Cost of living comparison

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

compared to

Taipei, Taiwan

Taipei vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary

Taipei is 48.5% more expensive than Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurants: pay 23.2% more in Taipei
Groceries: pay 77.6% more in Taipei
Transportation: pay 78.3% more in Taipei
Housing: pay 16.3% more in Taipei
Childcare: pay 2.2 times more in Taipei
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.5% more in Taipei
Clothing: pay 9.6% more in Taipei

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

Taipei vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 23.2% more for restaurants

	Kuala Lumpur	Taipei
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.54 MYR20.09	$6.18 NT$203.99	+36.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.54 MYR20.09	$5.01 NT$165.23	+10.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 MYR3.73	$1.00 NT$33.13	+19.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 MYR2.36	$0.68 NT$22.41	+27.2%
Average			+23.2%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Taipei - Cost of restaurants

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pay 77.6% more for groceries

	Kuala Lumpur	Taipei
Bread 1 loaf	$0.95 MYR4.19	$1.86 NT$61.32	+96.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.58 MYR33.51	$8.37 NT$276.29	+10.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.22 MYR31.92	$10.77 NT$355.33	+49.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.36 MYR10.42	$2.72 NT$89.65	+15.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.94 MYR8.56	$4.37 NT$144.04	+125.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.24 MYR5.48	$2.06 NT$68.03	+66.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69 MYR3.06	$1.01 NT$33.42	+46.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.25 MYR5.53	$1.25 NT$41.13	-0.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.63 MYR2.77	$1.56 NT$51.30	+148.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.47 MYR2.06	$1.30 NT$42.86	+178.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 MYR2.27	$1.11 NT$36.62	+116.6%
Average			+77.6%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Taipei - Cost of groceries

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pay 78.3% more for transportation

	Kuala Lumpur	Taipei
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.77 MYR7.84	$3.68 NT$121.56	+107.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.36 MYR50.23	$37.10 NT$1,223.94	+226.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,478.71 MYR165,768.31	$34,750.62 NT$1,146,422.80	-7.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.22 MYR45.21	$8.81 NT$290.69	-13.8%
Average			+78.3%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Taipei - Cost of transportation

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pay 16.3% more for housing

	Kuala Lumpur	Taipei
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$25.27 MYR111.75	$24.04 NT$793.03	-4.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$536.30 MYR2,372.04	$630.95 NT$20,815.01	+17.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$371.69 MYR1,643.98	$465.35 NT$15,351.99	+25.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$50.02 MYR221.25	$63.62 NT$2,098.84	+27.2%
Average			+16.3%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Taipei - Cost of housing

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pay 2.2 times more for childcare

	Kuala Lumpur	Taipei
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$250.80 MYR1,109.31	$610.09 NT$20,127.00	+143.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,920.55 MYR39,455.60	$18,275.33 NT$602,903.25	+104.9%
Average			+124.1%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Taipei - Cost of childcare

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pay 10.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Kuala Lumpur	Taipei
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.09 MYR18.08	$2.63 NT$86.70	-35.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.92 MYR12.91	$3.05 NT$100.54	+4.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.09 MYR18.08	$3.71 NT$122.39	-9.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.75 MYR197.92	$38.32 NT$1,264.06	-14.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.77 MYR21.10	$9.89 NT$326.38	+107.4%
Average			+10.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Taipei - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.6% more for clothing

	Kuala Lumpur	Taipei
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.74 MYR255.38	$56.02 NT$1,848.15	-3.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$35.00 MYR154.81	$31.15 NT$1,027.75	-11.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.75 MYR339.48	$85.26 NT$2,812.71	+11.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$73.25 MYR324.00	$103.43 NT$3,412.19	+41.2%
Average			+9.6%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Taipei - 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: March 2025

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