Kuala Lumpur vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Kuala Lumpur Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$743
$1190
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1779
$3757
🏠 One person rent
$367
$635
🏘️ Family rent
$648
$1613
🍽️ Food expenses
$248
$308
🚐 Transport expenses
$62.1
$117
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1229
$1455
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
16 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
93
100
😀 Quality of life
77
78
🏙️ Population
1.98M
24.9M

The cost of living in Kuala Lumpur is 38% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 6605th and 4461st ($743 vs $1190) 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 1.7 months in Kuala Lumpur compared to 1.2 months in Shanghai. Kuala Lumpur ranked 1st best city to live in Malaysia vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 772nd and 558th among best cities to live in the world.

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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
$3.2
$4.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$22.4
$40.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.1
$5.69
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.51
$1.7
☕ Cappuccino
$2.75
$3.83
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.74
$0.55
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$424
$901
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$276
$497
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$872
$2595
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$492
$1269
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$36.4
$39.1
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$54.4
$60.5
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$25.6
$17.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.16%
4.77%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2386
$17366
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1168
$9346
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.63
$0.56
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$11.1
$37.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$8.81
$6
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.43
$1.19
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.68
$2.55
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.84
$2.02
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.2
$1.47
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.97
$2.21
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.1
$18.3
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.07
$4.12
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.82
$12.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.45
$2.27
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.35
$1.65
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.55
$1.97
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.39
$1.52
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.93
$0.96
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.84
$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.41
$0.39
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.04
$1.25
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$14.5
$14.7
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.76
$0.9
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.78
$3.45
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$3.91
$6.43
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$2.85
$7.06
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.49
$1.68
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.6
$2
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$40.6
$69.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$4.27
$8.16
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$15.7
$89.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$5.62
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$49.1
$66.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$69.7
$78.5
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$208
$1283
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$6454
$28143

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
$645
15 km or 9.1 mi Subang Jaya
$644
19 km or 12 mi Shah Alam
$582
24 km or 15 mi Putrajaya
$480
25 km or 16 mi Cyberjaya
$539
30 km or 19 mi Klang
$553
54 km or 33 mi Seremban
$545
123 km or 77 mi Malacca
$602
124 km or 77 mi Teluk Intan
$565
155 km or 97 mi Muar
$611
167 km or 104 mi Dumai
$554
176 km or 109 mi Ipoh
$550
196 km or 122 mi Kuantan
$482
199 km or 124 mi Batu Pahat
$609
211 km or 131 mi Tanjungbalai
$515
217 km or 135 mi Taiping
$638
219 km or 136 mi Kluang
$610
229 km or 142 mi Chukai
$512
282 km or 175 mi Tebing Tinggi
$485
291 km or 181 mi Butterworth
$578
291 km or 181 mi Kuala Terengganu
$465
292 km or 181 mi Pekanbaru
$558
293 km or 182 mi Pematangsiantar
$499
294 km or 183 mi George Town
$566
297 km or 184 mi Johor Bahru
$623
309 km or 192 mi Sungai Petani
$544
311 km or 193 mi Singapore City
$3007
315 km or 195 mi Bukit Merah
$2733
335 km or 208 mi Padangsidempuan
$596
338 km or 210 mi Kota Bharu
$455
341 km or 212 mi Medan
$500
346 km or 215 mi Batam
$585
360 km or 224 mi Binjai
$483
361 km or 225 mi Alor Setar
$453
394 km or 245 mi Tanjung Pinang
$511
402 km or 250 mi Kangar
$487
413 km or 257 mi Langkawi
$496
441 km or 274 mi Langsa
$472
451 km or 280 mi Hat Yai
$520
457 km or 284 mi Ko Lipe
$650

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1074
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$731
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$771
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$763
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$1020
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$596
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$682
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$731
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$651
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$678
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$687
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$699
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$688
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$690
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$677
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$675
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$755
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$707
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$713
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$682
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$831
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$665
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$679
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$694
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$625
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$707
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$625
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$651
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$703
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$524
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$631
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$645
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$720
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$725
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$696
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$617
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$719
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$789
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$652
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$740