Cost of living comparison

compared to

Netherlands vs. Malaysia Cost of Living Summary

Netherlands is 2.8 times more expensive than Malaysia overall.

Restaurants
pay 4.8 times more in Netherlands
Groceries
pay 43.6% more in Netherlands
Transportation
pay 2.8 times more in Netherlands
Housing
pay 4.1 times more in Netherlands
Childcare
pay 3.2 times more in Netherlands
Entertainment and Sports
pay 84.8% more in Netherlands
Clothing
pay 49.3% more in Netherlands

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

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Netherlands vs. Malaysia Cost Breakdown

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

pay 4.8 times more for restaurants

 
Malaysia
Netherlands
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $3.42
MYR13.98
$22.24
€19.80
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
 $4.64
MYR18.95
$13.74
€12.23
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.75
MYR3.07
$3.60
€3.21
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pay 43.6% more for groceries

 
Malaysia
Netherlands
Bread
1 loaf
 $1.10
MYR4.49
$2.06
€1.84
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.94
MYR28.32
$6.70
€5.96
Milk (1 gallon) $7.18
MYR29.31
$5.08
€4.52
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pay 2.8 times more for transportation

 
Malaysia
Netherlands
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.76
MYR11.29
$9.11
€8.11
Monthly public transit pass $15.28
MYR62.39
$95.45
€84.95
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $40,802.19
MYR167K
$40,608.58
€36,143.10
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pay 4.1 times more for housing

 
Malaysia
Netherlands
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
 $27.60
MYR112.71
$48.29
€42.98
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $363.41
MYR1,483.90
$1,426.76
€1,269.87
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $265.07
MYR1,082.35
$1,174.28
€1,045.15
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pay 3.2 times more for childcare

 
Malaysia
Netherlands
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $231.07
MYR943.51
$1,884.17
€1,676.98
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $8,043.53
MYR32,843.35
$10,083.31
€8,974.51
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pay 84.8% more for entertainment and sports

 
Malaysia
Netherlands
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.61
MYR14.73
$6.25
€5.56
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.76
MYR11.29
$4.16
€3.70
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
 $4.35
MYR17.74
$13.60
€12.11
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pay 49.3% more for clothing

 
Malaysia
Netherlands
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
 $58.43
MYR238.60
$89.45
€79.61
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
 $30.42
MYR124.22
$43.43
€38.65
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
 $77.72
MYR317.35
$100.67
€89.60
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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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Compare further: Malaysia vs. Netherlands

Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in Netherlands?
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Quality of Life Comparison · 20 statistics
Make 5.6 times more money in Netherlands
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Size Comparison · See true size
Malaysia is about 8 times bigger than Netherlands.
→
Moving from Malaysia to Netherlands · OECD 2023
355 people moved from Malaysia to Netherlands.
→
City Size Comparison · See true size
Compare the size of Kuala Lumpur vs Amsterdam
→
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