Cost of living comparison

French Polynesia

compared to

Malaysia

Johor Bahru vs. Papeete Cost of Living Summary

Johor Bahru is 50.7% cheaper than Papeete.

Restaurants: pay 76.8% less in Johor Bahru
Groceries: pay 46.3% less in Johor Bahru
Transportation: pay 28.1% less in Johor Bahru
Housing: pay 65.1% less in Johor Bahru
Childcare: pay 52.2% less in Johor Bahru
Entertainment and Sports: pay 41.7% less in Johor Bahru
Clothing: pay 44.5% less in Johor Bahru

Expenses including restaurants, housing, childcare, groceries, clothing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Johor Bahru.

Johor Bahru vs. Papeete Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Johor Bahru instead of Papeete, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 76.8% less for restaurants

	Papeete	Johor Bahru
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$19.58 CFPF2,027	$3.55 MYR14.32	-81.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$14.68 CFPF1,520	$4.74 MYR19.10	-67.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.13 CFPF324	$0.78 MYR3.16	-74.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.77 CFPF287	$0.47 MYR1.90	-83.0%
Average			-76.8%

Papeete vs. Johor Bahru - Cost of restaurants

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pay 46.3% less for groceries

	Papeete	Johor Bahru
Bread 1 loaf	$0.78 CFPF81	$0.98 MYR3.95	+25.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.05 CFPF1,351	$5.33 MYR21.48	-59.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.30 CFPF652	$7.01 MYR28.25	+11.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.48 CFPF671	$1.86 MYR7.51	-71.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$7.66 CFPF793	$2.20 MYR8.86	-71.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.37 CFPF245	$1.24 MYR4.98	-47.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.22 CFPF126	$0.68 MYR2.73	-44.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.66 CFPF276	$1.15 MYR4.62	-56.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$3.55 CFPF368	$0.56 MYR2.27	-84.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.37 CFPF141	$0.53 MYR2.14	-61.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.22 CFPF126	$0.62 MYR2.50	-49.2%
Average			-46.3%

Papeete vs. Johor Bahru - Cost of groceries

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pay 28.1% less for transportation

	Papeete	Johor Bahru
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.99 CFPF620	$1.84 MYR7.42	-69.2%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$11.85 MYR47.74
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,575.51 CFPF2M	$35,545.02 MYR143K	+81.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$205.54 CFPF21,283	$6.69 MYR26.97	-96.7%
Average			-28.1%

Papeete vs. Johor Bahru - Cost of transportation

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pay 65.1% less for housing

	Papeete	Johor Bahru
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$68.84 CFPF7,128	$30.15 MYR121.51	-56.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,394.76 CFPF144K	$494.94 MYR1,994.38	-64.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$978.78 CFPF101K	$375.20 MYR1,511.86	-61.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$144.08 CFPF14,919	$31.51 MYR126.98	-78.1%
Average			-65.1%

Papeete vs. Johor Bahru - Cost of housing

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pay 52.2% less for childcare

	Papeete	Johor Bahru
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$489.39 CFPF50,674	$153.04 MYR616.68	-68.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,787.76 CFPF1M	$6,279.62 MYR25,303.73	-35.8%
Average			-52.2%

Papeete vs. Johor Bahru - Cost of childcare

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pay 41.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Papeete	Johor Bahru
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.18 CFPF329	$3.55 MYR14.32	+11.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.04 CFPF418	$2.91 MYR11.71	-28.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.14 CFPF1,257	$4.25 MYR17.14	-65.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$88.09 CFPF9,121	$34.36 MYR138.45	-61.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.68 CFPF1,520	$4.98 MYR20.05	-66.1%
Average			-41.7%

Papeete vs. Johor Bahru - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 44.5% less for clothing

	Papeete	Johor Bahru
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$71.74 CFPF7,429	$49.76 MYR200.52	-30.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$75.01 CFPF7,767	$16.59 MYR66.84	-77.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.53 CFPF8,442	$71.09 MYR286.46	-12.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$92.98 CFPF9,628	$40.23 MYR162.09	-56.7%
Average			-44.5%

Papeete vs. Johor Bahru - 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: June 2026

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