Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Malaysia

Selangor vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Selangor is 23.0% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 6.9% less in Selangor
Groceries: pay 7.9% more in Selangor
Transportation: pay 10.9% less in Selangor
Housing: pay 35.7% less in Selangor
Childcare: pay 85.0% less in Selangor
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.6% less in Selangor
Clothing: pay 4.4% more in Selangor

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

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Selangor vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Selangor instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 6.9% less for restaurants

	Shanghai	Selangor
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$4.28 MYR17.49	-4.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$3.92 MYR15.99	-25.0%
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	$0.45 MYR1.83	+21.3%
Average			-6.9%

Shanghai vs. Selangor - Cost of restaurants

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pay 7.9% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Selangor
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$1.07 MYR4.37	-45.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$7.00 MYR28.58	-18.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$7.13 MYR29.12	+3.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$1.94 MYR7.91	+14.2%
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	$0.48 MYR1.96	+11.0%
Average			+7.9%

Shanghai vs. Selangor - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.9% less for transportation

	Shanghai	Selangor
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$2.90 MYR11.82	-41.7%
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			-10.9%

Shanghai vs. Selangor - Cost of transportation

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pay 35.7% less for housing

	Shanghai	Selangor
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	$512.24 MYR2,091.59	-50.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$342.58 MYR1,398.84	-41.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$47.56 MYR194.21	+8.0%
Average			-35.7%

Shanghai vs. Selangor - Cost of housing

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pay 85.0% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Selangor
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$122.35 MYR499.58	-91.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$7,213.21 MYR29,452.98	-73.9%
Average			-85.0%

Shanghai vs. Selangor - Cost of childcare

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pay 6.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Selangor
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	$2.25 MYR9.19	-32.8%
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	$40.38 MYR164.86	-38.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$5.02 MYR20.48	-43.9%
Average			-6.6%

Shanghai vs. Selangor - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.4% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Selangor
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	$78.22 MYR319.40	+3.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$81.57 MYR333.06	-22.8%
Average			+4.4%

Shanghai vs. Selangor - 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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