Cost of living comparison

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

compared to

Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary

Bangkok is 31.6% more expensive than Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurants: pay 20.0% less in Bangkok
Groceries: pay 17.3% more in Bangkok
Transportation: pay 2.1 times more in Bangkok
Housing: pay 4.2% less in Bangkok
Childcare: pay 100.0% more in Bangkok
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.6% more in Bangkok
Clothing: pay 11.9% more in Bangkok

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

Bangkok vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 20.0% less for restaurants

	Kuala Lumpur	Bangkok
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.54 MYR20.20	$2.91 THB97.61	-35.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.54 MYR20.20	$5.83 THB195.22	+28.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 MYR3.75	$0.62 THB20.63	-27.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 MYR2.37	$0.29 THB9.78	-45.4%
Average			-20.0%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Bangkok - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.3% more for groceries

	Kuala Lumpur	Bangkok
Bread 1 loaf	$0.95 MYR4.21	$1.52 THB51.01	+60.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.58 MYR33.69	$11.74 THB393.39	+54.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.22 MYR32.09	$7.32 THB245.24	+1.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.36 MYR10.48	$2.27 THB76.14	-3.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.94 MYR8.61	$1.31 THB44.05	-32.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.24 MYR5.51	$1.47 THB49.30	+18.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69 MYR3.07	$0.73 THB24.34	+5.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.25 MYR5.56	$1.04 THB34.69	-17.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.63 MYR2.79	$0.80 THB26.96	+28.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.47 MYR2.07	$0.71 THB23.88	+52.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 MYR2.28	$0.62 THB20.86	+21.5%
Average			+17.3%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Bangkok - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.1 times more for transportation

	Kuala Lumpur	Bangkok
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.77 MYR7.88	$4.47 THB149.63	+151.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.36 MYR50.50	$39.32 THB1,317.74	+246.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,478.71 MYR166,649.06	$55,345.18 THB1,854,601.90	+47.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.22 MYR45.45	$10.34 THB346.52	+1.2%
Average			+111.7%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Bangkok - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.2% less for housing

	Kuala Lumpur	Bangkok
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$25.27 MYR112.34	$15.36 THB514.71	-39.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$536.30 MYR2,384.64	$571.31 THB19,144.28	+6.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$371.69 MYR1,652.72	$301.88 THB10,116.01	-18.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$50.02 MYR222.43	$67.33 THB2,256.24	+34.6%
Average			-4.2%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Bangkok - Cost of housing

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pay 100.0% more for childcare

	Kuala Lumpur	Bangkok
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$250.80 MYR1,115.20	$632.63 THB21,199.37	+152.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,920.55 MYR39,665.23	$13,191.37 THB442,039.11	+47.9%
Average			+100.0%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Bangkok - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Kuala Lumpur	Bangkok
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.09 MYR18.18	$2.33 THB78.09	-43.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.92 MYR12.98	$2.58 THB86.58	-11.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.09 MYR18.18	$4.20 THB140.80	+2.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.75 MYR198.97	$54.58 THB1,828.90	+22.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.77 MYR21.21	$7.28 THB244.03	+52.7%
Average			+4.6%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Bangkok - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 11.9% more for clothing

	Kuala Lumpur	Bangkok
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.74 MYR256.73	$55.27 THB1,852.02	-4.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$35.00 MYR155.63	$34.84 THB1,167.44	-0.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.75 MYR341.28	$97.10 THB3,253.66	+26.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$73.25 MYR325.72	$92.12 THB3,086.94	+25.8%
Average			+11.9%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Bangkok - 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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