Cape Town vs Kuala Lumpur - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Cape Town Kuala Lumpur
🚶 Cost of living one person
$881
$743
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2144
$1779
🏠 One person rent
$484
$367
🏘️ Family rent
$966
$648
🍽️ Food expenses
$259
$248
🚐 Transport expenses
$56.2
$62.1
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1518
$1229
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
7 km
16 km
🎓 Higher education
55
93
😀 Quality of life
60
77
🏙️ Population
434K
1.98M

The cost of living in Cape Town is 19% more expensive than in Kuala Lumpur. Cities ranked 6078th and 6605th ($881 vs $743) 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 1.7 months in Cape Town compared to 1.7 months in Kuala Lumpur. Cape Town ranked 3rd best city to live in South Africa vs Kuala Lumpur ranked 1st in Malaysia, while ranked 5406th and 772nd 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
$7.47
$3.2
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$31.2
$22.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.87
$4.1
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.04
$3.51
☕ Cappuccino
$1.94
$2.75
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.86
$0.74
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$536
$424
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$353
$276
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1202
$872
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$749
$492
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$56.2
$36.4
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$87
$54.4
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$39.2
$25.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.61%
4.16%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1890
$2386
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1307
$1168
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.04
$0.63
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$34.8
$11.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$7.17
$8.81
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.22
$0.43
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1
$1.68
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.92
$0.84
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.38
$1.2
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.39
$1.97
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.96
$12.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.26
$4.07
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.2
$9.82
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.4
$2.45
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.46
$1.35
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.39
$2.55
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.39
$1.39
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.36
$0.93
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.31
$0.84
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.58
$0.41
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.3
$1.04
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$4.51
$14.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.14
$2.76
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.62
$3.78
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.8
$3.91
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$2.76
$2.85
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.22
$1.49
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.36
$1.6
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$31.3
$40.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$5.42
$4.27
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$32.9
$15.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$10.3
$5.62
👖 Brand Jeans
$42.7
$49.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$81.4
$69.7
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$172
$208
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$4013
$6454

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
$773
99 km or 62 mi Worcester
$632
371 km or 231 mi George
$684
644 km or 400 mi Uitenhage
$805
662 km or 411 mi Port Elizabeth
$866
664 km or 413 mi Upington
$643
754 km or 468 mi Makhanda
$704
821 km or 510 mi Komani
$703
833 km or 518 mi Kimberley
$753
845 km or 525 mi Bhisho
$710
882 km or 548 mi East London
$683
912 km or 567 mi Bloemfontein
$601
950 km or 590 mi Mafeteng
$511
999 km or 621 mi Maseru
$535
1002 km or 622 mi Mthatha
$689
1029 km or 639 mi Teyateyaneng
$511
1030 km or 640 mi Welkom
$682
1034 km or 643 mi Mariental
$765
1092 km or 679 mi Butha-Buthe
$511
1092 km or 679 mi Kroonstad
$701
1113 km or 692 mi Klerksdorp
$621
1135 km or 705 mi Mmabatho
$719
1155 km or 718 mi Potchefstroom
$625
1187 km or 737 mi Rehoboth
$738
1194 km or 742 mi Lobatse
$631
1198 km or 745 mi Kanye
$633
1208 km or 751 mi Vanderbijlpark
$698
1217 km or 756 mi Vereeniging
$637
1231 km or 765 mi Pietermaritzburg
$609
1244 km or 773 mi Soweto
$875
1250 km or 777 mi Rustenburg
$845
1260 km or 783 mi Gaborone
$656
1261 km or 783 mi Molepolole
$603
1261 km or 784 mi Johannesburg
$908
1267 km or 788 mi Randburg
$776
1269 km or 789 mi Windhoek
$807
1270 km or 789 mi Sandton
$889
1271 km or 790 mi Durban
$780
1277 km or 794 mi Gobabis
$751
1279 km or 795 mi Walvis Bay
$718

Cities near Kuala Lumpur

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.7 mi Petaling Jaya
$645
15 km or 9.1 mi Subang Jaya
$644
19 km or 12 mi Shah Alam
$582
24 km or 15 mi Putrajaya
$480
25 km or 16 mi Cyberjaya
$539
30 km or 19 mi Klang
$553
54 km or 33 mi Seremban
$545
123 km or 77 mi Malacca
$602
124 km or 77 mi Teluk Intan
$565
155 km or 97 mi Muar
$611
167 km or 104 mi Dumai
$554
176 km or 109 mi Ipoh
$550
196 km or 122 mi Kuantan
$482
199 km or 124 mi Batu Pahat
$609
211 km or 131 mi Tanjungbalai
$515
217 km or 135 mi Taiping
$638
219 km or 136 mi Kluang
$610
229 km or 142 mi Chukai
$512
282 km or 175 mi Tebing Tinggi
$485
291 km or 181 mi Butterworth
$578
291 km or 181 mi Kuala Terengganu
$465
292 km or 181 mi Pekanbaru
$558
293 km or 182 mi Pematangsiantar
$499
294 km or 183 mi George Town
$566
297 km or 184 mi Johor Bahru
$623
309 km or 192 mi Sungai Petani
$544
311 km or 193 mi Singapore City
$3007
315 km or 195 mi Bukit Merah
$2733
335 km or 208 mi Padangsidempuan
$596
338 km or 210 mi Kota Bharu
$455
341 km or 212 mi Medan
$500
346 km or 215 mi Batam
$585
360 km or 224 mi Binjai
$483
361 km or 225 mi Alor Setar
$453
394 km or 245 mi Tanjung Pinang
$511
402 km or 250 mi Kangar
$487
413 km or 257 mi Langkawi
$496
441 km or 274 mi Langsa
$472
451 km or 280 mi Hat Yai
$520
457 km or 284 mi Ko Lipe
$650