Cost of living comparison
compared to
Kota Kinabalu vs. Malaysia Cost of Living Summary
Kota Kinabalu is 5.6% more expensive than Malaysia overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 1.7% more in Kota Kinabalu
- Groceries
-
pay 18.0% more in Kota Kinabalu
- Transportation
-
pay 26.7% more in Kota Kinabalu
- Housing
-
pay 3.0% more in Kota Kinabalu
- Childcare
-
pay 20.0% less in Kota Kinabalu
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 1.3% less in Kota Kinabalu
- Clothing
-
pay 11.3% more in Kota Kinabalu
The cost of transportation, groceries, clothing, housing, and restaurants in Kota Kinabalu are more expensive than in Malaysia. Expenses including childcare and entertainment and sports are lower in Kota Kinabalu.
Kota Kinabalu vs. Malaysia Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Kota Kinabalu instead of Malaysia, you would:
pay 1.7% more for restaurants
|
Malaysia
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$3.22
MYR13.24
|
$3.55
MYR14.61
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.41
MYR18.14
|
$4.74
MYR19.48
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.73
MYR3.00
|
$0.67
MYR2.77
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.39
MYR1.62
|
$0.38
MYR1.56
|
|
Malaysia vs. Kota Kinabalu - Cost of restaurants
pay 18.0% more for groceries
|
Malaysia
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.02
MYR4.18
|
$1.15
MYR4.71
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.79
MYR32.02
|
$13.03
MYR53.58
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.67
MYR27.41
|
$6.50
MYR26.73
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.99
MYR8.17
|
$2.54
MYR10.42
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.93
MYR7.95
|
$1.85
MYR7.61
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.28
MYR5.26
|
$1.24
MYR5.08
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.67
MYR2.74
|
$0.56
MYR2.28
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.29
MYR5.31
|
$1.77
MYR7.29
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.73
MYR3.01
|
$0.86
MYR3.54
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.53
MYR2.19
|
$0.68
MYR2.80
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.59
MYR2.41
|
$0.79
MYR3.24
|
|
Malaysia vs. Kota Kinabalu - Cost of groceries
pay 26.7% more for transportation
|
Malaysia
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$1.86
MYR7.63
|
$1.84
MYR7.56
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$15.26
MYR62.75
|
$41.21
MYR169.42
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,849.31
MYR147,376.52
|
$28,436.02
MYR116,900.47
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$6.52
MYR26.79
|
$3.79
MYR15.59
|
|
Malaysia vs. Kota Kinabalu - Cost of transportation
pay 3.0% more for housing
|
Malaysia
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$27.18
MYR111.74
|
$33.00
MYR135.65
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$349.73
MYR1,437.75
|
$379.15
MYR1,558.67
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$247.40
MYR1,017.08
|
$165.88
MYR681.92
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$34.37
MYR141.31
|
$39.62
MYR162.89
|
|
Malaysia vs. Kota Kinabalu - Cost of housing
pay 20.0% less for childcare
|
Malaysia
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$170.62
MYR701.42
|
$130.33
MYR535.79
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$6,229.51
MYR25,609.50
|
$5,213.27
MYR21,431.75
|
|
Malaysia vs. Kota Kinabalu - Cost of childcare
pay 1.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Malaysia
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.72
MYR15.30
|
$2.37
MYR9.74
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.63
MYR10.79
|
$2.65
MYR10.88
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.18
MYR17.17
|
$4.15
MYR17.05
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$36.40
MYR149.64
|
$43.44
MYR178.60
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$4.62
MYR18.97
|
$5.09
MYR20.94
|
|
Malaysia vs. Kota Kinabalu - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 11.3% more for clothing
|
Malaysia
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$59.37
MYR244.08
|
$59.77
MYR245.73
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$29.69
MYR122.04
|
$22.90
MYR94.14
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$70.68
MYR290.55
|
$71.09
MYR292.25
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$56.86
MYR233.75
|
$94.79
MYR389.67
|
|
Malaysia vs. Kota Kinabalu - 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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