Kuala Lumpur vs Seoul - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Kuala Lumpur	Seoul
🚶 Cost of living one person	$810	$1334
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$1984	$3862
🏠 One person rent	$393	$608
🏘️ Family rent	$711	$1634
🍽️ Food expenses	$278	$488
🚐 Transport expenses	$64.8	$144
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$1392	$2911
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	16 km	18 km
🎓 Higher education	93	100
😀 Quality of life	77	95
🏙️ Population	1.98M	9.67M

The cost of living in Kuala Lumpur is 39% less expensive than in Seoul. Cities ranked 6403rd and 4104th ($810 vs $1334) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 3rd in Malaysia and South Korea, respectively. Check Malaysia vs South Korea comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Kuala Lumpur compared to 2.2 months in Seoul. Kuala Lumpur ranked 1st best city to live in Malaysia vs Seoul ranked 1st in South Korea, while ranked 811th and 30th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Kuala Lumpur vs Seoul infographic

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/kuala-lumpur/seoul.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Kuala Lumpur vs Seoul infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/kuala-lumpur/seoul" target="_blank">Kuala Lumpur vs Seoul - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Kuala Lumpur vs Seoul

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

	Kuala Lumpur	Seoul
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$4.17	$7.53
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$25.4	$40.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$4.54	$5.87
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$4.64	$3.5
☕ Cappuccino	$2.93	$3.57
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.82	$1.58
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$450	$754
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$297	$422
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$928	$2293
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$548	$1250
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$40.3	$99.6
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$61.8	$155
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$25.4	$20.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	4.59%	4.85%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2996	$19682
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1427	$11168
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.69	$1.05
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$11.5	$44.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$9.04	$8.29
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.49	$1.17
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.9	$2.06
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$0.95	$3.08
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.37	$3.06
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.32	$3.38
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.6	$12.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.64	$8.56
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9	$32
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.81	$7.25
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.5	$3.37
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.58	$5.31
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.45	$5.9
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.1	$3.54
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.21	$2.82
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.43	$0.81
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.15	$2.18
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$16.8	$20.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$3.04	$2.46
🚬 Cigarette pack	$4.05	$3.17
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$3.45	$4.67
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.64	$5.75
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.57	$2.16
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.19	$2.86
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$41.5	$48.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$4.82	$10.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$20	$22.9
💇 Haircut, simple	$5.65	$9.53
👖 Brand Jeans	$56.9	$58.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$77.6	$82.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$254	$420
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$8723	$20197

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

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

Cities near Seoul

Distance	City	Cost of living
13 km or 7.9 mi	Guri	$1122
17 km or 10 mi	Goyang	$1171
17 km or 10 mi	Gwangmyeong	$1089
17 km or 11 mi	Gwacheon	$1070
19 km or 12 mi	Uijeongbu	$955
20 km or 12 mi	Hanam	$1161
20 km or 12 mi	Namyangju	$1129
20 km or 13 mi	Seongnam	$1400
21 km or 13 mi	Siheung	$1283
21 km or 13 mi	Bucheon	$1163
22 km or 14 mi	Anyang	$1022
23 km or 14 mi	Yangju	$974
24 km or 15 mi	Gunpo	$1098
26 km or 16 mi	Gimpo	$1099
27 km or 17 mi	Uiwang	$1063
30 km or 19 mi	Gwangju	$1165
32 km or 20 mi	Paju	$1075
33 km or 20 mi	Ansan	$1070
33 km or 21 mi	Suwon	$1022
34 km or 21 mi	Incheon	$1092
37 km or 23 mi	Dongducheon	$1055
39 km or 24 mi	Pocheon	$1040
42 km or 26 mi	Yongin	$1127
47 km or 29 mi	Hwaseong	$1089
49 km or 31 mi	Osan	$1042
52 km or 32 mi	Icheon	$1020
58 km or 36 mi	Kaesong	$1565
65 km or 40 mi	Yeoju	$1026
66 km or 41 mi	Pyeongtaek	$984
69 km or 43 mi	Anseong	$1026
72 km or 45 mi	Chuncheon	$865
83 km or 52 mi	Dangjin	$1033
86 km or 53 mi	Wonju	$1074
87 km or 54 mi	Cheonan	$1151
101 km or 63 mi	Seosan	$1036
107 km or 66 mi	Chungju	$900
114 km or 71 mi	Cheongju	$936
118 km or 73 mi	Jecheon	$1016
123 km or 77 mi	Haeju	$1550
124 km or 77 mi	Sejong	$1019