Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Kuala Lumpur is 13.2% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 7.2% more in Kuala Lumpur
Groceries: pay 14.5% more in Kuala Lumpur
Transportation: pay 7.5% less in Kuala Lumpur
Housing: pay 28.4% less in Kuala Lumpur
Childcare: pay 68.3% less in Kuala Lumpur
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.5% more in Kuala Lumpur
Clothing: pay 11.4% more in Kuala Lumpur

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

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Kuala Lumpur vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kuala Lumpur instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 7.2% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Kuala Lumpur
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$4.89 MYR19.98	+9.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$4.89 MYR19.98	-6.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$0.81 MYR3.30	+34.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.46 MYR1.88	+24.5%
Average			+7.2%

Shanghai vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of restaurants

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pay 14.5% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Kuala Lumpur
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$1.09 MYR4.47	-44.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$7.00 MYR28.58	-18.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$7.96 MYR32.51	+15.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$2.53 MYR10.32	+48.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$2.02 MYR8.25	+36.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$1.55 MYR6.32	+55.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.82 MYR3.34	+6.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$1.04 MYR4.23	+14.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$0.71 MYR2.91	-7.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.59 MYR2.41	+65.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.62 MYR2.54	+43.4%
Average			+14.5%

Shanghai vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of groceries

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pay 7.5% less for transportation

	Shanghai	Kuala Lumpur
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$3.22 MYR13.14	-35.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$12.24 MYR49.96	-59.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$41,736.41 MYR170K	+115.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$11.01 MYR44.96	+94.3%
Average			-7.5%

Shanghai vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of transportation

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pay 28.4% less for housing

	Shanghai	Kuala Lumpur
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$26.27 MYR107.27	+149.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$617.87 MYR2,522.90	-40.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$371.37 MYR1,516.38	-36.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$47.56 MYR194.21	+8.0%
Average			-28.4%

Shanghai vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of housing

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pay 68.3% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Kuala Lumpur
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$299.09 MYR1,221.23	-78.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$13,124.70 MYR53,590.76	-52.6%
Average			-68.3%

Shanghai vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Kuala Lumpur
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$4.40 MYR17.99	+269.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$3.10 MYR12.64	-7.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$4.40 MYR17.99	+18.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$48.89 MYR199.62	-25.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$5.02 MYR20.48	-43.9%
Average			+4.5%

Shanghai vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 11.4% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Kuala Lumpur
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$71.46 MYR291.78	+31.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$41.92 MYR171.18	+13.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$86.22 MYR352.05	+14.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$96.07 MYR392.29	-9.1%
Average			+11.4%

Shanghai vs. Kuala Lumpur - 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

Compare further: Shanghai vs. Kuala Lumpur

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Shanghai is about 26 times bigger than Kuala Lumpur.

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