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 NPR201.78	$4.54 MYR19.20	+208.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.36 NPR1,007.91	$4.54 MYR19.20	-38.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.46 NPR62.48	$0.84 MYR3.56	+84.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.16 NPR22.15	$0.53 MYR2.26	+230.3%
Average			+121.4%

Kathmandu vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 73.9% more for groceries

	Kathmandu	Kuala Lumpur
Bread 1 loaf	$0.57 NPR77.52	$0.95 MYR4.00	+67.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.70 NPR643.25	$7.58 MYR32.03	+61.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.17 NPR434.62	$7.22 MYR30.51	+127.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.62 NPR222.54	$2.36 MYR9.96	+45.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 NPR202.50	$1.94 MYR8.18	+30.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 NPR148.96	$1.24 MYR5.24	+14.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 NPR64.47	$0.69 MYR2.92	+46.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.52 NPR71.55	$1.25 MYR5.29	+139.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 NPR44.86	$0.63 MYR2.65	+91.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.22 NPR29.78	$0.47 MYR1.97	+114.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.29 NPR40.12	$0.51 MYR2.17	+75.0%
Average			+73.9%

Kathmandu vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 10.9% less for transportation

	Kathmandu	Kuala Lumpur
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.85 NPR664.82	$1.77 MYR7.50	-63.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$9.94 NPR1,362.04	$11.36 MYR48.01	+14.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,138.99 NPR4,540,133.87	$37,478.71 MYR158,441.23	+13.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.05 NPR1,513.38	$10.22 MYR43.21	-7.5%
Average			-10.9%

Kathmandu vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.7 times more for housing

	Kathmandu	Kuala Lumpur
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.42 NPR1,428.01	$25.27 MYR106.81	+142.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$191.60 NPR26,250.38	$536.30 MYR2,267.19	+179.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$102.03 NPR13,977.73	$371.69 MYR1,571.32	+264.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$26.40 NPR3,616.53	$50.02 MYR211.47	+89.5%
Average			+169.0%

Kathmandu vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.6 times more for childcare

	Kathmandu	Kuala Lumpur
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$91.89 NPR12,588.55	$250.80 MYR1,060.28	+173.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,479.59 NPR476,714.06	$8,920.55 MYR37,711.63	+156.4%
Average			+164.7%

Kathmandu vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 62.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Kathmandu	Kuala Lumpur
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.58 NPR353.12	$4.09 MYR17.28	+58.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.66 NPR227.39	$2.92 MYR12.34	+75.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.95 NPR403.57	$4.09 MYR17.28	+38.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$22.71 NPR3,110.83	$44.75 MYR189.17	+97.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.31 NPR454.01	$4.77 MYR20.17	+43.9%
Average			+62.8%

Kathmandu vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 72.7% more for clothing

	Kathmandu	Kuala Lumpur
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$24.02 NPR3,290.63	$57.74 MYR244.09	+140.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.19 NPR4,273.07	$35.00 MYR147.97	+12.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$53.29 NPR7,301.38	$76.75 MYR324.47	+44.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$37.76 NPR5,173.00	$73.25 MYR309.68	+94.0%
Average			+72.7%

Kathmandu 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

Kathmandu vs.

Lima

Kathmandu vs.

Mexico City

Kathmandu vs.

Phnom Penh

Kathmandu vs.

Singapore

Kathmandu vs.

Bangkok

Kathmandu vs.

Ankara

Kathmandu vs.

Madrid

Kathmandu vs.

Cairo

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

Add prices for Kuala Lumpur

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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

Ask a question about Kathmandu

Ask a question about Kuala Lumpur