Cost of living comparison

Saudi Arabia

compared to

Malaysia

Ipoh vs. Mecca Cost of Living Summary

Ipoh is 14.1% cheaper than Mecca.

Restaurants: pay 20.6% less in Ipoh
Groceries: pay 14.7% more in Ipoh
Transportation: pay 18.7% less in Ipoh
Housing: pay 22.9% less in Ipoh
Childcare: pay 44.0% less in Ipoh
Entertainment and Sports: pay 34.7% less in Ipoh
Clothing: pay 51.0% more in Ipoh

The cost of clothing and groceries in Ipoh are more expensive than in Mecca. Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, and transportation are lower in Ipoh.

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Ipoh vs. Mecca Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Ipoh instead of Mecca, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 20.6% less for restaurants

	Mecca	Ipoh
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.53 SAR17.00	$3.30 MYR13.49	-27.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.93 SAR26.00	$4.40 MYR17.99	-36.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.69 SAR2.60	$0.72 MYR2.95	+4.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.24 SAR0.90	$0.46 MYR1.88	+92.1%
Average			-20.6%

Mecca vs. Ipoh - Cost of restaurants

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pay 14.7% more for groceries

	Mecca	Ipoh
Bread 1 loaf	$0.98 SAR3.67	$1.04 MYR4.26	+6.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.98 SAR11.17	$6.76 MYR27.59	+127.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.49 SAR24.37	$7.67 MYR31.30	+18.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.46 SAR9.23	$2.28 MYR9.31	-7.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.71 SAR13.92	$2.02 MYR8.25	-45.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.93 SAR3.48	$1.39 MYR5.67	+49.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 SAR2.72	$0.82 MYR3.34	+12.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.71 SAR2.67	$1.04 MYR4.23	+45.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.68 SAR2.57	$0.71 MYR2.91	+3.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.52 SAR1.95	$0.59 MYR2.41	+13.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.58 SAR2.17	$0.62 MYR2.54	+7.6%
Average			+14.7%

Mecca vs. Ipoh - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.7% less for transportation

	Mecca	Ipoh
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.35 SAR8.82	$1.90 MYR7.75	-19.2%
Monthly public transit pass	??	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$47,965.95 SAR180K	$41,736.41 MYR170K	-13.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.26 SAR61.00	$11.01 MYR44.96	-32.3%
Average			-18.7%

Mecca vs. Ipoh - Cost of transportation

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pay 22.9% less for housing

	Mecca	Ipoh
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$62.84 SAR235.84	$26.27 MYR107.27	-58.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$524.96 SAR1,970.09	$367.05 MYR1,498.75	-30.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$286.20 SAR1,074.05	$244.70 MYR999.17	-14.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$50.94 SAR191.19	$47.56 MYR194.21	-6.6%
Average			-22.9%

Mecca vs. Ipoh - Cost of housing

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pay 44.0% less for childcare

	Mecca	Ipoh
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$760.49 SAR2,854.01	$299.09 MYR1,221.23	-60.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,442.55 SAR61,706.21	$13,124.70 MYR53,590.76	-20.2%
Average			-44.0%

Mecca vs. Ipoh - Cost of childcare

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pay 34.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Mecca	Ipoh
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.53 SAR5.75	$4.40 MYR17.99	+187.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.60 SAR9.74	$2.81 MYR11.49	+8.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.66 SAR25.00	$4.40 MYR17.99	-33.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$81.01 SAR304.01	$24.47 MYR99.92	-69.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.99 SAR45.00	$3.43 MYR13.99	-71.4%
Average			-34.7%

Mecca vs. Ipoh - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 51.0% more for clothing

	Mecca	Ipoh
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$13.32 SAR50.00	$61.18 MYR249.79	+359.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$57.02 SAR214.00	$36.71 MYR149.88	-35.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$39.97 SAR150.01	$61.18 MYR249.79	+53.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$53.30 SAR200.01	$61.18 MYR249.79	+14.8%
Average			+51.0%

Mecca vs. Ipoh - Cost of clothing

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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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