	Benin
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.60 MYR112.71	$48.37 F CFA28,237	+75.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$363.41 MYR1,483.90	$179.24 F CFA105K	-50.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$265.07 MYR1,082.35	$166.43 F CFA97,169	-37.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$36.69 MYR149.79	$113.13 F CFA66,049	+208.4%
Average			-23.8%

Malaysia vs. Benin - Cost of housing

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pay 37.5% less for childcare

	Malaysia	Benin
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$231.07 MYR943.51	$130.87 F CFA76,406	-43.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,043.53 MYR32,843.35	$5,547.83 F CFA3M	-31.0%
Average			-37.5%

Malaysia vs. Benin - Cost of childcare

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pay 1.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Malaysia	Benin
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.61 MYR14.73	$0.85 F CFA498	-76.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.76 MYR11.29	$5.12 F CFA2,990	+85.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.35 MYR17.74	$3.41 F CFA1,993	-21.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$38.82 MYR158.52	$48.37 F CFA28,237	+24.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.73 MYR19.31	$8.54 F CFA4,983	+80.5%
Average			+1.4%

Malaysia vs. Benin - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 44.7% less for clothing

	Malaysia	Benin
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.43 MYR238.60	$25.61 F CFA14,949	-56.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$30.42 MYR124.22	??
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.72 MYR317.35	$34.14 F CFA19,932	-56.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$77.79 MYR317.65	$68.28 F CFA39,864	-12.2%
Average			-44.7%

Malaysia vs. Benin - 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

Compare further: Malaysia vs. Benin

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Benin?

Quality of Life Comparison · 24 statistics

Be 7.1 times more likely to live below the poverty line in Benin

Size Comparison · See true size

Malaysia is about 2.9 times bigger than Benin.

Moving from Malaysia to Benin · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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