Cost of living comparison

Malaysia

compared to

South Africa

Durban vs. Shah Alam Cost of Living Summary

Durban is 26.9% more expensive than Shah Alam.

Restaurants: pay 79.7% more in Durban
Groceries: pay 14.9% less in Durban
Transportation: pay 31.0% more in Durban
Housing: pay 55.1% more in Durban
Childcare: pay 62.3% more in Durban
Entertainment and Sports: pay 12.9% less in Durban
Clothing: pay 6.0% more in Durban

The cost of restaurants, childcare, housing, transportation, and clothing in Durban are more expensive than in Shah Alam. Expenses including groceries and entertainment and sports are lower in Durban. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Durban.

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Durban vs. Shah Alam Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Durban instead of Shah Alam, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 79.7% more for restaurants

	Shah Alam	Durban
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.67 MYR14.99	$7.81 ZAR128.84	+112.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.16 MYR16.99	$6.01 ZAR99.11	+44.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.74 MYR3.03	$1.10 ZAR18.20	+48.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.40 MYR1.63	$0.87 ZAR14.37	+118.0%
Average			+79.7%

Shah Alam vs. Durban - Cost of restaurants

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pay 14.9% less for groceries

	Shah Alam	Durban
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 MYR4.35	$0.96 ZAR15.80	-10.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.82 MYR27.84	$4.12 ZAR67.89	-39.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.95 MYR28.37	$4.55 ZAR75.03	-34.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.19 MYR8.94	$2.37 ZAR39.03	+8.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.00 MYR8.15	$2.35 ZAR38.81	+17.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.58 MYR6.46	$0.88 ZAR14.47	-44.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 MYR3.08	$0.86 ZAR14.26	+14.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 MYR4.99	$0.87 ZAR14.39	-28.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.81 MYR3.30	$0.76 ZAR12.60	-5.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 MYR2.27	$0.69 ZAR11.31	+23.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.90 MYR3.70	$0.64 ZAR10.58	-29.1%
Average			-14.9%

Shah Alam vs. Durban - Cost of groceries

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pay 31.0% more for transportation

	Shah Alam	Durban
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.19 MYR13.01	$5.75 ZAR94.88	+80.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$15.91 MYR64.95	$21.63 ZAR356.79	+36.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$41,736.41 MYR170K	$35,391.94 ZAR584K	-15.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.36 MYR17.79	$6.22 ZAR102.64	+42.9%
Average			+31.0%

Shah Alam vs. Durban - Cost of transportation

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pay 55.1% more for housing

	Shah Alam	Durban
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$28.91 MYR118.04	$39.31 ZAR648.45	+36.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$340.14 MYR1,388.84	$464.82 ZAR7,666.67	+36.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$312.00 MYR1,273.94	$393.52 ZAR6,490.77	+26.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$28.39 MYR115.93	$111.87 ZAR1,845.13	+294.0%
Average			+55.1%

Shah Alam vs. Durban - Cost of housing

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pay 62.3% more for childcare

	Shah Alam	Durban
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$195.76 MYR799.33	$310.61 ZAR5,123.20	+58.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,567.77 MYR18,651.14	$7,585.59 ZAR125K	+66.1%
Average			+62.3%

Shah Alam vs. Durban - Cost of childcare

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pay 12.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Shah Alam	Durban
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.43 MYR13.99	$2.40 ZAR39.64	-29.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.95 MYR12.04	$2.67 ZAR44.02	-9.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.26 MYR17.39	$3.61 ZAR59.47	-15.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$39.76 MYR162.36	$31.70 ZAR522.86	-20.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.48 MYR26.48	$7.21 ZAR118.93	+11.2%
Average			-12.9%

Shah Alam vs. Durban - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.0% more for clothing

	Shah Alam	Durban
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.26 MYR233.81	$53.69 ZAR885.57	-6.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.76 MYR162.36	$30.14 ZAR497.07	-24.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$66.51 MYR271.57	$98.53 ZAR1,625.08	+48.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$69.71 MYR284.65	$83.65 ZAR1,379.78	+20.0%
Average			+6.0%

Shah Alam vs. Durban - 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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