Cost of living comparison

compared to

El Salvador vs. Malaysia Cost of Living Summary

El Salvador is 48.3% more expensive than Malaysia overall.

Restaurants: pay 63.9% more in El Salvador
Groceries: pay 34.1% more in El Salvador
Transportation: pay 2.1 times more in El Salvador
Housing: pay 84.2% more in El Salvador
Childcare: pay 0.8% less in El Salvador
Entertainment and Sports: pay 9.5% less in El Salvador
Clothing: pay 59.6% more in El Salvador

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

El Salvador vs. Malaysia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in El Salvador instead of Malaysia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 63.9% more for restaurants

	Malaysia	El Salvador
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.22 MYR13.31	$5.50 SVC47.99	+70.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.41 MYR18.24	$6.33 SVC55.23	+43.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.73 MYR3.01	$0.99 SVC8.64	+35.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.39 MYR1.63	$0.81 SVC7.05	+105.4%
Average			+63.9%

Malaysia vs. El Salvador - Cost of restaurants

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pay 34.1% more for groceries

	Malaysia	El Salvador
Bread 1 loaf	$1.02 MYR4.21	$1.95 SVC17.01	+91.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.79 MYR32.19	$3.77 SVC32.86	-51.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.67 MYR27.55	$6.72 SVC58.61	+0.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.99 MYR8.21	$2.78 SVC24.25	+39.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.93 MYR7.99	$2.82 SVC24.64	+46.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.28 MYR5.29	$1.67 SVC14.60	+30.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.67 MYR2.75	$0.76 SVC6.60	+13.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.29 MYR5.34	$1.17 SVC10.17	-9.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.73 MYR3.03	$1.22 SVC10.61	+65.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 MYR2.20	$0.97 SVC8.44	+81.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 MYR2.42	$0.98 SVC8.51	+66.6%
Average			+34.1%

Malaysia vs. El Salvador - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.1 times more for transportation

	Malaysia	El Salvador
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.86 MYR7.67	$3.75 SVC32.69	+102.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$15.26 MYR63.08	$15.00 SVC130.88	-1.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,849.31 MYR148,147.28	$24,666.67 SVC215,223.23	-31.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.52 MYR26.93	$29.78 SVC259.88	+357.0%
Average			+106.5%

Malaysia vs. El Salvador - Cost of transportation

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pay 84.2% more for housing

	Malaysia	El Salvador
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.18 MYR112.33	$41.89 SVC365.49	+54.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$349.73 MYR1,445.27	$666.67 SVC5,816.84	+90.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$247.40 MYR1,022.40	$502.78 SVC4,386.87	+103.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$34.37 MYR142.05	$64.97 SVC566.86	+89.0%
Average			+84.2%

Malaysia vs. El Salvador - Cost of housing

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pay 0.8% less for childcare

	Malaysia	El Salvador
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$170.62 MYR705.09	$162.67 SVC1,419.31	-4.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,229.51 MYR25,743.43	$6,420.00 SVC56,016.21	+3.1%
Average			-0.8%

Malaysia vs. El Salvador - Cost of childcare

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pay 9.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Malaysia	El Salvador
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.72 MYR15.38	$2.00 SVC17.45	-46.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.63 MYR10.85	$2.83 SVC24.69	+7.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.18 MYR17.26	$4.00 SVC34.90	-4.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$36.40 MYR150.42	$30.27 SVC264.08	-16.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.62 MYR19.07	$5.17 SVC45.08	+11.9%
Average			-9.5%

Malaysia vs. El Salvador - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 59.6% more for clothing

	Malaysia	El Salvador
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$59.37 MYR245.35	$62.60 SVC546.20	+5.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.69 MYR122.68	$45.83 SVC399.91	+54.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$70.68 MYR292.07	$131.80 SVC1,149.99	+86.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$56.86 MYR234.98	$109.17 SVC952.51	+92.0%
Average			+59.6%

Malaysia vs. El Salvador - 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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