Cost of living comparison

compared to

Maldives vs. Malaysia Cost of Living Summary

Maldives is 66.5% more expensive than Malaysia overall.

Restaurants: pay 67.7% more in Maldives
Groceries: pay 39.2% more in Maldives
Transportation: pay 85.6% more in Maldives
Housing: pay 2.8 times more in Maldives
Childcare: pay 23.1% less in Maldives
Entertainment and Sports: pay 95.8% more in Maldives
Clothing: pay 20.6% more in Maldives

The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, restaurants, groceries, and clothing in Maldives are more expensive than in Malaysia. Notably, housing, entertainment and sports, and transportation are significantly more expensive in Maldives.

Maldives vs. Malaysia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Maldives instead of Malaysia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 67.7% more for restaurants

	Malaysia	Maldives
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.22 MYR13.37	$5.56 MVR85.56	+72.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.41 MYR18.31	$9.80 MVR150.98	+122.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.73 MYR3.02	$1.45 MVR22.29	+98.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.39 MYR1.63	$0.31 MVR4.70	-22.4%
Average			+67.7%

Malaysia vs. Maldives - Cost of restaurants

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pay 39.2% more for groceries

	Malaysia	Maldives
Bread 1 loaf	$1.02 MYR4.22	$1.59 MVR24.49	+56.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.79 MYR32.32	$4.58 MVR70.46	-41.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.67 MYR27.67	$6.95 MVR107.00	+4.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.99 MYR8.25	$1.67 MVR25.67	-16.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.93 MYR8.03	$2.82 MVR43.37	+45.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.28 MYR5.31	$1.84 MVR28.31	+43.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.67 MYR2.76	$1.73 MVR26.63	+159.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.29 MYR5.36	$1.96 MVR30.25	+52.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.73 MYR3.04	$1.48 MVR22.83	+102.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 MYR2.21	$0.70 MVR10.77	+31.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 MYR2.43	$0.55 MVR8.45	-6.3%
Average			+39.2%

Malaysia vs. Maldives - Cost of groceries

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pay 85.6% more for transportation

	Malaysia	Maldives
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.86 MYR7.70	$3.54 MVR54.53	+90.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$15.26 MYR63.35	$28.91 MVR445.28	+89.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,849.31 MYR148,774.64	$32,679.74 MVR503,267.97	-8.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.52 MYR27.05	$17.65 MVR271.76	+170.8%
Average			+85.6%

Malaysia vs. Maldives - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.8 times more for housing

	Malaysia	Maldives
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.18 MYR112.80	$61.82 MVR952.02	+127.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$349.73 MYR1,451.39	$1,136.53 MVR17,502.54	+225.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$247.40 MYR1,026.73	$731.21 MVR11,260.62	+195.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$34.37 MYR142.65	$93.30 MVR1,436.78	+171.4%
Average			+179.8%

Malaysia vs. Maldives - Cost of housing

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pay 23.1% less for childcare

	Malaysia	Maldives
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$170.62 MYR708.08	$164.38 MVR2,531.44	-3.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,229.51 MYR25,852.45	$3,587.42 MVR55,246.24	-42.4%
Average			-23.1%

Malaysia vs. Maldives - Cost of childcare

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pay 95.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Malaysia	Maldives
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.72 MYR15.45	$4.74 MVR72.97	+27.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.63 MYR10.89	$3.31 MVR50.96	+26.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.18 MYR17.34	$13.07 MVR201.31	+212.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$36.40 MYR151.06	$72.98 MVR1,123.97	+100.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.62 MYR19.15	$9.80 MVR150.98	+112.4%
Average			+95.8%

Malaysia vs. Maldives - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 20.6% more for clothing

	Malaysia	Maldives
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$59.37 MYR246.39	$43.03 MVR662.64	-27.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.69 MYR123.20	$56.86 MVR875.69	+91.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$70.68 MYR293.31	$90.20 MVR1,389.02	+27.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$56.86 MYR235.97	$51.74 MVR796.84	-9.0%
Average			+20.6%

Malaysia vs. Maldives - 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: November 2025

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