Cost of living comparison
compared to
Malaysia vs. Maldives Cost of Living Summary
Malaysia is 22.2% cheaper than Maldives overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 29.4% less in Malaysia
- Groceries
-
pay 16.0% less in Malaysia
- Transportation
-
pay 37.1% less in Malaysia
- Housing
-
pay 63.7% less in Malaysia
- Childcare
-
pay 38.7% more in Malaysia
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 42.6% less in Malaysia
- Clothing
-
pay 5.4% less in Malaysia
Expenses including housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, restaurants, groceries, and clothing are lower in Malaysia.
Malaysia vs. Maldives Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Malaysia instead of Maldives, you would:
pay 29.4% less for restaurants
|
Maldives
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$5.56
MVR85.56
|
$3.22
MYR13.31
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.80
MVR150.98
|
$4.41
MYR18.24
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.45
MVR22.29
|
$0.73
MYR3.01
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.31
MVR4.70
|
$0.39
MYR1.63
|
|
Maldives vs. Malaysia - Cost of restaurants
pay 16.0% less for groceries
|
Maldives
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.59
MVR24.49
|
$1.02
MYR4.21
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.58
MVR70.46
|
$7.79
MYR32.19
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.95
MVR107.00
|
$6.67
MYR27.55
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.67
MVR25.67
|
$1.99
MYR8.21
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.82
MVR43.37
|
$1.93
MYR7.99
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.84
MVR28.31
|
$1.28
MYR5.29
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.73
MVR26.63
|
$0.67
MYR2.75
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.96
MVR30.25
|
$1.29
MYR5.34
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.48
MVR22.83
|
$0.73
MYR3.03
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.70
MVR10.77
|
$0.53
MYR2.20
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.55
MVR8.45
|
$0.59
MYR2.42
|
|
Maldives vs. Malaysia - Cost of groceries
pay 37.1% less for transportation
|
Maldives
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.54
MVR54.53
|
$1.86
MYR7.67
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$28.91
MVR445.28
|
$15.26
MYR63.08
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,679.74
MVR503,267.97
|
$35,849.31
MYR148,147.28
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.65
MVR271.76
|
$6.52
MYR26.93
|
|
Maldives vs. Malaysia - Cost of transportation
pay 63.7% less for housing
|
Maldives
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$61.82
MVR952.02
|
$27.18
MYR112.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,136.53
MVR17,502.54
|
$349.73
MYR1,445.27
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$731.21
MVR11,260.62
|
$247.40
MYR1,022.40
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$93.30
MVR1,436.78
|
$34.37
MYR142.05
|
|
Maldives vs. Malaysia - Cost of housing
pay 38.7% more for childcare
|
Maldives
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$164.38
MVR2,531.44
|
$170.62
MYR705.09
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$3,587.42
MVR55,246.24
|
$6,229.51
MYR25,743.43
|
|
Maldives vs. Malaysia - Cost of childcare
pay 42.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Maldives
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.74
MVR72.97
|
$3.72
MYR15.38
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.31
MVR50.96
|
$2.63
MYR10.85
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.07
MVR201.31
|
$4.18
MYR17.26
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$72.98
MVR1,123.97
|
$36.40
MYR150.42
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$9.80
MVR150.98
|
$4.62
MYR19.07
|
|
Maldives vs. Malaysia - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 5.4% less for clothing
|
Maldives
|
Malaysia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$43.03
MVR662.64
|
$59.37
MYR245.35
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$56.86
MVR875.69
|
$29.69
MYR122.68
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$90.20
MVR1,389.02
|
$70.68
MYR292.07
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$51.74
MVR796.84
|
$56.86
MYR234.98
|
|
Maldives vs. Malaysia - Cost of clothing
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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