Cape Town vs Kuala Lumpur - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Cape Town Kuala Lumpur
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1071
$810
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2522
$1984
🏠 One person rent
$582
$393
🏘️ Family rent
$1083
$711
🍽️ Food expenses
$273
$278
🚐 Transport expenses
$124
$64.8
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1532
$1392
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
7 km
16 km
🎓 Higher education
56
93
😀 Quality of life
58
77
🏙️ Population
3.78M
1.98M

The cost of living in Cape Town is 32% more expensive than in Kuala Lumpur. Cities ranked 5016th and 6403rd ($1071 vs $810) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 3rd 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 1.4 months in Cape Town compared to 1.7 months in Kuala Lumpur. Cape Town ranked 1st best city to live in South Africa vs Kuala Lumpur ranked 1st in Malaysia, while ranked 5491st and 811th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Cape Town vs Kuala Lumpur infographic

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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
$8.4
$4.17
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$32.1
$25.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.87
$4.54
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.58
$4.64
 Cappuccino
$2.03
$2.93
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.03
$0.82
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$677
$450
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$435
$297
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1304
$928
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$863
$548
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$59.9
$40.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$93.1
$61.8
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$38.9
$25.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.89%
4.59%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1804
$2996
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1180
$1427
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.09
$0.69
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$39
$11.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$8.47
$9.04
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.23
$0.49
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.08
$1.9
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.03
$0.95
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.48
$1.37
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.58
$2.32
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.33
$13.6
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.42
$4.64
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.24
$9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.53
$2.81
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.45
$1.5
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.47
$2.58
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.57
$1.45
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.33
$1.1
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.13
$1.21
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.62
$0.43
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.43
$1.15
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$5.48
$16.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.39
$3.04
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.02
$4.05
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.02
$3.45
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.17
$3.64
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.11
$1.57
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.49
$2.19
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$34.4
$41.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$6.22
$4.82
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$35.7
$20
💇 Haircut, simple
$8.05
$5.65
👖 Brand Jeans
$51
$56.9
👟 Brand Sneakers
$104
$77.6
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$204
$254
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$4806
$8723

Cost of living in other countries

Cape TownKuala Lumpur

Cost of living

More cities to compare

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Cape Town

Distance City Cost of living
54 km or 33 mi Paarl
$1147
99 km or 62 mi Worcester
$619
371 km or 231 mi George
$743
644 km or 400 mi Uitenhage
$840
662 km or 411 mi Port Elizabeth
$901
664 km or 413 mi Upington
$699
754 km or 468 mi Makhanda
$763
821 km or 510 mi Komani
$915
833 km or 518 mi Kimberley
$814
845 km or 525 mi Bhisho
$1332
882 km or 548 mi East London
$766
912 km or 567 mi Bloemfontein
$657
950 km or 590 mi Mafeteng
$567
999 km or 621 mi Maseru
$621
1002 km or 622 mi Mthatha
$852
1029 km or 639 mi Teyateyaneng
$500
1030 km or 640 mi Welkom
$748
1034 km or 643 mi Mariental
$827
1092 km or 679 mi Butha-Buthe
$535
1092 km or 679 mi Kroonstad
$768
1113 km or 692 mi Klerksdorp
$722
1135 km or 705 mi Mmabatho
$780
1155 km or 718 mi Potchefstroom
$695
1187 km or 737 mi Rehoboth
$792
1194 km or 742 mi Lobatse
$665
1198 km or 745 mi Kanye
$664
1208 km or 751 mi Vanderbijlpark
$773
1217 km or 756 mi Vereeniging
$672
1231 km or 765 mi Pietermaritzburg
$640
1244 km or 773 mi Soweto
$923
1250 km or 777 mi Rustenburg
$889
1260 km or 783 mi Gaborone
$691
1261 km or 783 mi Molepolole
$628
1261 km or 784 mi Johannesburg
$993
1267 km or 788 mi Randburg
$837
1269 km or 789 mi Windhoek
$862
1270 km or 789 mi Sandton
$953
1271 km or 790 mi Durban
$809
1277 km or 794 mi Gobabis
$813
1279 km or 795 mi Walvis Bay
$740

Cities near Kuala Lumpur

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.7 mi Petaling Jaya
$701
15 km or 9.1 mi Subang Jaya
$714
19 km or 12 mi Shah Alam
$645
24 km or 15 mi Putrajaya
$532
25 km or 16 mi Cyberjaya
$585
30 km or 19 mi Klang
$670
54 km or 33 mi Seremban
$604
123 km or 77 mi Malacca
$669
124 km or 77 mi Teluk Intan
$631
155 km or 97 mi Muar
$682
167 km or 104 mi Dumai
$543
176 km or 109 mi Ipoh
$628
196 km or 122 mi Kuantan
$529
199 km or 124 mi Batu Pahat
$703
211 km or 131 mi Tanjungbalai
$503
217 km or 135 mi Taiping
$695
219 km or 136 mi Kluang
$679
229 km or 142 mi Chukai
$565
282 km or 175 mi Tebing Tinggi
$474
291 km or 181 mi Butterworth
$619
291 km or 181 mi Kuala Terengganu
$501
292 km or 181 mi Pekanbaru
$542
293 km or 182 mi Pematangsiantar
$486
294 km or 183 mi George Town
$620
297 km or 184 mi Johor Bahru
$759
309 km or 192 mi Sungai Petani
$605
311 km or 193 mi Singapore City
$3059
315 km or 195 mi Bukit Merah
$2788
335 km or 208 mi Padangsidempuan
$582
338 km or 210 mi Kota Bharu
$485
341 km or 212 mi Medan
$481
346 km or 215 mi Batam
$539
360 km or 224 mi Binjai
$470
361 km or 225 mi Alor Setar
$490
394 km or 245 mi Tanjung Pinang
$506
402 km or 250 mi Kangar
$536
413 km or 257 mi Langkawi
$560
441 km or 274 mi Langsa
$461
451 km or 280 mi Hat Yai
$570
457 km or 284 mi Ko Lipe
$719