Cost of living comparison

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

compared to

San Salvador, El Salvador

San Salvador vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary

San Salvador is 37.9% more expensive than Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurants: pay 68.5% more in San Salvador
Groceries: pay 41.7% more in San Salvador
Transportation: pay 98.5% more in San Salvador
Housing: pay 65.6% more in San Salvador
Childcare: pay 35.9% less in San Salvador
Entertainment and Sports: pay 11.7% less in San Salvador
Clothing: pay 38.9% more in San Salvador

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

San Salvador vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Salvador instead of Kuala Lumpur, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 68.5% more for restaurants

	Kuala Lumpur	San Salvador
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.54 MYR20.16	$10.00 SVC87.50	+120.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.54 MYR20.16	$7.00 SVC61.25	+54.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 MYR3.74	$1.09 SVC9.52	+29.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 MYR2.37	$0.91 SVC7.98	+70.9%
Average			+68.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. San Salvador - Cost of restaurants

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pay 41.7% more for groceries

	Kuala Lumpur	San Salvador
Bread 1 loaf	$0.95 MYR4.20	$2.12 SVC18.55	+123.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.58 MYR33.62	$3.24 SVC28.32	-57.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.22 MYR32.02	$7.39 SVC64.62	+2.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.36 MYR10.46	$3.04 SVC26.56	+28.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.94 MYR8.59	$2.78 SVC24.29	+43.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.24 MYR5.50	$1.44 SVC12.62	+16.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69 MYR3.07	$0.77 SVC6.72	+11.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.25 MYR5.55	$1.17 SVC10.20	-6.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.63 MYR2.78	$1.22 SVC10.64	+94.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.47 MYR2.07	$0.99 SVC8.69	+112.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 MYR2.27	$0.98 SVC8.53	+90.3%
Average			+41.7%

Kuala Lumpur vs. San Salvador - Cost of groceries

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pay 98.5% more for transportation

	Kuala Lumpur	San Salvador
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.77 MYR7.87	$3.97 SVC34.76	+124.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.36 MYR50.39	$20.00 SVC175.00	+76.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,478.71 MYR166,293.02	$25,000.00 SVC218,745.48	-33.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.22 MYR45.35	$33.43 SVC292.48	+227.0%
Average			+98.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. San Salvador - Cost of transportation

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pay 65.6% more for housing

	Kuala Lumpur	San Salvador
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$25.27 MYR112.10	$42.14 SVC368.74	+66.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$536.30 MYR2,379.54	$858.33 SVC7,510.26	+60.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$371.69 MYR1,649.19	$641.67 SVC5,614.47	+72.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$50.02 MYR221.95	$81.52 SVC713.28	+63.0%
Average			+65.6%

Kuala Lumpur vs. San Salvador - Cost of housing

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pay 35.9% less for childcare

	Kuala Lumpur	San Salvador
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$250.80 MYR1,112.82	$160.29 SVC1,402.47	-36.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,920.55 MYR39,580.49	$5,740.67 SVC50,229.79	-35.6%
Average			-35.9%

Kuala Lumpur vs. San Salvador - Cost of childcare

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pay 11.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Kuala Lumpur	San Salvador
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.09 MYR18.14	$2.00 SVC17.50	-51.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.92 MYR12.95	$3.24 SVC28.33	+11.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.09 MYR18.14	$4.00 SVC35.00	-2.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.75 MYR198.54	$30.67 SVC268.33	-31.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.77 MYR21.16	$5.50 SVC48.12	+15.3%
Average			-11.7%

Kuala Lumpur vs. San Salvador - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 38.9% more for clothing

	Kuala Lumpur	San Salvador
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.74 MYR256.18	$72.14 SVC631.24	+24.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$35.00 MYR155.30	$47.86 SVC418.74	+36.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.75 MYR340.55	$112.14 SVC981.23	+46.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$73.25 MYR325.03	$108.33 SVC947.90	+47.9%
Average			+38.9%

Kuala Lumpur vs. San Salvador - 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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