Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Malaysia Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 34.1% more expensive than Malaysia overall.

Restaurants: pay 87.9% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 12.8% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 2.1 times more in South Africa
Housing: pay 65.8% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 17.3% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 12.2% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 18.2% more in South Africa

The cost of transportation, restaurants, housing, and clothing in South Africa are more expensive than in Malaysia. Expenses including childcare, groceries, and entertainment and sports are lower in South Africa. Notably, transportation and restaurants are significantly more expensive in South Africa.

South Africa vs. Malaysia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Africa instead of Malaysia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 87.9% more for restaurants

	Malaysia	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.22 MYR13.31	$9.33 ZAR159.73	+189.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.41 MYR18.24	$5.11 ZAR87.49	+15.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.73 MYR3.01	$1.03 ZAR17.65	+41.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.39 MYR1.63	$0.80 ZAR13.74	+104.2%
Average			+87.9%

Malaysia vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.8% less for groceries

	Malaysia	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.02 MYR4.21	$1.00 ZAR17.16	-1.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.79 MYR32.19	$3.88 ZAR66.47	-50.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.67 MYR27.55	$4.37 ZAR74.79	-34.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.99 MYR8.21	$2.33 ZAR39.93	+17.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.93 MYR7.99	$2.13 ZAR36.52	+10.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.28 MYR5.29	$0.73 ZAR12.46	-43.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.67 MYR2.75	$0.65 ZAR11.16	-2.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.29 MYR5.34	$0.68 ZAR11.70	-47.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.73 MYR3.03	$0.71 ZAR12.14	-3.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 MYR2.20	$0.59 ZAR10.02	+10.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 MYR2.42	$0.60 ZAR10.27	+2.5%
Average			-12.8%

Malaysia vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.1 times more for transportation

	Malaysia	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.86 MYR7.67	$4.92 ZAR84.25	+165.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$15.26 MYR63.08	$56.18 ZAR961.29	+268.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,849.31 MYR148,147.28	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	-40.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.52 MYR26.93	$9.34 ZAR159.79	+43.3%
Average			+109.1%

Malaysia vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 65.8% more for housing

	Malaysia	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.18 MYR112.33	$39.36 ZAR673.48	+44.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$349.73 MYR1,445.27	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	+15.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$247.40 MYR1,022.40	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	+46.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$34.37 MYR142.05	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	+156.4%
Average			+65.8%

Malaysia vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 17.3% less for childcare

	Malaysia	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$170.62 MYR705.09	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	+1.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,229.51 MYR25,743.43	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	-36.4%
Average			-17.3%

Malaysia vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 12.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Malaysia	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.72 MYR15.38	$2.18 ZAR37.27	-41.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.63 MYR10.85	$2.05 ZAR35.06	-21.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.18 MYR17.26	$2.96 ZAR50.72	-29.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$36.40 MYR150.42	$30.26 ZAR517.83	-16.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.62 MYR19.07	$6.85 ZAR117.19	+48.4%
Average			-12.2%

Malaysia vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 18.2% more for clothing

	Malaysia	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$59.37 MYR245.35	$50.74 ZAR868.31	-14.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.69 MYR122.68	$32.75 ZAR560.46	+10.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$70.68 MYR292.07	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	+33.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$56.86 MYR234.98	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	+43.9%
Average			+18.2%

Malaysia vs. South Africa - 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: December 2025

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