Cost of living comparison

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

compared to

Gaborone, Botswana

Gaborone vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary

Gaborone is 9.8% more expensive than Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurants: pay 21.8% more in Gaborone
Groceries: pay 11.3% less in Gaborone
Transportation: pay 85.0% more in Gaborone
Housing: pay 36.2% more in Gaborone
Childcare: pay 43.1% less in Gaborone
Entertainment and Sports: pay 11.8% less in Gaborone
Clothing: pay 8.5% less in Gaborone

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

Gaborone vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 21.8% more for restaurants

	Kuala Lumpur	Gaborone
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.54 MYR20.09	$7.50 BWP104.32	+65.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.54 MYR20.09	$6.00 BWP83.46	+32.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 MYR3.73	$0.83 BWP11.59	-1.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 MYR2.36	$0.49 BWP6.79	-8.6%
Average			+21.8%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Gaborone - Cost of restaurants

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pay 11.3% less for groceries

	Kuala Lumpur	Gaborone
Bread 1 loaf	$0.95 MYR4.19	$0.81 BWP11.31	-14.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.58 MYR33.51	$3.37 BWP46.88	-55.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.22 MYR31.92	$5.06 BWP70.43	-29.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.36 MYR10.42	$2.29 BWP31.88	-2.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.94 MYR8.56	$2.27 BWP31.64	+17.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.24 MYR5.48	$0.77 BWP10.77	-37.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69 MYR3.06	$0.62 BWP8.62	-10.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.25 MYR5.53	$0.88 BWP12.30	-29.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.63 MYR2.77	$0.65 BWP8.98	+3.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.47 MYR2.06	$0.60 BWP8.31	+28.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 MYR2.27	$0.55 BWP7.62	+6.9%
Average			-11.3%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Gaborone - Cost of groceries

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pay 85.0% more for transportation

	Kuala Lumpur	Gaborone
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.77 MYR7.84	$4.27 BWP59.47	+141.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.36 MYR50.23	$28.18 BWP392.26	+148.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,478.71 MYR165,749.57	$22,486.26 BWP312,972.80	-40.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.22 MYR45.20	$19.49 BWP271.24	+90.7%
Average			+85.0%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Gaborone - Cost of transportation

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pay 36.2% more for housing

	Kuala Lumpur	Gaborone
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$25.27 MYR111.74	$90.60 BWP1,261.02	+258.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$536.30 MYR2,371.77	$254.84 BWP3,547.03	-52.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$371.69 MYR1,643.80	$149.91 BWP2,086.49	-59.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$50.02 MYR221.23	$49.21 BWP684.95	-1.6%
Average			+36.2%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Gaborone - Cost of housing

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pay 43.1% less for childcare

	Kuala Lumpur	Gaborone
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$250.80 MYR1,109.18	$180.24 BWP2,508.67	-28.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,920.55 MYR39,451.14	$3,740.68 BWP52,064.33	-58.1%
Average			-43.1%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Gaborone - Cost of childcare

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pay 11.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Kuala Lumpur	Gaborone
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.09 MYR18.08	$2.25 BWP31.30	-45.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.92 MYR12.91	$2.37 BWP32.98	-18.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.09 MYR18.08	$3.75 BWP52.16	-8.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.75 MYR197.89	$32.19 BWP448.01	-28.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.77 MYR21.10	$6.75 BWP93.89	+41.4%
Average			-11.8%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Gaborone - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 8.5% less for clothing

	Kuala Lumpur	Gaborone
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.74 MYR255.35	$44.14 BWP614.35	-23.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$35.00 MYR154.79	$22.17 BWP308.50	-36.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.75 MYR339.44	$76.20 BWP1,060.63	-0.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$73.25 MYR323.97	$93.16 BWP1,296.60	+27.2%
Average			-8.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Gaborone - 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: April 2025

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