Cape Town vs Kuala Lumpur - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Cape Town Kuala Lumpur
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1386
$992
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3160
$2346
🏠 One person rent
$775
$483
🏘️ Family rent
$1348
$775
🍽️ Food expenses
$359
$319
🚐 Transport expenses
$139
$102
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$405
$1014
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
7 km
16 km
🎓 Higher education
55
93
😀 Quality of life
58
82
🏙️ Population
3.78M
9M

The cost of living in Cape Town is 40% more expensive than in Kuala Lumpur. Cities ranked 4336th and 5636th ($1386 vs $992) 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 0.3 months in Cape Town compared to 1 months in Kuala Lumpur. Cape Town ranked 2nd best city to live in South Africa vs Kuala Lumpur ranked 1st in Malaysia, while ranked 6134th and 555th 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
$12.2
$4.55
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$48.7
$28.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$6.19
$5.14
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.03
$4.86
☕ Cappuccino
$2.47
$3.41
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.39
$0.85
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$942
$654
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$591
$359
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1671
$1155
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1075
$572
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$72.4
$38.6
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$112
$60.5
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$41.7
$25.7
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.35%
4.25%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2325
$4081
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1508
$1476
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.33
$0.74
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$37.4
$14.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$11
$10.4
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.33
$0.68
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.36
$2.34
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.2
$1.23
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.25
$1.74
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.97
$2.73
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.53
$14.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.77
$5.86
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.45
$9.85
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.94
$3.51
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.88
$1.94
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.82
$2.52
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.09
$1.57
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.6
$1.37
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.56
$1.5
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.78
$0.46
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.77
$1.24
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$6.22
$19.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.47
$3.29
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.38
$4.43
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.05
$3.93
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.91
$3.79
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.41
$1.84
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.62
$2.39
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$49.1
$49.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$9.14
$5.27
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$37.2
$25.2
💇 Haircut, simple
$11.1
$7.5
👖 Brand Jeans
$58.7
$66.8
👟 Brand Sneakers
$124
$91.5
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$272
$300
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$6197
$11913

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
$1421
99 km or 62 mi Worcester
$763
371 km or 231 mi George
$877
644 km or 400 mi Uitenhage
$968
662 km or 411 mi Port Elizabeth
$1020
664 km or 413 mi Upington
$796
754 km or 468 mi Makhanda
$863
821 km or 510 mi Komani
$1033
833 km or 518 mi Kimberley
$904
845 km or 525 mi Bhisho
$1390
882 km or 548 mi East London
$773
912 km or 567 mi Bloemfontein
$742
950 km or 590 mi Mafeteng
$611
999 km or 621 mi Maseru
$660
1002 km or 622 mi Mthatha
$953
1029 km or 639 mi Teyateyaneng
$558
1030 km or 640 mi Welkom
$811
1034 km or 643 mi Mariental
$991
1092 km or 679 mi Butha-Buthe
$589
1092 km or 679 mi Kroonstad
$872
1113 km or 692 mi Klerksdorp
$860
1135 km or 705 mi Mmabatho
$903
1155 km or 718 mi Potchefstroom
$789
1187 km or 737 mi Rehoboth
$945
1194 km or 742 mi Lobatse
$691
1198 km or 745 mi Kanye
$691
1208 km or 751 mi Vanderbijlpark
$867
1217 km or 756 mi Vereeniging
$742
1231 km or 765 mi Pietermaritzburg
$725
1244 km or 773 mi Soweto
$1031
1250 km or 777 mi Rustenburg
$994
1260 km or 783 mi Gaborone
$723
1261 km or 783 mi Molepolole
$663
1261 km or 784 mi Johannesburg
$1204
1267 km or 788 mi Randburg
$912
1269 km or 789 mi Windhoek
$1040
1270 km or 789 mi Sandton
$1104
1271 km or 790 mi Durban
$938
1277 km or 794 mi Gobabis
$998
1279 km or 795 mi Walvis Bay
$893

Cities near Kuala Lumpur

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.7 mi Petaling Jaya
$783
15 km or 9.1 mi Subang Jaya
$798
19 km or 12 mi Shah Alam
$741
24 km or 15 mi Putrajaya
$610
25 km or 16 mi Cyberjaya
$654
30 km or 19 mi Klang
$743
54 km or 33 mi Seremban
$617
123 km or 77 mi Malacca
$707
124 km or 77 mi Teluk Intan
$678
155 km or 97 mi Muar
$759
167 km or 104 mi Dumai
$488
176 km or 109 mi Ipoh
$677
196 km or 122 mi Kuantan
$576
199 km or 124 mi Batu Pahat
$737
211 km or 131 mi Tanjungbalai
$470
217 km or 135 mi Taiping
$555
219 km or 136 mi Kluang
$717
229 km or 142 mi Chukai
$621
282 km or 175 mi Tebing Tinggi
$449
291 km or 181 mi Butterworth
$720
291 km or 181 mi Kuala Terengganu
$550
292 km or 181 mi Pekanbaru
$466
293 km or 182 mi Pematangsiantar
$459
294 km or 183 mi George Town
$762
297 km or 184 mi Johor Bahru
$843
309 km or 192 mi Sungai Petani
$637
311 km or 193 mi Singapore City
$3105
315 km or 195 mi Bukit Merah
$2823
335 km or 208 mi Padangsidempuan
$530
338 km or 210 mi Kota Bharu
$531
341 km or 212 mi Medan
$453
346 km or 215 mi Batam
$501
360 km or 224 mi Binjai
$449
361 km or 225 mi Alor Setar
$545
394 km or 245 mi Tanjung Pinang
$477
402 km or 250 mi Kangar
$592
413 km or 257 mi Langkawi
$616
441 km or 274 mi Langsa
$439
451 km or 280 mi Hat Yai
$588
457 km or 284 mi Ko Lipe
$747