Cost of living comparison

Kathmandu, Nepal

compared to

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur vs. Kathmandu Cost of Living Summary

Kuala Lumpur is 93.4% more expensive than Kathmandu.

Restaurants: pay 2.2 times more in Kuala Lumpur
Groceries: pay 73.9% more in Kuala Lumpur
Transportation: pay 10.9% less in Kuala Lumpur
Housing: pay 2.7 times more in Kuala Lumpur
Childcare: pay 2.6 times more in Kuala Lumpur
Entertainment and Sports: pay 62.8% more in Kuala Lumpur
Clothing: pay 72.7% more in Kuala Lumpur

The cost of housing, childcare, restaurants, groceries, clothing, and entertainment and sports in Kuala Lumpur are more expensive than in Kathmandu. Notably, housing, childcare, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Lumpur vs. Kathmandu Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.2 times more for restaurants

	Kathmandu	Kuala Lumpur
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.47 NPR204.12	$4.54 MYR19.32	+208.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.36 NPR1,019.60	$4.54 MYR19.32	-38.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.46 NPR63.20	$0.84 MYR3.59	+84.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.16 NPR22.41	$0.53 MYR2.27	+230.3%
Average			+121.4%

Kathmandu vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of restaurants

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pay 73.9% more for groceries

	Kathmandu	Kuala Lumpur
Bread 1 loaf	$0.57 NPR78.42	$0.95 MYR4.03	+67.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.70 NPR650.71	$7.58 MYR32.22	+61.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.17 NPR439.66	$7.22 MYR30.69	+127.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.62 NPR225.12	$2.36 MYR10.02	+45.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 NPR204.85	$1.94 MYR8.23	+30.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 NPR150.69	$1.24 MYR5.27	+14.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 NPR65.22	$0.69 MYR2.94	+46.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.52 NPR72.38	$1.25 MYR5.32	+139.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 NPR45.39	$0.63 MYR2.66	+91.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.22 NPR30.13	$0.47 MYR1.98	+114.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.29 NPR40.59	$0.51 MYR2.18	+75.0%
Average			+73.9%

Kathmandu vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.9% less for transportation

	Kathmandu	Kuala Lumpur
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.85 NPR672.53	$1.77 MYR7.54	-63.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$9.94 NPR1,377.84	$11.36 MYR48.30	+14.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,138.99 NPR4,592,797.10	$37,478.71 MYR159,378.19	+13.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.05 NPR1,530.93	$10.22 MYR43.47	-7.5%
Average			-10.9%

Kathmandu vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.7 times more for housing

	Kathmandu	Kuala Lumpur
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.42 NPR1,444.57	$25.27 MYR107.44	+142.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$191.60 NPR26,554.87	$536.30 MYR2,280.60	+179.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$102.03 NPR14,139.86	$371.69 MYR1,580.61	+264.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$26.40 NPR3,658.48	$50.02 MYR212.73	+89.5%
Average			+169.0%

Kathmandu vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of housing

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pay 2.6 times more for childcare

	Kathmandu	Kuala Lumpur
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$91.89 NPR12,734.57	$250.80 MYR1,066.55	+173.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,479.59 NPR482,243.70	$8,920.55 MYR37,934.64	+156.4%
Average			+164.7%

Kathmandu vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of childcare

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pay 62.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Kathmandu	Kuala Lumpur
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.58 NPR357.22	$4.09 MYR17.39	+58.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.66 NPR230.03	$2.92 MYR12.41	+75.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.95 NPR408.25	$4.09 MYR17.39	+38.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$22.71 NPR3,146.92	$44.75 MYR190.29	+97.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.31 NPR459.28	$4.77 MYR20.28	+43.9%
Average			+62.8%

Kathmandu vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 72.7% more for clothing

	Kathmandu	Kuala Lumpur
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$24.02 NPR3,328.80	$57.74 MYR245.53	+140.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.19 NPR4,322.63	$35.00 MYR148.84	+12.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$53.29 NPR7,386.08	$76.75 MYR326.39	+44.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$37.76 NPR5,233.01	$73.25 MYR311.51	+94.0%
Average			+72.7%

Kathmandu 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: June 2025

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