Cost of living comparison

compared to

Saudi Arabia vs. Malaysia Cost of Living Summary

Saudi Arabia is 59.6% more expensive than Malaysia overall.

Restaurants: pay 35.7% more in Saudi Arabia
Groceries: pay 2.2% more in Saudi Arabia
Transportation: pay 77.6% more in Saudi Arabia
Housing: pay 2.1 times more in Saudi Arabia
Childcare: pay 54.8% more in Saudi Arabia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.1 times more in Saudi Arabia
Clothing: pay 35.1% more in Saudi Arabia

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

Saudi Arabia vs. Malaysia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Saudi Arabia instead of Malaysia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 35.7% more for restaurants

	Malaysia	Saudi Arabia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.22 MYR13.37	$6.32 SAR23.70	+96.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.41 MYR18.31	$7.73 SAR29.00	+75.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.73 MYR3.02	$0.74 SAR2.79	+1.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.39 MYR1.63	$0.27 SAR1.02	-30.6%
Average			+35.7%

Malaysia vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.2% more for groceries

	Malaysia	Saudi Arabia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.02 MYR4.22	$0.92 SAR3.43	-10.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.79 MYR32.32	$3.62 SAR13.56	-53.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.67 MYR27.67	$6.74 SAR25.26	+1.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.99 MYR8.25	$2.52 SAR9.47	+27.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.93 MYR8.03	$3.28 SAR12.28	+69.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.28 MYR5.31	$0.97 SAR3.63	-24.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.67 MYR2.76	$0.78 SAR2.91	+16.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.29 MYR5.36	$0.80 SAR3.00	-38.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.73 MYR3.04	$0.74 SAR2.77	+0.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 MYR2.21	$0.66 SAR2.49	+24.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 MYR2.43	$0.65 SAR2.43	+10.9%
Average			+2.2%

Malaysia vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of groceries

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pay 77.6% more for transportation

	Malaysia	Saudi Arabia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.86 MYR7.70	$2.32 SAR8.72	+25.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$15.26 MYR63.35	$33.84 SAR126.91	+121.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,849.31 MYR148,774.64	$25,756.63 SAR96,597.09	-28.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.52 MYR27.05	$19.00 SAR71.25	+191.5%
Average			+77.6%

Malaysia vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.1 times more for housing

	Malaysia	Saudi Arabia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.18 MYR112.80	$74.04 SAR277.66	+172.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$349.73 MYR1,451.39	$434.87 SAR1,630.94	+24.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$247.40 MYR1,026.73	$360.33 SAR1,351.36	+45.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$34.37 MYR142.65	$97.42 SAR365.38	+183.4%
Average			+106.4%

Malaysia vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of housing

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pay 54.8% more for childcare

	Malaysia	Saudi Arabia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$170.62 MYR708.08	$350.88 SAR1,315.93	+105.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,229.51 MYR25,852.45	$6,485.70 SAR24,323.83	+4.1%
Average			+54.8%

Malaysia vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports

	Malaysia	Saudi Arabia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.72 MYR15.45	$1.89 SAR7.09	-49.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.63 MYR10.89	$3.48 SAR13.06	+32.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.18 MYR17.34	$7.47 SAR28.00	+78.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$36.40 MYR151.06	$106.43 SAR399.14	+192.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.62 MYR19.15	$17.24 SAR64.66	+273.6%
Average			+105.6%

Malaysia vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 35.1% more for clothing

	Malaysia	Saudi Arabia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$59.37 MYR246.39	$48.71 SAR182.67	-18.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.69 MYR123.20	$57.50 SAR215.66	+93.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$70.68 MYR293.31	$88.56 SAR332.12	+25.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$56.86 MYR235.97	$79.17 SAR296.92	+39.2%
Average			+35.1%

Malaysia vs. Saudi Arabia - 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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