Cost of living comparison

Beijing, China

compared to

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Kuala Lumpur is 5.6% more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 33.3% more in Kuala Lumpur
Groceries: pay 13.5% more in Kuala Lumpur
Transportation: pay 19.2% more in Kuala Lumpur
Housing: pay 10.6% more in Kuala Lumpur
Childcare: pay 64.2% less in Kuala Lumpur
Entertainment and Sports: pay 38.3% more in Kuala Lumpur
Clothing: pay 11.7% less in Kuala Lumpur

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

Kuala Lumpur vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 33.3% more for restaurants

	Beijing	Kuala Lumpur
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.17 CN¥30.26	$4.54 MYR20.09	+8.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.57 CN¥40.35	$4.54 MYR20.09	-18.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 CN¥3.60	$0.84 MYR3.73	+70.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.24	$0.53 MYR2.36	+72.8%
Average			+33.3%

Beijing vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of restaurants

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pay 13.5% more for groceries

	Beijing	Kuala Lumpur
Bread 1 loaf	$1.43 CN¥10.40	$0.95 MYR4.19	-34.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.31 CN¥52.97	$7.58 MYR33.51	+3.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.17 CN¥51.98	$7.22 MYR31.92	+0.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.74 CN¥12.60	$2.36 MYR10.42	+35.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥11.10	$1.94 MYR8.56	+26.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.92 CN¥6.65	$1.24 MYR5.48	+35.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.71 CN¥5.16	$0.69 MYR3.06	-2.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.89 CN¥6.43	$1.25 MYR5.53	+41.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 CN¥4.22	$0.63 MYR2.77	+7.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.37 CN¥2.67	$0.47 MYR2.06	+26.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.47 CN¥3.41	$0.51 MYR2.27	+8.8%
Average			+13.5%

Beijing vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of groceries

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pay 19.2% more for transportation

	Beijing	Kuala Lumpur
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.36 CN¥31.61	$1.77 MYR7.84	-59.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$33.40 CN¥242.09	$11.36 MYR50.23	-66.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,872.18 CN¥151,307.64	$37,478.71 MYR165,768.31	+79.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.59 CN¥33.29	$10.22 MYR45.21	+122.6%
Average			+19.2%

Beijing vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of transportation

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pay 10.6% more for housing

	Beijing	Kuala Lumpur
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$13.28 CN¥96.30	$25.27 MYR111.75	+90.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$929.88 CN¥6,740.92	$536.30 MYR2,372.04	-42.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$492.44 CN¥3,569.84	$371.69 MYR1,643.98	-24.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$42.04 CN¥304.76	$50.02 MYR221.25	+19.0%
Average			+10.6%

Beijing vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of housing

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pay 64.2% less for childcare

	Beijing	Kuala Lumpur
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$763.49 CN¥5,534.76	$250.80 MYR1,109.31	-67.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$22,913.01 CN¥166,102.17	$8,920.55 MYR39,455.60	-61.1%
Average			-64.2%

Beijing vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of childcare

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pay 38.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Kuala Lumpur
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.11 CN¥8.07	$4.09 MYR18.08	+267.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.60 CN¥26.12	$2.92 MYR12.91	-19.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.48 CN¥25.22	$4.09 MYR18.08	+17.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.46 CN¥474.51	$44.75 MYR197.92	-31.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.35 CN¥60.52	$4.77 MYR21.10	-42.9%
Average			+38.3%

Beijing vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 11.7% less for clothing

	Beijing	Kuala Lumpur
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.65 CN¥454.20	$57.74 MYR255.38	-7.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.69 CN¥251.45	$35.00 MYR154.81	+0.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.45 CN¥604.97	$76.75 MYR339.48	-8.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$107.64 CN¥780.28	$73.25 MYR324.00	-31.9%
Average			-11.7%

Beijing vs. Kuala Lumpur - 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: March 2025

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