Cost of living comparison

Zambia

compared to

Malaysia

Malaysia vs. Zambia Cost of Living Summary

Malaysia is 4.1% more expensive than Zambia overall.

Restaurants: pay 19.0% less in Malaysia
Groceries: pay 12.5% less in Malaysia
Transportation: pay 10.5% less in Malaysia
Housing: pay 19.8% more in Malaysia
Childcare: pay 10.1% less in Malaysia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.2% more in Malaysia
Clothing: pay 73.8% more in Malaysia

The cost of clothing, housing, and entertainment and sports in Malaysia are more expensive than in Zambia. Expenses including restaurants, groceries, transportation, and childcare 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. Zambia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Malaysia instead of Zambia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 19.0% less for restaurants

	Zambia	Malaysia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.53 ZMW110.20	$3.42 MYR13.98	-38.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.03 ZMW100.18	$4.64 MYR18.95	-7.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.63 ZMW12.52	$0.75 MYR3.07	+19.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.36 ZMW7.20	$0.42 MYR1.72	+16.7%
Average			-19.0%

Zambia vs. Malaysia - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 12.5% less for groceries

	Zambia	Malaysia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.18 ZMW23.48	$1.10 MYR4.49	-6.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.15 ZMW102.63	$6.94 MYR28.32	+34.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.37 ZMW126.88	$7.18 MYR29.31	+12.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.77 ZMW35.36	$2.09 MYR8.53	+17.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.87 ZMW57.22	$1.90 MYR7.75	-33.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.11 ZMW22.03	$1.35 MYR5.53	+22.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.10 ZMW21.94	$0.73 MYR2.97	-33.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 ZMW32.94	$1.19 MYR4.84	-28.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZMW13.88	$0.69 MYR2.83	-0.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.16 ZMW23.20	$0.57 MYR2.34	-50.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.83 ZMW16.51	$0.61 MYR2.50	-26.2%
Average			-12.5%

Zambia vs. Malaysia - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 10.5% less for transportation

	Zambia	Malaysia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.47 ZMW108.98	$2.76 MYR11.29	-49.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$50.15 ZMW999.41	$15.28 MYR62.39	-69.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$7,541.11 ZMW150K	$40,802.19 MYR167K	+441.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.58 ZMW290.52	$6.46 MYR26.37	-55.7%
Average			-10.5%

Zambia vs. Malaysia - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 19.8% more for housing

	Zambia	Malaysia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$54.99 ZMW1,095.72	$27.60 MYR112.71	-49.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$280.45 ZMW5,588.55	$363.41 MYR1,483.90	+29.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$165.11 ZMW3,290.10	$265.07 MYR1,082.35	+60.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$61.51 ZMW1,225.74	$36.69 MYR149.79	-40.4%
Average			+19.8%

Zambia vs. Malaysia - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 10.1% less for childcare

	Zambia	Malaysia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.25 ZMW2,754.96	$231.07 MYR943.51	+67.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,638.36 ZMW332K	$8,043.53 MYR32,843.35	-51.7%
Average			-10.1%

Zambia vs. Malaysia - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 10.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Zambia	Malaysia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.26 ZMW25.05	$3.61 MYR14.73	+187.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.82 ZMW56.21	$2.76 MYR11.29	-2.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.02 ZMW60.11	$4.35 MYR17.74	+44.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$54.67 ZMW1,089.46	$38.82 MYR158.52	-29.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.03 ZMW120.22	$4.73 MYR19.31	-21.6%
Average			+10.2%

Zambia vs. Malaysia - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 73.8% more for clothing

	Zambia	Malaysia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.28 ZMW463.85	$58.43 MYR238.60	+151.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.45 ZMW307.88	$30.42 MYR124.22	+96.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$45.19 ZMW900.42	$77.72 MYR317.35	+72.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.53 ZMW1,445.30	$77.79 MYR317.65	+7.3%
Average			+73.8%

Zambia 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: Zambia vs. Malaysia

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Malaysia?

Quality of Life Comparison · 25 statistics

Make 10.0 times more money in Malaysia

Size Comparison · See true size

Zambia is about 2.3 times bigger than Malaysia.

Moving from Zambia to Malaysia · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

More cost comparisons

Zambia vs.

United Kingdom

Zambia vs.

United States

Zambia vs.

Zimbabwe

Zambia vs.

Malawi

Zambia vs.

South Africa

Zambia vs.

Australia

Zambia vs.

Tanzania

Zambia vs.

Mozambique

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Lusaka 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 Zambia

Add prices for Malaysia

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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