Kuala Lumpur vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Kuala Lumpur Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$892
$1136
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2135
$3654
🏠 One person rent
$450
$602
🏘️ Family rent
$787
$1527
🍽️ Food expenses
$295
$293
🚐 Transport expenses
$69.6
$116
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1450
$1905
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
16 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
93
100
😀 Quality of life
76
79
🏙️ Population
1.98M
24.9M

The cost of living in Kuala Lumpur is 22% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 6160th and 4780th ($892 vs $1136) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 6th in Malaysia and China, respectively. Check Malaysia vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Kuala Lumpur compared to 1.7 months in Shanghai. Kuala Lumpur ranked 1st best city to live in Malaysia vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 883rd and 571st among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Kuala Lumpur vs Shanghai infographic

Share this infographic!

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
$4.35
$3.99
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$27.4
$42.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.78
$5.51
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$4.99
$1.43
☕ Cappuccino
$3.17
$3.61
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.85
$0.53
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$495
$897
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$343
$461
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1006
$2549
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$604
$1181
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$48.4
$36.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$75.4
$56.1
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$27.7
$16.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.53%
4.28%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3145
$16156
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1425
$8893
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.72
$0.57
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$12.4
$36.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$9.79
$6.13
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.51
$1.19
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$2.05
$2.41
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.02
$1.99
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.42
$1.41
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.5
$2.11
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14.7
$15.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.14
$3.46
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10.2
$11.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.94
$2.33
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.61
$1.64
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.88
$2.05
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.55
$1.7
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.18
$0.98
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.15
$1.07
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.46
$0.37
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.2
$1.32
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$17.6
$11.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.2
$0.86
🚬 Cigarette pack
$4.31
$3.51
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$3.47
$6.62
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.34
$7.04
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.46
$1.72
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.21
$2.03
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$46.4
$55
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$4.89
$8.47
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$20
$90.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$6.4
$11.9
👖 Brand Jeans
$59.8
$58.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$80.1
$78.6
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$259
$1263
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$9485
$31401

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

More cities to compare

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Kuala Lumpur

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.7 mi Petaling Jaya
$738
15 km or 9.1 mi Subang Jaya
$732
19 km or 12 mi Shah Alam
$687
24 km or 15 mi Putrajaya
$571
25 km or 16 mi Cyberjaya
$617
30 km or 19 mi Klang
$729
54 km or 33 mi Seremban
$630
123 km or 77 mi Malacca
$699
124 km or 77 mi Teluk Intan
$673
155 km or 97 mi Muar
$752
167 km or 104 mi Dumai
$585
176 km or 109 mi Ipoh
$670
196 km or 122 mi Kuantan
$518
199 km or 124 mi Batu Pahat
$750
211 km or 131 mi Tanjungbalai
$538
217 km or 135 mi Taiping
$759
219 km or 136 mi Kluang
$745
229 km or 142 mi Chukai
$579
282 km or 175 mi Tebing Tinggi
$504
291 km or 181 mi Butterworth
$671
291 km or 181 mi Kuala Terengganu
$544
292 km or 181 mi Pekanbaru
$590
293 km or 182 mi Pematangsiantar
$518
294 km or 183 mi George Town
$669
297 km or 184 mi Johor Bahru
$709
309 km or 192 mi Sungai Petani
$637
311 km or 193 mi Singapore City
$3168
315 km or 195 mi Bukit Merah
$2852
335 km or 208 mi Padangsidempuan
$624
338 km or 210 mi Kota Bharu
$517
341 km or 212 mi Medan
$519
346 km or 215 mi Batam
$604
360 km or 224 mi Binjai
$503
361 km or 225 mi Alor Setar
$523
394 km or 245 mi Tanjung Pinang
$549
402 km or 250 mi Kangar
$563
413 km or 257 mi Langkawi
$594
441 km or 274 mi Langsa
$490
451 km or 280 mi Hat Yai
$561
457 km or 284 mi Ko Lipe
$742

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1028
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$706
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$749
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$738
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$1020
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$585
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$661
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$718
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$620
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$676
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$686
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$706
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$685
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$612
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$733
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$674
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$742
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$702
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$729
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$674
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$843
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$665
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$676
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$690
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$629
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$698
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$630
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$673
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$698
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$538
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$650
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$651
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$703
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$708
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$699
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$617
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$702
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$771
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$648
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$774