Cost of living comparison

Asmara, Eritrea

compared to

Kuala Lumpur vs. Asmara Cost of Living Summary

Kuala Lumpur is 2.2 times more expensive than Asmara.

Restaurants: pay 53.3% less in Kuala Lumpur
Groceries: pay 31.4% more in Kuala Lumpur
Transportation: pay 0.9% less in Kuala Lumpur
Housing: pay 14.1% more in Kuala Lumpur
Childcare: pay 7.7 times more in Kuala Lumpur
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.2 times more in Kuala Lumpur
Clothing: pay 42.0% less in Kuala Lumpur

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

Kuala Lumpur vs. Asmara Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 53.3% less for restaurants

	Asmara	Kuala Lumpur
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$18.14 ERN272.04	$4.54 MYR19.34	-75.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.99 ERN89.85	$4.54 MYR19.34	-24.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.83 ERN27.50	$0.84 MYR3.59	-54.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.33 ERN20.00	$0.53 MYR2.27	-59.9%
Average			-53.3%

Asmara vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 31.4% more for groceries

	Asmara	Kuala Lumpur
Bread 1 loaf	$0.50 ERN7.50	$0.95 MYR4.03	+89.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.50 ERN22.50	$7.58 MYR32.25	+405.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.14 ERN92.11	$7.22 MYR30.72	+17.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.52 ERN67.80	$2.36 MYR10.03	-47.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$12.17 ERN182.57	$1.94 MYR8.24	-84.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$5.54 ERN83.16	$1.24 MYR5.28	-77.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 ERN8.69	$0.69 MYR2.94	+19.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.86 ERN12.85	$1.25 MYR5.32	+46.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 ERN8.32	$0.63 MYR2.67	+13.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.80 ERN11.94	$0.47 MYR1.99	-41.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.48 ERN7.26	$0.51 MYR2.18	+5.9%
Average			+31.4%

Asmara vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 0.9% less for transportation

	Asmara	Kuala Lumpur
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.83 ERN132.49	$1.77 MYR7.55	-79.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$8.00 ERN120.00	$11.36 MYR48.34	+42.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$66,666.00 ERN999,990.00	$37,478.71 MYR159,528.11	-43.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.73 ERN85.99	$10.22 MYR43.51	+78.3%
Average			-0.9%

Asmara vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 14.1% more for housing

	Asmara	Kuala Lumpur
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	$25.27 MYR107.54	-87.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$475.00 ERN7,125.00	$536.30 MYR2,282.74	+12.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$400.00 ERN6,000.00	$371.69 MYR1,582.10	-7.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$21.03 ERN315.44	$50.02 MYR212.93	+137.9%
Average			+14.1%

Asmara vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 7.7 times more for childcare

	Asmara	Kuala Lumpur
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$25.00 ERN375.00	$250.80 MYR1,067.55	+903.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,675.00 ERN25,125.00	$8,920.55 MYR37,970.33	+432.6%
Average			+667.9%

Asmara vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.2 times more for entertainment and sports

	Asmara	Kuala Lumpur
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.00 ERN15.00	$4.09 MYR17.40	+308.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$0.77 ERN11.58	$2.92 MYR12.42	+278.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.00 ERN30.00	$4.09 MYR17.40	+104.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$27.00 ERN405.00	$44.75 MYR190.47	+65.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$1.10 ERN16.50	$4.77 MYR20.30	+333.6%
Average			+218.1%

Asmara vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 42.0% less for clothing

	Asmara	Kuala Lumpur
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$82.50 ERN1,237.50	$57.74 MYR245.76	-30.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$75.00 ERN1,125.00	$35.00 MYR148.98	-53.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	$76.75 MYR326.70	-61.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$95.00 ERN1,425.00	$73.25 MYR311.80	-22.9%
Average			-42.0%

Asmara vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: June 2025

More cost comparisons

Asmara vs.

Canberra

Asmara vs.

Paris

Asmara vs.

Berlin

Asmara vs.

Delhi

Asmara vs.

Rome

Asmara vs.

London

Asmara vs.

Hong Kong

Asmara vs.

Hanoi

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Eritrea vs. Malaysia. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Eritrea and Malaysia.

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 Asmara

Add prices for Kuala Lumpur

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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