Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

Malaysia

Malaysia vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Malaysia is 21.2% cheaper than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 49.4% less in Malaysia
Groceries: pay 11.8% more in Malaysia
Transportation: pay 42.2% less in Malaysia
Housing: pay 30.8% less in Malaysia
Childcare: pay 37.6% more in Malaysia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 11.6% more in Malaysia
Clothing: pay 8.8% less in Malaysia

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

Planning a move to Malaysia? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Malaysia vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Malaysia instead of South Africa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 49.4% less for restaurants

	South Africa	Malaysia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.21 ZAR168.45	$3.42 MYR13.98	-66.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.91 ZAR97.49	$4.64 MYR18.95	-21.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.08 ZAR17.88	$0.75 MYR3.07	-30.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 ZAR13.78	$0.42 MYR1.72	-49.5%
Average			-49.4%

South Africa vs. Malaysia - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 11.8% more for groceries

	South Africa	Malaysia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 ZAR17.59	$1.10 MYR4.49	+3.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.08 ZAR67.33	$6.94 MYR28.32	+69.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.58 ZAR75.49	$7.18 MYR29.31	+56.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.56 ZAR42.28	$2.09 MYR8.53	-18.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.31 ZAR38.16	$1.90 MYR7.75	-17.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.81 ZAR13.40	$1.35 MYR5.53	+66.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.74 ZAR12.13	$0.73 MYR2.97	-1.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.79 ZAR12.95	$1.19 MYR4.84	+51.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 ZAR12.71	$0.69 MYR2.83	-9.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 ZAR10.62	$0.57 MYR2.34	-11.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.66 ZAR10.85	$0.61 MYR2.50	-7.1%
Average			+11.8%

South Africa vs. Malaysia - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 42.2% less for transportation

	South Africa	Malaysia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.49 ZAR90.53	$2.76 MYR11.29	-49.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$65.15 ZAR1,074.55	$15.28 MYR62.39	-76.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,517.32 ZAR536K	$40,802.19 MYR167K	+25.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.35 ZAR121.20	$6.46 MYR26.37	-12.1%
Average			-42.2%

South Africa vs. Malaysia - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 30.8% less for housing

	South Africa	Malaysia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$38.93 ZAR642.17	$27.60 MYR112.71	-29.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$421.37 ZAR6,950.09	$363.41 MYR1,483.90	-13.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$369.24 ZAR6,090.32	$265.07 MYR1,082.35	-28.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$105.57 ZAR1,741.24	$36.69 MYR149.79	-65.2%
Average			-30.8%

South Africa vs. Malaysia - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 37.6% more for childcare

	South Africa	Malaysia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$199.53 ZAR3,291.11	$231.07 MYR943.51	+15.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,917.78 ZAR81,113.80	$8,043.53 MYR32,843.35	+63.6%
Average			+37.6%

South Africa vs. Malaysia - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 11.6% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Malaysia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 ZAR37.13	$3.61 MYR14.73	+60.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.25 ZAR37.18	$2.76 MYR11.29	+22.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.16 ZAR52.13	$4.35 MYR17.74	+37.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.59 ZAR521.05	$38.82 MYR158.52	+22.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.32 ZAR120.70	$4.73 MYR19.31	-35.4%
Average			+11.6%

South Africa vs. Malaysia - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 8.8% less for clothing

	South Africa	Malaysia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.66 ZAR868.55	$58.43 MYR238.60	+11.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.13 ZAR562.92	$30.42 MYR124.22	-10.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.75 ZAR1,645.29	$77.72 MYR317.35	-22.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$86.61 ZAR1,428.49	$77.79 MYR317.65	-10.2%
Average			-8.8%

South Africa vs. Malaysia - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: South Africa vs. Malaysia

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Malaysia?

Quality of Life Comparison · 24 statistics

Make 98.9% more money in Malaysia

Size Comparison · See true size

South Africa is about 3.7 times bigger than Malaysia.

Moving from South Africa to Malaysia · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

City Size Comparison · See true size

Compare the size of Johannesburg vs Kuala Lumpur

More cost comparisons

South Africa vs.

Malawi

South Africa vs.

United Kingdom

South Africa vs.

Turkey

South Africa vs.

South Korea

South Africa vs.

India

South Africa vs.

Japan

South Africa vs.

Thailand

South Africa vs.

United States

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Pretoria vs. Kuala Lumpur

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for South Africa

Add prices for Malaysia

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Malaysia or South Africa. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.