Cost of living comparison

Thimphu, Bhutan

compared to

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur vs. Thimphu Cost of Living Summary

Kuala Lumpur is 2.9 times more expensive than Thimphu.

Restaurants: pay 86.7% more in Kuala Lumpur
Groceries: pay 76.7% more in Kuala Lumpur
Transportation: pay 44.0% more in Kuala Lumpur
Housing: pay 3.2 times more in Kuala Lumpur
Childcare: pay 7.1 times more in Kuala Lumpur
Entertainment and Sports: pay 17.4% more in Kuala Lumpur
Clothing: pay 3.4 times more in Kuala Lumpur

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

Kuala Lumpur vs. Thimphu Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 86.7% more for restaurants

	Thimphu	Kuala Lumpur
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.95 BTN252.26	$4.54 MYR19.20	+54.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$2.95 BTN252.26	$4.54 MYR19.20	+54.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.55 BTN47.43	$0.84 MYR3.56	+52.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.19 BTN15.98	$0.53 MYR2.26	+186.2%
Average			+86.7%

Thimphu vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 76.7% more for groceries

	Thimphu	Kuala Lumpur
Bread 1 loaf	$0.94 BTN80.72	$0.95 MYR4.00	+0.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.68 BTN143.79	$7.58 MYR32.03	+351.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.17 BTN271.20	$7.22 MYR30.51	+127.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.20 BTN188.69	$2.36 MYR9.96	+6.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.74 BTN148.75	$1.94 MYR8.18	+11.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.07 BTN91.54	$1.24 MYR5.24	+15.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 BTN56.07	$0.69 MYR2.92	+5.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 BTN70.49	$1.25 MYR5.29	+51.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.37 BTN31.58	$0.63 MYR2.65	+69.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.23 BTN19.68	$0.47 MYR1.97	+102.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.26 BTN21.97	$0.51 MYR2.17	+99.7%
Average			+76.7%

Thimphu vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 44.0% more for transportation

	Thimphu	Kuala Lumpur
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.93 BTN336.10	$1.77 MYR7.50	-54.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$3.97 BTN339.57	$11.36 MYR48.01	+186.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,215.98 BTN1,816,297.61	$37,478.71 MYR158,441.23	+76.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.09 BTN1,291.59	$10.22 MYR43.21	-32.2%
Average			+44.0%

Thimphu vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.2 times more for housing

	Thimphu	Kuala Lumpur
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$31.25 BTN2,674.93	$25.27 MYR106.81	-19.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$124.45 BTN10,654.26	$536.30 MYR2,267.19	+330.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$79.38 BTN6,795.90	$371.69 MYR1,571.32	+368.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$16.69 BTN1,428.59	$50.02 MYR211.47	+199.8%
Average			+219.9%

Thimphu vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 7.1 times more for childcare

	Thimphu	Kuala Lumpur
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$246.05 BTN21,064.01	$250.80 MYR1,060.28	+1.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$677.73 BTN58,020.62	$8,920.55 MYR37,711.63	+1216.2%
Average			+609.1%

Thimphu vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 17.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Thimphu	Kuala Lumpur
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.43 BTN550.60	$4.09 MYR17.28	-36.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.53 BTN131.18	$2.92 MYR12.34	+90.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.83 BTN327.94	$4.09 MYR17.28	+6.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.11 BTN4,204.39	$44.75 MYR189.17	-8.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.54 BTN302.72	$4.77 MYR20.17	+34.9%
Average			+17.4%

Thimphu vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.4 times more for clothing

	Thimphu	Kuala Lumpur
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$9.43 BTN807.24	$57.74 MYR244.09	+512.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$11.79 BTN1,009.05	$35.00 MYR147.97	+197.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$32.41 BTN2,774.90	$76.75 MYR324.47	+136.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$32.41 BTN2,774.90	$73.25 MYR309.68	+126.0%
Average			+243.0%

Thimphu vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

Thimphu vs.

Berlin

Thimphu vs.

Madrid

Thimphu vs.

Dodoma

Thimphu vs.

Reykjavik

Thimphu vs.

Warsaw

Thimphu vs.

Canberra

Thimphu vs.

Washington

Thimphu vs.

Quito

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Bhutan vs. Malaysia. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Bhutan and Malaysia.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Thimphu

Add prices for Kuala Lumpur

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Kuala Lumpur or Thimphu. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.

Ask a question about Thimphu

Ask a question about Kuala Lumpur