Cost of living comparison
compared to
Kota Kinabalu vs. New Zealand Cost of Living Summary
Kota Kinabalu is 43.4% cheaper than New Zealand overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 68.2% less in Kota Kinabalu
- Groceries
-
pay 1.2% more in Kota Kinabalu
- Transportation
-
pay 44.6% less in Kota Kinabalu
- Housing
-
pay 58.3% less in Kota Kinabalu
- Childcare
-
pay 70.4% less in Kota Kinabalu
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 40.3% less in Kota Kinabalu
- Clothing
-
pay 23.0% less in Kota Kinabalu
Expenses including childcare, restaurants, housing, transportation, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in Kota Kinabalu.
Kota Kinabalu vs. New Zealand Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Kota Kinabalu instead of New Zealand, you would:
pay 68.2% less for restaurants
|
New Zealand
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$14.45
NZ$25.01
|
$3.55
MYR14.61
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.14
NZ$15.82
|
$4.74
MYR19.48
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.11
NZ$3.65
|
$0.67
MYR2.77
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.02
NZ$3.49
|
$0.38
MYR1.56
|
|
New Zealand vs. Kota Kinabalu - Cost of restaurants
pay 1.2% more for groceries
|
New Zealand
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.74
NZ$3.01
|
$1.15
MYR4.71
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.88
NZ$6.72
|
$13.03
MYR53.58
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.34
NZ$10.97
|
$6.50
MYR26.73
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.96
NZ$10.31
|
$2.54
MYR10.42
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.01
NZ$6.93
|
$1.85
MYR7.61
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.18
NZ$2.04
|
$1.24
MYR5.08
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.95
NZ$1.65
|
$0.56
MYR2.28
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.29
NZ$2.24
|
$1.77
MYR7.29
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.11
NZ$3.65
|
$0.86
MYR3.54
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.85
NZ$1.47
|
$0.68
MYR2.80
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.80
NZ$1.38
|
$0.79
MYR3.24
|
|
New Zealand vs. Kota Kinabalu - Cost of groceries
pay 44.6% less for transportation
|
New Zealand
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.08
NZ$10.52
|
$1.84
MYR7.56
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$74.52
NZ$128.99
|
$41.21
MYR169.42
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$24,777.66
NZ$42,890.20
|
$28,436.02
MYR116,900.47
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.81
NZ$30.83
|
$3.79
MYR15.59
|
|
New Zealand vs. Kota Kinabalu - Cost of transportation
pay 58.3% less for housing
|
New Zealand
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$50.00
NZ$86.54
|
$33.00
MYR135.65
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$978.36
NZ$1,693.54
|
$379.15
MYR1,558.67
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$810.06
NZ$1,402.22
|
$165.88
MYR681.92
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$95.66
NZ$165.59
|
$39.62
MYR162.89
|
|
New Zealand vs. Kota Kinabalu - Cost of housing
pay 70.4% less for childcare
|
New Zealand
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$635.34
NZ$1,099.78
|
$130.33
MYR535.79
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,463.91
NZ$23,306.07
|
$5,213.27
MYR21,431.75
|
|
New Zealand vs. Kota Kinabalu - Cost of childcare
pay 40.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
New Zealand
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.04
NZ$10.46
|
$2.37
MYR9.74
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.35
NZ$5.80
|
$2.65
MYR10.88
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$23.12
NZ$40.03
|
$4.15
MYR17.05
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$37.72
NZ$65.30
|
$43.44
MYR178.60
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.72
NZ$18.56
|
$5.09
MYR20.94
|
|
New Zealand vs. Kota Kinabalu - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 23.0% less for clothing
|
New Zealand
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$65.22
NZ$112.90
|
$59.77
MYR245.73
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$39.23
NZ$67.91
|
$22.90
MYR94.14
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$90.28
NZ$156.27
|
$71.09
MYR292.25
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$119.43
NZ$206.73
|
$94.79
MYR389.67
|
|
New Zealand vs. Kota Kinabalu - 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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