Cost of living comparison

Malaysia

compared to

Cook Islands

Cook Islands vs. Malaysia Cost of Living Summary

Cook Islands is 3.2 times more expensive than Malaysia overall.

Restaurants: pay 3.6 times more in Cook Islands
Groceries: pay 2.1 times more in Cook Islands
Transportation: pay 11.6 times more in Cook Islands
Housing: pay 89.8% more in Cook Islands
Childcare: pay 78.4% less in Cook Islands
Entertainment and Sports: pay 80.3% more in Cook Islands
Clothing: pay 26.4% more in Cook Islands

The cost of transportation, restaurants, groceries, housing, entertainment and sports, and clothing in Cook Islands are more expensive than in Malaysia. Notably, transportation, restaurants, and groceries are significantly more expensive in Cook Islands.

Cook Islands vs. Malaysia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Cook Islands instead of Malaysia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.6 times more for restaurants

	Malaysia	Cook Islands
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.98 MYR13.20	$8.96 NZ$15.67	+200.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.23 MYR18.75	$8.21 NZ$14.36	+94.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.68 MYR3.01	$2.84 NZ$4.96	+318.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.38 MYR1.69	$2.09 NZ$3.66	+447.0%
Average			+265.0%

Malaysia vs. Cook Islands - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.1 times more for groceries

	Malaysia	Cook Islands
Bread 1 loaf	$0.91 MYR4.05	$3.22 NZ$5.63	+252.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.65 MYR33.92	$5.15 NZ$9.01	-32.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.39 MYR28.32	$7.63 NZ$13.35	+19.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.97 MYR8.74	$5.76 NZ$10.08	+192.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.83 MYR8.12	$3.52 NZ$6.16	+92.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.17 MYR5.20	$1.35 NZ$2.36	+14.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.57 MYR2.53	$1.08 NZ$1.90	+90.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.21 MYR5.38	$1.62 NZ$2.83	+33.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.63 MYR2.80	$2.84 NZ$4.98	+350.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.43 MYR1.91	$1.08 NZ$1.90	+151.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 MYR2.26	$0.85 NZ$1.49	+67.7%
Average			+112.0%

Malaysia vs. Cook Islands - Cost of groceries

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pay 11.6 times more for transportation

	Malaysia	Cook Islands
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.77 MYR7.85	$6.79 NZ$11.88	+283.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$15.69 MYR69.55	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$34,330.57 MYR152,204.60	$11,944.29 NZ$20,894.41	-65.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.94 MYR30.76	$212.01 NZ$370.88	+2956.2%
Average			+1058.2%

Malaysia vs. Cook Islands - Cost of transportation

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pay 89.8% more for housing

	Malaysia	Cook Islands
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$26.31 MYR116.67	$104.21 NZ$182.30	+296.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$322.80 MYR1,431.14	$155.28 NZ$271.63	-51.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$212.35 MYR941.45	$155.28 NZ$271.63	-26.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$33.00 MYR146.30	$79.92 NZ$139.81	+142.2%
Average			+89.8%

Malaysia vs. Cook Islands - Cost of housing

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pay 78.4% less for childcare

	Malaysia	Cook Islands
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$163.68 MYR725.67	??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,626.64 MYR29,379.21	$1,433.32 NZ$2,507.33	-78.4%
Average			-78.4%

Malaysia vs. Cook Islands - Cost of childcare

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pay 80.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Malaysia	Cook Islands
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.66 MYR16.22	$5.23 NZ$9.14	+42.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.54 MYR11.26	$3.83 NZ$6.70	+50.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.07 MYR18.03	$14.93 NZ$26.12	+267.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$36.32 MYR161.03	$24.88 NZ$43.53	-31.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.00 MYR17.72	$6.87 NZ$12.01	+71.8%
Average			+80.3%

Malaysia vs. Cook Islands - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 26.4% more for clothing

	Malaysia	Cook Islands
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.15 MYR235.64	$66.89 NZ$117.01	+25.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$30.13 MYR133.57	??
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$65.18 MYR288.96	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$57.93 MYR256.85	$73.46 NZ$128.50	+26.8%
Average			+26.4%

Malaysia vs. Cook Islands - 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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