Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Korea vs. Malaysia Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 82.2% more expensive than Malaysia overall.

Restaurants: pay 86.1% more in South Korea
Groceries: pay 2.1 times more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 87.0% more in South Korea
Housing: pay 86.3% more in South Korea
Childcare: pay 2.3 times more in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 30.4% more in South Korea
Clothing: pay 41.8% more in South Korea

The cost of childcare, groceries, transportation, housing, restaurants, and clothing in South Korea are more expensive than in Malaysia. Notably, childcare, groceries, and transportation are significantly more expensive in South Korea.

South Korea vs. Malaysia Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 86.1% more for restaurants

	Malaysia	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.22 MYR13.13	$6.72 ₩9,920	+108.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.41 MYR17.99	$5.50 ₩8,112	+24.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.73 MYR2.97	$1.47 ₩2,164	+101.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.39 MYR1.60	$0.82 ₩1,217	+109.8%
Average			+86.1%

Malaysia vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.1 times more for groceries

	Malaysia	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$1.02 MYR4.15	$2.87 ₩4,241	+182.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.79 MYR31.76	$5.63 ₩8,301	-27.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.67 MYR27.18	$7.67 ₩11,326	+15.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.99 MYR8.10	$2.84 ₩4,186	+42.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.93 MYR7.89	$3.34 ₩4,923	+72.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.28 MYR5.22	$3.24 ₩4,775	+152.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.67 MYR2.71	$1.39 ₩2,048	+108.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.29 MYR5.27	$2.80 ₩4,127	+116.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.73 MYR2.99	$2.40 ₩3,548	+228.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 MYR2.17	$1.78 ₩2,630	+234.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 MYR2.39	$1.20 ₩1,777	+105.7%
Average			+111.9%

Malaysia vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay 87.0% more for transportation

	Malaysia	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.86 MYR7.56	$4.40 ₩6,494	+137.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$15.26 MYR62.23	$47.17 ₩69,616	+209.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,849.31 MYR146,157.64	$26,440.41 ₩39,019,698	-26.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.52 MYR26.57	$8.33 ₩12,296	+27.9%
Average			+87.0%

Malaysia vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 86.3% more for housing

	Malaysia	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.18 MYR110.82	$21.68 ₩32,001	-20.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$349.73 MYR1,425.86	$473.91 ₩699,370	+35.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$247.40 MYR1,008.67	$357.19 ₩527,120	+44.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$34.37 MYR140.14	$132.53 ₩195,586	+285.6%
Average			+86.3%

Malaysia vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay 2.3 times more for childcare

	Malaysia	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$170.62 MYR695.62	$378.52 ₩558,610	+121.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,229.51 MYR25,397.70	$15,055.40 ₩22,218,164	+141.7%
Average			+131.8%

Malaysia vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 30.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Malaysia	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.72 MYR15.17	$3.12 ₩4,602	-16.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.63 MYR10.70	$3.57 ₩5,265	+35.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.18 MYR17.03	$3.18 ₩4,699	-23.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$36.40 MYR148.40	$49.86 ₩73,581	+37.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.62 MYR18.82	$10.12 ₩14,932	+119.2%
Average			+30.4%

Malaysia vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 41.8% more for clothing

	Malaysia	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$59.37 MYR242.06	$66.46 ₩98,079	+11.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.69 MYR121.03	$50.68 ₩74,796	+70.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$70.68 MYR288.15	$72.74 ₩107,346	+2.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$56.86 MYR231.82	$103.23 ₩152,349	+81.6%
Average			+41.8%

Malaysia vs. South Korea - 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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