Cost of living comparison

compared to

Cook Islands vs. Malaysia Cost of Living Summary

Cook Islands is 50.3% more expensive than Malaysia overall.

Restaurants
pay 2.7 times more in Cook Islands
Groceries
pay 54.6% more in Cook Islands
Transportation
pay 13.6% less in Cook Islands
Housing
pay 59.5% more in Cook Islands
Entertainment and Sports
pay 49.4% more in Cook Islands

The cost of restaurants, housing, groceries, and entertainment and sports in Cook Islands are more expensive than in Malaysia. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Cook Islands.

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Cook Islands vs. Malaysia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Cook Islands instead of Malaysia, you would:

pay 2.7 times more for restaurants

 
Malaysia
Cook Islands
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $3.42
MYR13.98
$14.01
NZ$24.77
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
 $4.64
MYR18.95
$5.60
NZ$9.91
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.75
MYR3.07
$2.24
NZ$3.96
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pay 54.6% more for groceries

 
Malaysia
Cook Islands
Bread
1 loaf
 $1.10
MYR4.49
$2.80
NZ$4.95
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.94
MYR28.32
$3.64
NZ$6.44
Milk (1 gallon) $7.18
MYR29.31
$10.60
NZ$18.75
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pay 13.6% less for transportation

 
Malaysia
Cook Islands
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.76
MYR11.29
$6.38
NZ$11.29
Monthly public transit pass $15.28
MYR62.39
??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $40,802.19
MYR167K
$11,204.09
NZ$19,812.72
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pay 59.5% more for housing

 
Malaysia
Cook Islands
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
 $27.60
MYR112.71
$102.89
NZ$181.95
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $363.41
MYR1,483.90
$448.16
NZ$792.51
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $265.07
MYR1,082.35
$448.16
NZ$792.51
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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Malaysia
Cook Islands
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $231.07
MYR943.51
??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $8,043.53
MYR32,843.35
??
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pay 49.4% more for entertainment and sports

 
Malaysia
Cook Islands
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.61
MYR14.73
$5.04
NZ$8.92
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.76
MYR11.29
$3.36
NZ$5.94
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
 $4.35
MYR17.74
$11.20
NZ$19.81
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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Malaysia
Cook Islands
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
 $58.43
MYR238.60
??
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
 $30.42
MYR124.22
??
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
 $77.72
MYR317.35
??
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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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Compare further: Malaysia vs. Cook Islands

Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in Cook Islands?
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Quality of Life Comparison · 9 statistics
Be 33.9% less likely to have internet access in Cook Islands
→
Size Comparison · See true size
Malaysia is about 1,398 times bigger than Cook Islands.
→
Moving from Malaysia to Cook Islands · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→
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