Cost of living comparison
compared to
George Town vs. Malaysia Cost of Living Summary
George Town is 1.1% cheaper than Malaysia overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 0.4% less in George Town
- Groceries
-
pay 7.7% less in George Town
- Transportation
-
pay 15.0% less in George Town
- Housing
-
pay 25.9% more in George Town
- Childcare
-
pay 13.2% less in George Town
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 7.8% more in George Town
- Clothing
-
pay 5.2% less in George Town
The cost of housing and entertainment and sports in George Town are more expensive than in Malaysia. Expenses including transportation, childcare, groceries, clothing, and restaurants are lower in George Town.
George Town vs. Malaysia Cost Breakdown
If you lived in George Town instead of Malaysia, you would:
pay 0.4% less for restaurants
|
Malaysia
|
George Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$3.22
MYR13.24
|
$3.32
MYR13.64
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.41
MYR18.14
|
$4.27
MYR17.54
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.73
MYR3.00
|
$0.79
MYR3.25
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.39
MYR1.62
|
$0.36
MYR1.46
|
|
Malaysia vs. George Town - Cost of restaurants
pay 7.7% less for groceries
|
Malaysia
|
George Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.02
MYR4.18
|
$1.13
MYR4.63
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.79
MYR32.02
|
$7.89
MYR32.44
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.67
MYR27.41
|
$7.04
MYR28.94
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.99
MYR8.17
|
$2.08
MYR8.55
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.93
MYR7.95
|
$2.23
MYR9.17
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.28
MYR5.26
|
$1.06
MYR4.36
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.67
MYR2.74
|
$0.64
MYR2.65
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.29
MYR5.31
|
$1.00
MYR4.12
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.73
MYR3.01
|
$0.65
MYR2.68
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.53
MYR2.19
|
$0.37
MYR1.53
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.59
MYR2.41
|
$0.36
MYR1.47
|
|
Malaysia vs. George Town - Cost of groceries
pay 15.0% less for transportation
|
Malaysia
|
George Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$1.86
MYR7.63
|
$1.84
MYR7.58
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$15.26
MYR62.75
|
$10.66
MYR43.84
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,849.31
MYR147,376.52
|
$33,767.77
MYR138,819.31
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$6.52
MYR26.79
|
$4.98
MYR20.46
|
|
Malaysia vs. George Town - Cost of transportation
pay 25.9% more for housing
|
Malaysia
|
George Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$27.18
MYR111.74
|
$30.45
MYR125.18
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$349.73
MYR1,437.75
|
$489.73
MYR2,013.29
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$247.40
MYR1,017.08
|
$355.45
MYR1,461.26
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$34.37
MYR141.31
|
$37.15
MYR152.72
|
|
Malaysia vs. George Town - Cost of housing
pay 13.2% less for childcare
|
Malaysia
|
George Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$170.62
MYR701.42
|
$165.88
MYR681.92
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$6,229.51
MYR25,609.50
|
$4,763.03
MYR19,580.83
|
|
Malaysia vs. George Town - Cost of childcare
pay 7.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
Malaysia
|
George Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.72
MYR15.30
|
$4.27
MYR17.54
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.63
MYR10.79
|
$2.46
MYR10.13
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.18
MYR17.17
|
$4.38
MYR18.02
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$36.40
MYR149.64
|
$39.10
MYR160.74
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$4.62
MYR18.97
|
$5.45
MYR22.41
|
|
Malaysia vs. George Town - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 5.2% less for clothing
|
Malaysia
|
George Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$59.37
MYR244.08
|
$52.07
MYR214.07
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$29.69
MYR122.04
|
$29.03
MYR119.34
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$70.68
MYR290.55
|
$71.09
MYR292.25
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$56.86
MYR233.75
|
$53.02
MYR217.97
|
|
Malaysia vs. George Town - 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
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