Cost of living comparison

 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
compared to
 Bucharest, Romania
Bucharest vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary

Bucharest is 53.2% more expensive than Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurants
pay 2.7 times more in Bucharest
Groceries
pay 2.2% more in Bucharest
Transportation
pay 55.4% more in Bucharest
Housing
pay 29.0% more in Bucharest
Childcare
pay 64.8% more in Bucharest
Entertainment and Sports
pay 25.2% more in Bucharest
Clothing
pay 26.4% more in Bucharest

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

Bucharest vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown

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

pay 2.7 times more for restaurants

 
Kuala Lumpur
Bucharest
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $4.54
MYR19.20
$11.85
RON52.46
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$4.54
MYR19.20
$7.54
RON33.38
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.84
MYR3.56
$2.00
RON8.84

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pay 2.2% more for groceries

 
Kuala Lumpur
Bucharest
Bread
1 loaf
$0.95
MYR4.00
$1.17
RON5.20
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.58
MYR32.03
$4.52
RON20.02
Milk (1 gallon) $7.22
MYR30.51
$6.34
RON28.07

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pay 55.4% more for transportation

 
Kuala Lumpur
Bucharest
Gasoline (1 gallon) $1.77
MYR7.50
$6.09
RON26.97
Monthly public transit pass $11.36
MYR48.01
$17.24
RON76.30
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $37,478.71
MYR158,441.23
$26,003.12
RON115,097.60

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pay 29.0% more for housing

 
Kuala Lumpur
Bucharest
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$25.27
MYR106.81
$9.35
RON41.41
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $536.30
MYR2,267.19
$601.94
RON2,664.35
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $371.69
MYR1,571.32
$397.23
RON1,758.26

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pay 64.8% more for childcare

 
Kuala Lumpur
Bucharest
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $250.80
MYR1,060.28
$527.95
RON2,336.87
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $8,920.55
MYR37,711.63
$10,631.65
RON47,058.87

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pay 25.2% more for entertainment and sports

 
Kuala Lumpur
Bucharest
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $4.09
MYR17.28
$3.23
RON14.31
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.92
MYR12.34
$3.17
RON14.02
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$4.09
MYR17.28
$5.98
RON26.47

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pay 26.4% more for clothing

 
Kuala Lumpur
Bucharest
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$57.74
MYR244.09
$78.42
RON347.09
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$35.00
MYR147.97
$39.68
RON175.62
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$76.75
MYR324.47
$85.94
RON380.41

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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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