Cost of living comparison

Kigali, Rwanda

compared to

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur vs. Kigali Cost of Living Summary

Kuala Lumpur is 51.6% more expensive than Kigali.

Restaurants: pay 5.1% more in Kuala Lumpur
Groceries: pay 63.0% more in Kuala Lumpur
Transportation: pay 12.5% less in Kuala Lumpur
Housing: pay 27.3% more in Kuala Lumpur
Childcare: pay 30.4% more in Kuala Lumpur
Entertainment and Sports: pay 90.6% more in Kuala Lumpur
Clothing: pay 2.6 times more in Kuala Lumpur

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

Kuala Lumpur vs. Kigali Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 5.1% more for restaurants

	Kigali	Kuala Lumpur
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.26 RWF4,694	$4.54 MYR20.09	+39.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.16 RWF8,866	$4.54 MYR20.09	-26.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 RWF1,286	$0.84 MYR3.73	-5.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 RWF678	$0.53 MYR2.36	+13.3%
Average			+5.1%

Kigali vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 63.0% more for groceries

	Kigali	Kuala Lumpur
Bread 1 loaf	$1.01 RWF1,451	$0.95 MYR4.19	-6.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.26 RWF3,248	$7.58 MYR33.51	+235.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.66 RWF3,821	$7.22 MYR31.92	+171.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.67 RWF2,399	$2.36 MYR10.42	+41.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.19 RWF3,154	$1.94 MYR8.56	-11.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.38 RWF1,981	$1.24 MYR5.48	-10.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.52 RWF750	$0.69 MYR3.06	+32.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.86 RWF1,235	$1.25 MYR5.53	+45.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 RWF695	$0.63 MYR2.77	+29.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.22 RWF323	$0.47 MYR2.06	+107.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.33 RWF468	$0.51 MYR2.27	+57.6%
Average			+63.0%

Kigali vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 12.5% less for transportation

	Kigali	Kuala Lumpur
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.48 RWF6,443	$1.77 MYR7.84	-60.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$24.66 RWF35,465	$11.36 MYR50.23	-53.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,668.41 RWF29,727,745	$37,478.71 MYR165,749.57	+81.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.33 RWF17,732	$10.22 MYR45.20	-17.1%
Average			-12.5%

Kigali vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 27.3% more for housing

	Kigali	Kuala Lumpur
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$26.20 RWF37,681	$25.27 MYR111.74	-3.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$489.52 RWF704,078	$536.30 MYR2,371.77	+9.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$271.95 RWF391,155	$371.69 MYR1,643.80	+36.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$30.04 RWF43,206	$50.02 MYR221.23	+66.5%
Average			+27.3%

Kigali vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 30.4% more for childcare

	Kigali	Kuala Lumpur
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$149.39 RWF214,874	$250.80 MYR1,109.18	+67.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,609.00 RWF13,820,794	$8,920.55 MYR39,451.14	-7.2%
Average			+30.4%

Kigali vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 90.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Kigali	Kuala Lumpur
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.09 RWF1,565	$4.09 MYR18.08	+275.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.22 RWF3,187	$2.92 MYR12.91	+31.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.36 RWF3,390	$4.09 MYR18.08	+73.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.83 RWF45,780	$44.75 MYR197.89	+40.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.63 RWF5,215	$4.77 MYR21.10	+31.5%
Average			+90.6%

Kigali vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.6 times more for clothing

	Kigali	Kuala Lumpur
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$16.68 RWF23,991	$57.74 MYR255.35	+246.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$21.76 RWF31,292	$35.00 MYR154.79	+60.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$26.59 RWF38,246	$76.75 MYR339.44	+188.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$31.43 RWF45,200	$73.25 MYR323.97	+133.1%
Average			+157.2%

Kigali 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: April 2025

More cost comparisons

Kigali vs.

Mexico City

Kigali vs.

Vienna

Kigali vs.

Hong Kong

Kigali vs.

Ottawa

Kigali vs.

Phnom Penh

Kigali vs.

Hanoi

Kigali vs.

Nairobi

Kigali vs.

Moscow

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

Add prices for Kuala Lumpur

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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