Cost of living comparison

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

compared to

Santiago, Chile

Santiago vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary

Santiago is 41.5% more expensive than Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurants: pay 2.3 times more in Santiago
Groceries: pay 17.9% more in Santiago
Transportation: pay 2.1 times more in Santiago
Housing: pay 26.5% more in Santiago
Childcare: pay 13.3% more in Santiago
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.1% less in Santiago
Clothing: pay 3.0% less in Santiago

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

Santiago vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.3 times more for restaurants

	Kuala Lumpur	Santiago
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.54 MYR20.09	$12.36 CLF0.3200	+172.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.54 MYR20.09	$8.24 CLF0.2100	+81.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 MYR3.73	$1.78 CLF0.0500	+111.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 MYR2.36	$1.37 CLF0.0300	+155.8%
Average			+130.2%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Santiago - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.9% more for groceries

	Kuala Lumpur	Santiago
Bread 1 loaf	$0.95 MYR4.19	$1.48 CLF0.0400	+56.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.58 MYR33.51	$5.49 CLF0.1400	-27.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.22 MYR31.92	$4.59 CLF0.1200	-36.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.36 MYR10.42	$3.97 CLF0.1000	+68.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.94 MYR8.56	$2.88 CLF0.0700	+48.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.24 MYR5.48	$0.96 CLF0.0200	-22.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69 MYR3.06	$0.71 CLF0.0200	+3.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.25 MYR5.53	$0.91 CLF0.0200	-27.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.63 MYR2.77	$0.84 CLF0.0200	+34.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.47 MYR2.06	$0.80 CLF0.0200	+72.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 MYR2.27	$0.66 CLF0.0200	+28.2%
Average			+17.9%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Santiago - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.1 times more for transportation

	Kuala Lumpur	Santiago
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.77 MYR7.84	$5.14 CLF0.1300	+189.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.36 MYR50.23	$41.20 CLF1.0500	+262.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,478.71 MYR165,749.57	$18,540.00 CLF472.9700	-50.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.22 MYR45.20	$12.41 CLF0.3200	+21.4%
Average			+105.9%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Santiago - Cost of transportation

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pay 26.5% more for housing

	Kuala Lumpur	Santiago
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$25.27 MYR111.74	$20.87 CLF0.5300	-17.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$536.30 MYR2,371.77	$513.58 CLF13.1000	-4.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$371.69 MYR1,643.80	$439.93 CLF11.2200	+18.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$50.02 MYR221.23	$104.66 CLF2.6700	+109.2%
Average			+26.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Santiago - Cost of housing

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pay 13.3% more for childcare

	Kuala Lumpur	Santiago
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$250.80 MYR1,109.18	$387.71 CLF9.8900	+54.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,920.55 MYR39,451.14	$6,421.89 CLF163.8300	-28.0%
Average			+13.3%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Santiago - Cost of childcare

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pay 0.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Kuala Lumpur	Santiago
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.09 MYR18.08	$2.83 CLF0.0700	-30.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.92 MYR12.91	$3.09 CLF0.0800	+5.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.09 MYR18.08	$5.15 CLF0.1300	+26.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.75 MYR197.89	$33.85 CLF0.8600	-24.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.77 MYR21.10	$5.87 CLF0.1500	+23.1%
Average			-0.1%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Santiago - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 3.0% less for clothing

	Kuala Lumpur	Santiago
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.74 MYR255.35	$52.80 CLF1.3500	-8.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$35.00 MYR154.79	$31.11 CLF0.7900	-11.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.75 MYR339.44	$73.37 CLF1.8700	-4.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$73.25 MYR323.97	$82.04 CLF2.0900	+12.0%
Average			-3.0%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Santiago - 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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