Cost of living comparison

compared to

Malaysia vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary

Malaysia is 33.4% cheaper than South Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 43.6% less in Malaysia
Groceries: pay 42.6% less in Malaysia
Transportation: pay 27.9% less in Malaysia
Housing: pay 26.4% less in Malaysia
Childcare: pay 56.8% less in Malaysia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 11.4% less in Malaysia
Clothing: pay 24.9% less in Malaysia

Expenses including childcare, restaurants, groceries, transportation, housing, and clothing are lower in Malaysia.

Malaysia vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 43.6% less for restaurants

	South Korea	Malaysia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.72 ₩9,865	$3.22 MYR13.31	-52.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.50 ₩8,068	$4.41 MYR18.24	-19.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.47 ₩2,152	$0.73 MYR3.01	-50.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 ₩1,211	$0.39 MYR1.63	-52.3%
Average			-43.6%

South Korea vs. Malaysia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 42.6% less for groceries

	South Korea	Malaysia
Bread 1 loaf	$2.87 ₩4,217	$1.02 MYR4.21	-64.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.63 ₩8,255	$7.79 MYR32.19	+38.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.67 ₩11,264	$6.67 MYR27.55	-13.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.84 ₩4,162	$1.99 MYR8.21	-29.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.34 ₩4,896	$1.93 MYR7.99	-42.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.24 ₩4,748	$1.28 MYR5.29	-60.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 ₩2,037	$0.67 MYR2.75	-52.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.80 ₩4,104	$1.29 MYR5.34	-53.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.40 ₩3,528	$0.73 MYR3.03	-69.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ₩2,616	$0.53 MYR2.20	-70.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 ₩1,767	$0.59 MYR2.42	-51.4%
Average			-42.6%

South Korea vs. Malaysia - Cost of groceries

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pay 27.9% less for transportation

	South Korea	Malaysia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.40 ₩6,458	$1.86 MYR7.67	-57.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$47.17 ₩69,233	$15.26 MYR63.08	-67.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,440.41 ₩38,804,738	$35,849.31 MYR148,147.28	+35.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.33 ₩12,228	$6.52 MYR26.93	-21.8%
Average			-27.9%

South Korea vs. Malaysia - Cost of transportation

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pay 26.4% less for housing

	South Korea	Malaysia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.68 ₩31,824	$27.18 MYR112.33	+25.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$473.91 ₩695,518	$349.73 MYR1,445.27	-26.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$357.19 ₩524,216	$247.40 MYR1,022.40	-30.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$132.53 ₩194,509	$34.37 MYR142.05	-74.1%
Average			-26.4%

South Korea vs. Malaysia - Cost of housing

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pay 56.8% less for childcare

	South Korea	Malaysia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$378.52 ₩555,533	$170.62 MYR705.09	-54.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,055.40 ₩22,095,763	$6,229.51 MYR25,743.43	-58.6%
Average			-56.8%

South Korea vs. Malaysia - Cost of childcare

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pay 11.4% less for entertainment and sports

	South Korea	Malaysia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.12 ₩4,576	$3.72 MYR15.38	+19.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.57 ₩5,236	$2.63 MYR10.85	-26.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.18 ₩4,673	$4.18 MYR17.26	+31.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.86 ₩73,176	$36.40 MYR150.42	-27.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.12 ₩14,850	$4.62 MYR19.07	-54.4%
Average			-11.4%

South Korea vs. Malaysia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 24.9% less for clothing

	South Korea	Malaysia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.46 ₩97,538	$59.37 MYR245.35	-10.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.68 ₩74,384	$29.69 MYR122.68	-41.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.74 ₩106,755	$70.68 MYR292.07	-2.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.23 ₩151,509	$56.86 MYR234.98	-44.9%
Average			-24.9%

South Korea vs. Malaysia - 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: November 2025

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