Cost of living comparison
compared to
Japan vs. Malaysia Cost of Living Summary
Japan is 74.8% more expensive than Malaysia overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 65.0% more in Japan
- Groceries
-
pay 57.8% more in Japan
- Transportation
-
pay 2.7 times more in Japan
- Housing
-
pay 92.1% more in Japan
- Childcare
-
pay 92.6% more in Japan
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 42.4% more in Japan
- Clothing
-
pay 4.6% more in Japan
The cost of transportation, childcare, housing, restaurants, groceries, and entertainment and sports in Japan are more expensive than in Malaysia. Notably, transportation, childcare, and housing are significantly more expensive in Japan.
Japan vs. Malaysia Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Japan instead of Malaysia, you would:
pay 65.0% more for restaurants
|
Malaysia
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$3.22
MYR12.57
|
$6.60
¥1,024
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.41
MYR17.22
|
$5.10
¥790
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.73
MYR2.84
|
$1.07
¥165
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.39
MYR1.53
|
$0.76
¥118
|
|
Malaysia vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants
pay 57.8% more for groceries
|
Malaysia
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.02
MYR3.97
|
$1.50
¥233
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.79
MYR30.40
|
$5.07
¥785
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.67
MYR26.02
|
$5.67
¥878
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.99
MYR7.76
|
$2.08
¥322
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.93
MYR7.55
|
$2.93
¥454
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.28
MYR5.00
|
$2.14
¥331
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.67
MYR2.60
|
$1.12
¥173
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.29
MYR5.04
|
$1.69
¥262
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.73
MYR2.86
|
$2.13
¥330
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.53
MYR2.08
|
$1.22
¥189
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.59
MYR2.28
|
$1.15
¥179
|
|
Malaysia vs. Japan - Cost of groceries
pay 2.7 times more for transportation
|
Malaysia
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$1.86
MYR7.24
|
$4.39
¥680
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$15.26
MYR59.58
|
$59.14
¥9,166
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,849.31
MYR140K
|
$22,599.51
¥4M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$6.52
MYR25.44
|
$25.32
¥3,925
|
|
Malaysia vs. Japan - Cost of transportation
pay 92.1% more for housing
|
Malaysia
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$27.18
MYR106.09
|
$33.91
¥5,256
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$349.73
MYR1,365.00
|
$543.18
¥84,180
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$247.40
MYR965.62
|
$353.61
¥54,801
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$34.37
MYR134.16
|
$118.72
¥18,398
|
|
Malaysia vs. Japan - Cost of housing
pay 92.6% more for childcare
|
Malaysia
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$170.62
MYR665.93
|
$296.89
¥46,010
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$6,229.51
MYR24,313.76
|
$13,159.48
¥2M
|
|
Malaysia vs. Japan - Cost of childcare
pay 42.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Malaysia
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.72
MYR14.53
|
$2.60
¥404
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.63
MYR10.25
|
$3.03
¥469
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.18
MYR16.31
|
$3.89
¥602
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$36.40
MYR142.07
|
$59.54
¥9,227
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$4.62
MYR18.01
|
$12.46
¥1,931
|
|
Malaysia vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.6% more for clothing
|
Malaysia
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$59.37
MYR231.73
|
$44.79
¥6,942
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$29.69
MYR115.87
|
$32.04
¥4,965
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$70.68
MYR275.85
|
$57.37
¥8,891
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$56.86
MYR221.93
|
$87.37
¥13,540
|
|
Malaysia vs. Japan - 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: February 2026
Change currency:
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 Japan or Malaysia. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.