Cost of living comparison

 Malaysia
compared to
 Japan
Japan vs. Malaysia Cost of Living Summary

Japan is 72.7% more expensive than Malaysia overall.

Restaurants
pay 67.0% more in Japan
Groceries
pay 73.4% more in Japan
Transportation
pay 2.6 times more in Japan
Housing
pay 92.2% more in Japan
Childcare
pay 71.7% more in Japan
Entertainment and Sports
pay 48.0% more in Japan
Clothing
pay 2.7% less in Japan

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

Japan vs. Malaysia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Japan instead of Malaysia, you would:

pay 67.0% more for restaurants

 
Malaysia
Japan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $2.98
MYR13.03
$6.44
¥925
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$4.23
MYR18.49
$4.94
¥710
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.68
MYR2.97
$0.97
¥139

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pay 73.4% more for groceries

 
Malaysia
Japan
Bread
1 loaf
$0.91
MYR3.99
$1.52
¥219
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.65
MYR33.46
$5.72
¥822
Milk (1 gallon) $6.39
MYR27.94
$5.46
¥784

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pay 2.6 times more for transportation

 
Malaysia
Japan
Gasoline (1 gallon) $1.77
MYR7.75
$4.22
¥607
Monthly public transit pass $15.69
MYR68.62
$57.82
¥8,307
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $34,330.57
MYR150,161.93
$22,042.19
¥3,166,911

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pay 92.2% more for housing

 
Malaysia
Japan
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$26.31
MYR115.10
$31.09
¥4,467
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $322.80
MYR1,411.94
$500.38
¥71,892
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $212.35
MYR928.82
$325.42
¥46,754

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pay 71.7% more for childcare

 
Malaysia
Japan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $163.68
MYR715.93
$288.10
¥41,393
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $6,626.64
MYR28,984.92
$11,095.30
¥1,594,117

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pay 48.0% more for entertainment and sports

 
Malaysia
Japan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.66
MYR16.00
$2.71
¥389
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.54
MYR11.11
$2.78
¥399
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$4.07
MYR17.79
$3.98
¥572

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pay 2.7% less for clothing

 
Malaysia
Japan
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$53.15
MYR232.47
$40.54
¥5,825
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$30.13
MYR131.78
$26.82
¥3,853
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$65.18
MYR285.08
$54.08
¥7,770

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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: May 2025
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