Cost of living comparison

Gaborone, Botswana

compared to

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur vs. Gaborone Cost of Living Summary

Kuala Lumpur is 23.2% more expensive than Gaborone.

Restaurants: pay 13.2% less in Kuala Lumpur
Groceries: pay 23.1% more in Kuala Lumpur
Transportation: pay 24.8% less in Kuala Lumpur
Housing: pay 47.0% more in Kuala Lumpur
Childcare: pay 88.8% more in Kuala Lumpur
Entertainment and Sports: pay 24.8% more in Kuala Lumpur
Clothing: pay 17.0% more in Kuala Lumpur

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

Kuala Lumpur vs. Gaborone Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 13.2% less for restaurants

	Gaborone	Kuala Lumpur
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.50 BWP102.39	$4.54 MYR20.14	-39.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.00 BWP81.91	$4.54 MYR20.14	-24.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.83 BWP11.37	$0.84 MYR3.74	+1.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 BWP6.67	$0.53 MYR2.37	+9.4%
Average			-13.2%

Gaborone vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of restaurants

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pay 23.1% more for groceries

	Gaborone	Kuala Lumpur
Bread 1 loaf	$0.81 BWP11.10	$0.95 MYR4.20	+16.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.37 BWP46.01	$7.58 MYR33.59	+125.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.06 BWP69.13	$7.22 MYR32.00	+42.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.29 BWP31.29	$2.36 MYR10.45	+2.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.27 BWP31.06	$1.94 MYR8.58	-14.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.77 BWP10.57	$1.24 MYR5.49	+60.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 BWP8.46	$0.69 MYR3.06	+11.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.88 BWP12.07	$1.25 MYR5.55	+41.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.65 BWP8.82	$0.63 MYR2.78	-2.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 BWP8.16	$0.47 MYR2.07	-21.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.55 BWP7.48	$0.51 MYR2.27	-6.4%
Average			+23.1%

Gaborone vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of groceries

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pay 24.8% less for transportation

	Gaborone	Kuala Lumpur
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.27 BWP58.37	$1.77 MYR7.86	-58.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$28.18 BWP385.00	$11.36 MYR50.35	-59.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,486.26 BWP307,179.73	$37,478.71 MYR166,161.84	+66.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$19.49 BWP266.22	$10.22 MYR45.32	-47.6%
Average			-24.8%

Gaborone vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of transportation

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pay 47.0% more for housing

	Gaborone	Kuala Lumpur
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$90.60 BWP1,237.68	$25.27 MYR112.01	-72.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$254.84 BWP3,481.37	$536.30 MYR2,377.67	+110.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$149.91 BWP2,047.86	$371.69 MYR1,647.89	+147.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$49.21 BWP672.27	$50.02 MYR221.78	+1.7%
Average			+47.0%

Gaborone vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of housing

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pay 88.8% more for childcare

	Gaborone	Kuala Lumpur
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$180.24 BWP2,462.24	$250.80 MYR1,111.94	+39.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,740.68 BWP51,100.63	$8,920.55 MYR39,549.26	+138.5%
Average			+88.8%

Gaborone vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of childcare

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pay 24.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Gaborone	Kuala Lumpur
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 BWP30.72	$4.09 MYR18.13	+81.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.37 BWP32.37	$2.92 MYR12.94	+23.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.75 BWP51.20	$4.09 MYR18.13	+9.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$32.19 BWP439.72	$44.75 MYR198.39	+39.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.75 BWP92.15	$4.77 MYR21.15	-29.3%
Average			+24.8%

Gaborone vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 17.0% more for clothing

	Gaborone	Kuala Lumpur
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$44.14 BWP602.98	$57.74 MYR255.98	+30.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$22.17 BWP302.79	$35.00 MYR155.18	+57.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.20 BWP1,041.00	$76.75 MYR340.28	+0.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$93.16 BWP1,272.60	$73.25 MYR324.77	-21.4%
Average			+17.0%

Gaborone 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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