Cape Town vs Kuala Lumpur - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Cape Town Kuala Lumpur
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1366
$981
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3099
$2371
🏠 One person rent
$773
$468
🏘️ Family rent
$1343
$806
🍽️ Food expenses
$355
$320
🚐 Transport expenses
$124
$107
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$404
$1331
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
7 km
16 km
🎓 Higher education
55
93
😀 Quality of life
55
84
🏙️ Population
3.78M
9M

The cost of living in Cape Town is 39% more expensive than in Kuala Lumpur. Cities ranked 4432nd and 5802nd ($1366 vs $981) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 1st in South Africa and Malaysia, respectively. Check South Africa vs Malaysia comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.3 months in Cape Town compared to 1.4 months in Kuala Lumpur. Cape Town ranked 4th best city to live in South Africa vs Kuala Lumpur ranked 1st in Malaysia, while ranked 6382nd and 520th among best cities to live in the world.

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Prices in Cape Town vs Kuala Lumpur

Prices for goods and services in Cape Town and Kuala Lumpur are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

Cape Town Kuala Lumpur
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$12.5
$4.71
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$49.7
$31
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.71
$5.12
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.13
$5
☕ Cappuccino
$2.42
$3.55
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.39
$1.01
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$874
$602
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$594
$350
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1556
$1058
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1079
$631
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$84.1
$41.1
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$129
$63.5
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$39
$26.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.25%
4.51%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2160
$3532
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1500
$1566
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.16
$0.78
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$32.7
$17.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$9.46
$10.8
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.36
$0.6
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.35
$2.3
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.21
$1.11
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.24
$1.58
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.91
$2.72
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.29
$15.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.21
$5.47
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.46
$9.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.83
$3.33
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.81
$1.82
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.79
$2.77
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.94
$1.63
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.52
$1.37
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.47
$1.53
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.79
$0.49
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.84
$1.24
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$6.59
$18.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.49
$3.33
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.44
$4.57
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.94
$4.02
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.02
$3.89
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.49
$1.89
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.67
$2.43
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$49.6
$50.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$8.6
$5.12
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$39.1
$21.8
💇 Haircut, simple
$11.2
$6.47
👖 Brand Jeans
$59.9
$64.4
👟 Brand Sneakers
$127
$93.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$264
$309
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$5378
$10356

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Cape Town

Distance City Cost of living
54 km or 33 mi Paarl
$1345
99 km or 62 mi Worcester
$718
371 km or 231 mi George
$927
644 km or 400 mi Uitenhage
$980
662 km or 411 mi Port Elizabeth
$1036
664 km or 413 mi Upington
$811
754 km or 468 mi Makhanda
$874
821 km or 510 mi Komani
$1050
833 km or 518 mi Kimberley
$927
845 km or 525 mi Bhisho
$1419
882 km or 548 mi East London
$795
912 km or 567 mi Bloemfontein
$763
950 km or 590 mi Mafeteng
$630
999 km or 621 mi Maseru
$681
1002 km or 622 mi Mthatha
$952
1029 km or 639 mi Teyateyaneng
$573
1030 km or 640 mi Welkom
$826
1034 km or 643 mi Mariental
$986
1092 km or 679 mi Butha-Buthe
$604
1092 km or 679 mi Kroonstad
$875
1113 km or 692 mi Klerksdorp
$826
1135 km or 705 mi Mmabatho
$901
1155 km or 718 mi Potchefstroom
$791
1187 km or 737 mi Rehoboth
$934
1194 km or 742 mi Lobatse
$697
1198 km or 745 mi Kanye
$694
1208 km or 751 mi Vanderbijlpark
$865
1217 km or 756 mi Vereeniging
$765
1231 km or 765 mi Pietermaritzburg
$716
1244 km or 773 mi Soweto
$1057
1250 km or 777 mi Rustenburg
$1017
1260 km or 783 mi Gaborone
$731
1261 km or 783 mi Molepolole
$662
1261 km or 784 mi Johannesburg
$1171
1267 km or 788 mi Randburg
$958
1269 km or 789 mi Windhoek
$1023
1270 km or 789 mi Sandton
$1089
1271 km or 790 mi Durban
$948
1277 km or 794 mi Gobabis
$968
1279 km or 795 mi Walvis Bay
$905

Cities near Kuala Lumpur

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.7 mi Petaling Jaya
$813
15 km or 9.1 mi Subang Jaya
$831
19 km or 12 mi Shah Alam
$750
24 km or 15 mi Putrajaya
$627
25 km or 16 mi Cyberjaya
$664
30 km or 19 mi Klang
$762
54 km or 33 mi Seremban
$678
123 km or 77 mi Malacca
$736
124 km or 77 mi Teluk Intan
$701
155 km or 97 mi Muar
$788
167 km or 104 mi Dumai
$513
176 km or 109 mi Ipoh
$696
196 km or 122 mi Kuantan
$588
199 km or 124 mi Batu Pahat
$780
211 km or 131 mi Tanjungbalai
$485
217 km or 135 mi Taiping
$572
219 km or 136 mi Kluang
$770
229 km or 142 mi Chukai
$640
282 km or 175 mi Tebing Tinggi
$461
291 km or 181 mi Butterworth
$740
291 km or 181 mi Kuala Terengganu
$572
292 km or 181 mi Pekanbaru
$495
293 km or 182 mi Pematangsiantar
$470
294 km or 183 mi George Town
$792
297 km or 184 mi Johor Bahru
$838
309 km or 192 mi Sungai Petani
$663
311 km or 193 mi Singapore City
$3119
315 km or 195 mi Bukit Merah
$2806
335 km or 208 mi Padangsidempuan
$558
338 km or 210 mi Kota Bharu
$551
341 km or 212 mi Medan
$461
346 km or 215 mi Batam
$533
360 km or 224 mi Binjai
$458
361 km or 225 mi Alor Setar
$564
394 km or 245 mi Tanjung Pinang
$495
402 km or 250 mi Kangar
$628
413 km or 257 mi Langkawi
$634
441 km or 274 mi Langsa
$451
451 km or 280 mi Hat Yai
$622
457 km or 284 mi Ko Lipe
$790