Kuala Lumpur vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

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Livingcost

Kuala Lumpur Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$992
$1147
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2346
$3146
🏠 One person rent
$483
$636
🏘️ Family rent
$775
$1119
🍽️ Food expenses
$319
$279
🚐 Transport expenses
$102
$105
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1014
$1068
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
16 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
93
99
😀 Quality of life
82
76
🏙️ Population
9M
24.9M

The cost of living in Kuala Lumpur is 14% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 5636th and 4880th ($992 vs $1147) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 5th in Malaysia and China, respectively. Check Malaysia vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1 months in Kuala Lumpur compared to 0.9 months in Shanghai. Kuala Lumpur ranked 1st best city to live in Malaysia vs Shanghai ranked 5th in China, while ranked 555th and 1178th among best cities to live in the world.

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Prices in Kuala Lumpur vs Shanghai

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

Kuala Lumpur Shanghai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$4.55
$4.42
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$28.6
$30.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.14
$5.19
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$4.86
$1.44
☕ Cappuccino
$3.41
$3.21
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.85
$0.57
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$654
$849
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$359
$520
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1155
$1495
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$572
$937
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$38.6
$38.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$60.5
$59.3
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$25.7
$11.2
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.25%
3.19%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4081
$14068
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1476
$6729
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.74
$0.54
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$14.9
$29.4
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$10.4
$5.76
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.68
$1.23
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$2.34
$2.14
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.23
$1.81
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.74
$1.1
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.73
$1.87
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14.7
$16.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.86
$3.33
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.85
$13
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.51
$2.43
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.94
$1.87
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.52
$1.84
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.57
$1.75
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.37
$0.83
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.5
$0.94
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.46
$0.45
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.24
$1.31
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$19.1
$11.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.29
$0.9
🚬 Cigarette pack
$4.43
$2.95
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$3.93
$6.37
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.79
$7.05
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.84
$2.11
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.39
$2.24
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$49.5
$70.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$5.27
$8.79
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$25.2
$98.8
💇 Haircut, simple
$7.5
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$66.8
$46.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$91.5
$71.7
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$300
$1268
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$11913
$27610

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

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

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1030
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$708
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$726
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$725
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$798
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$596
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$643
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$678
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$581
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$652
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$686
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$680
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$658
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$571
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$660
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$645
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$670
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$663
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$636
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$659
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$899
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$651
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$664
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$657
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$627
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$667
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$623
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$693
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$691
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$538
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$623
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$644
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$661
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$696
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$693
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$620
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$677
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$684
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$644
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$789