Cape Town vs Kuala Lumpur - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Cape Town Kuala Lumpur
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1120
$892
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2628
$2135
🏠 One person rent
$603
$450
🏘️ Family rent
$1117
$787
🍽️ Food expenses
$284
$295
🚐 Transport expenses
$137
$69.6
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1545
$1450
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
7 km
16 km
🎓 Higher education
55
93
😀 Quality of life
59
76
🏙️ Population
3.78M
1.98M

The cost of living in Cape Town is 26% more expensive than in Kuala Lumpur. Cities ranked 4849th and 6160th ($1120 vs $892) 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 1.4 months in Cape Town compared to 1.6 months in Kuala Lumpur. Cape Town ranked 1st best city to live in South Africa vs Kuala Lumpur ranked 1st in Malaysia, while ranked 5407th and 883rd among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Cape Town vs Kuala Lumpur infographic

Share this infographic!

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
$7.8
$4.35
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$34
$27.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.15
$4.78
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.53
$4.99
☕ Cappuccino
$2.32
$3.17
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.04
$0.85
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$705
$495
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$452
$343
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1367
$1006
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$889
$604
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$59
$48.4
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$91.3
$75.4
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$41.1
$27.7
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.61%
4.53%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1902
$3145
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1292
$1425
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.14
$0.72
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$45.3
$12.4
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$8.91
$9.79
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.36
$0.51
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.1
$2.05
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.07
$1.02
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.53
$1.42
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.67
$2.5
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.88
$14.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.96
$5.14
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.13
$10.2
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.58
$2.94
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.61
$1.61
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.51
$2.88
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.64
$1.55
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.53
$1.18
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.35
$1.15
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.66
$0.46
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.44
$1.2
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$5.57
$17.6
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.42
$3.2
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.99
$4.31
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.24
$3.47
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.42
$3.34
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.24
$1.46
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.59
$2.21
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$36.2
$46.4
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$6.5
$4.89
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$38.2
$20
💇 Haircut, simple
$10.4
$6.4
👖 Brand Jeans
$52.1
$59.8
👟 Brand Sneakers
$103
$80.1
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$201
$259
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$4270
$9485

Cost of living in other countries

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
$850
99 km or 62 mi Worcester
$649
371 km or 231 mi George
$790
644 km or 400 mi Uitenhage
$901
662 km or 411 mi Port Elizabeth
$970
664 km or 413 mi Upington
$741
754 km or 468 mi Makhanda
$792
821 km or 510 mi Komani
$953
833 km or 518 mi Kimberley
$859
845 km or 525 mi Bhisho
$1286
882 km or 548 mi East London
$703
912 km or 567 mi Bloemfontein
$696
950 km or 590 mi Mafeteng
$581
999 km or 621 mi Maseru
$627
1002 km or 622 mi Mthatha
$862
1029 km or 639 mi Teyateyaneng
$533
1030 km or 640 mi Welkom
$774
1034 km or 643 mi Mariental
$832
1092 km or 679 mi Butha-Buthe
$559
1092 km or 679 mi Kroonstad
$788
1113 km or 692 mi Klerksdorp
$689
1135 km or 705 mi Mmabatho
$809
1155 km or 718 mi Potchefstroom
$717
1187 km or 737 mi Rehoboth
$779
1194 km or 742 mi Lobatse
$692
1198 km or 745 mi Kanye
$690
1208 km or 751 mi Vanderbijlpark
$768
1217 km or 756 mi Vereeniging
$717
1231 km or 765 mi Pietermaritzburg
$674
1244 km or 773 mi Soweto
$971
1250 km or 777 mi Rustenburg
$943
1260 km or 783 mi Gaborone
$718
1261 km or 783 mi Molepolole
$654
1261 km or 784 mi Johannesburg
$1079
1267 km or 788 mi Randburg
$874
1269 km or 789 mi Windhoek
$840
1270 km or 789 mi Sandton
$997
1271 km or 790 mi Durban
$834
1277 km or 794 mi Gobabis
$818
1279 km or 795 mi Walvis Bay
$790

Cities near Kuala Lumpur

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.7 mi Petaling Jaya
$738
15 km or 9.1 mi Subang Jaya
$732
19 km or 12 mi Shah Alam
$687
24 km or 15 mi Putrajaya
$571
25 km or 16 mi Cyberjaya
$617
30 km or 19 mi Klang
$729
54 km or 33 mi Seremban
$630
123 km or 77 mi Malacca
$699
124 km or 77 mi Teluk Intan
$673
155 km or 97 mi Muar
$752
167 km or 104 mi Dumai
$585
176 km or 109 mi Ipoh
$670
196 km or 122 mi Kuantan
$518
199 km or 124 mi Batu Pahat
$750
211 km or 131 mi Tanjungbalai
$538
217 km or 135 mi Taiping
$759
219 km or 136 mi Kluang
$745
229 km or 142 mi Chukai
$579
282 km or 175 mi Tebing Tinggi
$504
291 km or 181 mi Butterworth
$671
291 km or 181 mi Kuala Terengganu
$544
292 km or 181 mi Pekanbaru
$590
293 km or 182 mi Pematangsiantar
$518
294 km or 183 mi George Town
$669
297 km or 184 mi Johor Bahru
$709
309 km or 192 mi Sungai Petani
$637
311 km or 193 mi Singapore City
$3168
315 km or 195 mi Bukit Merah
$2852
335 km or 208 mi Padangsidempuan
$624
338 km or 210 mi Kota Bharu
$517
341 km or 212 mi Medan
$519
346 km or 215 mi Batam
$604
360 km or 224 mi Binjai
$503
361 km or 225 mi Alor Setar
$523
394 km or 245 mi Tanjung Pinang
$549
402 km or 250 mi Kangar
$563
413 km or 257 mi Langkawi
$594
441 km or 274 mi Langsa
$490
451 km or 280 mi Hat Yai
$561
457 km or 284 mi Ko Lipe
$742