Cost of living comparison

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

compared to

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Riyadh vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary

Riyadh is 54.3% more expensive than Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurants: pay 26.6% more in Riyadh
Groceries: pay 10.8% more in Riyadh
Transportation: pay 77.7% more in Riyadh
Housing: pay 2.2 times more in Riyadh
Childcare: pay 30.0% more in Riyadh
Entertainment and Sports: pay 88.1% more in Riyadh
Clothing: pay 27.2% more in Riyadh

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

Riyadh vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 26.6% more for restaurants

	Kuala Lumpur	Riyadh
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.54 MYR19.29	$8.39 SAR31.48	+84.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.54 MYR19.29	$7.99 SAR29.98	+75.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 MYR3.58	$0.76 SAR2.86	-9.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 MYR2.27	$0.30 SAR1.12	-44.3%
Average			+26.6%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Riyadh - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.8% more for groceries

	Kuala Lumpur	Riyadh
Bread 1 loaf	$0.95 MYR4.02	$1.24 SAR4.65	+30.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.58 MYR32.17	$3.91 SAR14.68	-48.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.22 MYR30.65	$6.64 SAR24.94	-8.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.36 MYR10.01	$2.63 SAR9.89	+11.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.94 MYR8.22	$3.80 SAR14.26	+96.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.24 MYR5.26	$1.03 SAR3.88	-16.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69 MYR2.93	$0.78 SAR2.95	+13.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.25 MYR5.31	$0.82 SAR3.07	-34.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.63 MYR2.66	$0.76 SAR2.84	+20.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.47 MYR1.98	$0.60 SAR2.25	+28.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 MYR2.18	$0.64 SAR2.41	+25.5%
Average			+10.8%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Riyadh - Cost of groceries

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pay 77.7% more for transportation

	Kuala Lumpur	Riyadh
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.77 MYR7.53	$2.31 SAR8.68	+30.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.36 MYR48.22	$37.27 SAR139.91	+228.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,478.71 MYR159,134.58	$33,280.09 SAR124,919.43	-11.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.22 MYR43.40	$16.70 SAR62.67	+63.3%
Average			+77.7%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Riyadh - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.2 times more for housing

	Kuala Lumpur	Riyadh
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$25.27 MYR107.28	$74.70 SAR280.38	+195.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$536.30 MYR2,277.11	$1,116.87 SAR4,192.26	+108.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$371.69 MYR1,578.19	$782.38 SAR2,936.74	+110.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$50.02 MYR212.40	$81.80 SAR307.05	+63.5%
Average			+119.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Riyadh - Cost of housing

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pay 30.0% more for childcare

	Kuala Lumpur	Riyadh
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$250.80 MYR1,064.92	$360.22 SAR1,352.11	+43.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,920.55 MYR37,876.66	$10,375.93 SAR38,946.88	+16.3%
Average			+30.0%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Riyadh - Cost of childcare

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pay 88.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Kuala Lumpur	Riyadh
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.09 MYR17.36	$2.13 SAR7.99	-47.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.92 MYR12.39	$4.25 SAR15.95	+45.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.09 MYR17.36	$7.45 SAR27.98	+82.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.75 MYR190.00	$101.01 SAR379.16	+125.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.77 MYR20.25	$15.97 SAR59.96	+234.9%
Average			+88.1%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Riyadh - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 27.2% more for clothing

	Kuala Lumpur	Riyadh
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.74 MYR245.16	$52.20 SAR195.95	-9.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$35.00 MYR148.61	$54.44 SAR204.34	+55.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.75 MYR325.89	$107.53 SAR403.62	+40.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$73.25 MYR311.04	$89.80 SAR337.06	+22.6%
Average			+27.2%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Riyadh - 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: June 2025

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