Cost of living comparison

Manila, Philippines

compared to

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Kuala Lumpur is 12.6% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 0.2% more in Kuala Lumpur
Groceries: pay 18.2% less in Kuala Lumpur
Transportation: pay 71.7% more in Kuala Lumpur
Housing: pay 1.9% more in Kuala Lumpur
Childcare: pay 42.5% less in Kuala Lumpur
Entertainment and Sports: pay 42.7% more in Kuala Lumpur
Clothing: pay 32.2% more in Kuala Lumpur

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

Kuala Lumpur vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 0.2% more for restaurants

	Manila	Kuala Lumpur
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.12 ₱285.99	$4.54 MYR19.20	-11.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.26 ₱238.33	$4.54 MYR19.20	+6.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.87 ₱48.81	$0.84 MYR3.56	-3.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 ₱27.47	$0.53 MYR2.26	+8.7%
Average			+0.2%

Manila vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of restaurants

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pay 18.2% less for groceries

	Manila	Kuala Lumpur
Bread 1 loaf	$1.35 ₱75.58	$0.95 MYR4.00	-30.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.30 ₱296.52	$7.58 MYR32.03	+42.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.79 ₱379.80	$7.22 MYR30.51	+6.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.08 ₱116.21	$2.36 MYR9.96	+13.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.42 ₱135.26	$1.94 MYR8.18	-20.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱85.08	$1.24 MYR5.24	-18.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.80 ₱44.95	$0.69 MYR2.92	-14.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱85.10	$1.25 MYR5.29	-17.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.98 ₱54.61	$0.63 MYR2.65	-35.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.20 ₱67.15	$0.47 MYR1.97	-61.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.48 ₱83.02	$0.51 MYR2.17	-65.5%
Average			-18.2%

Manila vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of groceries

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pay 71.7% more for transportation

	Manila	Kuala Lumpur
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.14 ₱231.54	$1.77 MYR7.50	-57.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$9.93 ₱555.11	$11.36 MYR48.01	+14.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,575.45 ₱1,429,961.59	$37,478.71 MYR158,441.23	+46.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.67 ₱149.19	$10.22 MYR43.21	+283.1%
Average			+71.7%

Manila vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of transportation

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pay 1.9% more for housing

	Manila	Kuala Lumpur
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$28.80 ₱1,610.53	$25.27 MYR106.81	-12.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$468.88 ₱26,215.91	$536.30 MYR2,267.19	+14.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$234.44 ₱13,107.98	$371.69 MYR1,571.32	+58.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$106.33 ₱5,945.06	$50.02 MYR211.47	-53.0%
Average			+1.9%

Manila vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of housing

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pay 42.5% less for childcare

	Manila	Kuala Lumpur
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$482.52 ₱26,978.61	$250.80 MYR1,060.28	-48.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,127.39 ₱789,883.55	$8,920.55 MYR37,711.63	-36.9%
Average			-42.5%

Manila vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of childcare

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pay 42.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Kuala Lumpur
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.36 ₱76.26	$4.09 MYR17.28	+199.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.70 ₱150.80	$2.92 MYR12.34	+8.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.07 ₱171.60	$4.09 MYR17.28	+33.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$40.61 ₱2,270.61	$44.75 MYR189.17	+10.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.67 ₱428.99	$4.77 MYR20.17	-37.8%
Average			+42.7%

Manila vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 32.2% more for clothing

	Manila	Kuala Lumpur
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$33.31 ₱1,862.54	$57.74 MYR244.09	+73.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$26.60 ₱1,487.06	$35.00 MYR147.97	+31.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$74.03 ₱4,138.86	$76.75 MYR324.47	+3.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$60.89 ₱3,404.53	$73.25 MYR309.68	+20.3%
Average			+32.2%

Manila vs. Kuala Lumpur - 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: June 2025

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