Kuala Lumpur vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Kuala Lumpur Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$743
$1379
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1862
$4064
🏠 One person rent
$347
$768
🏘️ Family rent
$643
$1746
🍽️ Food expenses
$257
$353
🚐 Transport expenses
$72.1
$110
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1339
$1510
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
16 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
92
100
😀 Quality of life
78
78
🏙️ Population
1.98M
24.9M

The cost of living in Kuala Lumpur is 46% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 6420th and 3152nd ($743 vs $1379) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 5th in Malaysia and China, respectively. Check Malaysia vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.8 months in Kuala Lumpur compared to 1.1 months in Shanghai. Kuala Lumpur ranked 1st best city to live in Malaysia vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 512th and 484th 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 Shanghai infographic

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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
$3.02
$7.11
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$21.9
$42.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.11
$6.39
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$4.31
$3.55
☕ Cappuccino
$2.97
$4.81
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.63
$0.56
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$404
$1079
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$253
$611
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$835
$2636
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$491
$1416
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$37.6
$44.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$57.3
$67.1
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$25.7
$18.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.59%
4.98%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2288
$18451
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1246
$10024
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.7
$0.59
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$19.3
$28.2
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$8.82
$6.86
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.49
$1.25
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.67
$3.13
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.84
$2.47
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.13
$1.78
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2
$2.83
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.75
$21.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.85
$4.56
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10
$13.5
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.66
$2.49
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.56
$1.63
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.87
$2.11
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.49
$1.88
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.07
$1
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.92
$1.14
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.44
$0.44
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.19
$1.49
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$17.5
$19.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.68
$0.93
🚬 Cigarette pack
$4.07
$3.8
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.82
$5.61
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.12
$5.96
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.75
$1.67
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.83
$1.92
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$37.3
$75.2
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$4.62
$8.13
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$15.8
$108
💇 Haircut, simple
$7.96
$11.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$47.5
$81.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$69.1
$90.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$257
$1380
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$8850
$27276

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
$667
15 km or 9.1 mi Subang Jaya
$675
19 km or 12 mi Shah Alam
$675
24 km or 15 mi Putrajaya
$522
25 km or 16 mi Cyberjaya
$533
30 km or 19 mi Klang
$624
54 km or 33 mi Seremban
$559
123 km or 77 mi Malacca
$589
124 km or 77 mi Teluk Intan
$599
155 km or 97 mi Muar
$606
167 km or 104 mi Dumai
$491
176 km or 109 mi Ipoh
$573
196 km or 122 mi Kuantan
$572
199 km or 124 mi Batu Pahat
$633
211 km or 131 mi Tanjungbalai
$487
217 km or 135 mi Taiping
$1007
219 km or 136 mi Kluang
$638
229 km or 142 mi Chukai
$603
282 km or 175 mi Tebing Tinggi
$486
291 km or 181 mi Butterworth
$600
291 km or 181 mi Kuala Terengganu
$493
292 km or 181 mi Pekanbaru
$506
293 km or 182 mi Pematangsiantar
$320
294 km or 183 mi George Town
$654
297 km or 184 mi Johor Bahru
$607
309 km or 192 mi Sungai Petani
$580
311 km or 193 mi Singapore City
$3300
315 km or 195 mi Bukit Merah
$2511
335 km or 208 mi Padangsidempuan
$487
338 km or 210 mi Kota Bharu
$511
341 km or 212 mi Medan
$496
346 km or 215 mi Batam
$605
360 km or 224 mi Binjai
$461
361 km or 225 mi Alor Setar
$539
394 km or 245 mi Tanjung Pinang
$474
402 km or 250 mi Kangar
$610
413 km or 257 mi Langkawi
$549
441 km or 274 mi Langsa
$487
451 km or 280 mi Hat Yai
$527
457 km or 284 mi Ko Lipe
$597

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$754
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$667
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$701
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$677
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$1099
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$726
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$674
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$693
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$952
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$690
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$852
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$776
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$684
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$680
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$882
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$665
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$726
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$685
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$778
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$683
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$891
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$681
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$673
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$672
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$652
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$662
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$674
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$689
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$674
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$573
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$711
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$666
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$655
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$650
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$681
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$664
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$678
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$729
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$673
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$811