Kuala Lumpur vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Kuala Lumpur Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$981
$1126
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2371
$3097
🏠 One person rent
$468
$600
🏘️ Family rent
$806
$1068
🍽️ Food expenses
$320
$293
🚐 Transport expenses
$107
$108
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1331
$879
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
16 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
93
99
😀 Quality of life
84
75
🏙️ Population
9M
24.9M

The cost of living in Kuala Lumpur is 13% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 5802nd and 4971st ($981 vs $1126) 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 1.4 months in Kuala Lumpur compared to 0.8 months in Shanghai. Kuala Lumpur ranked 1st best city to live in Malaysia vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 520th and 1655th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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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
$4.71
$5.01
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$31
$36.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.12
$5.51
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$5
$1.69
☕ Cappuccino
$3.55
$3.77
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.01
$0.54
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$602
$803
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$350
$486
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1058
$1462
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$631
$880
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$41.1
$37.5
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$63.5
$58.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$26.5
$13
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.51%
3.34%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3532
$14215
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1566
$7113
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.78
$0.47
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$17.5
$30.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$10.8
$6.45
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.6
$1.15
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$2.3
$1.94
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.11
$1.8
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.58
$1.3
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.72
$1.79
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.1
$16.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.47
$3.91
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.9
$11.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.33
$2.35
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.82
$1.74
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.77
$1.78
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.63
$1.76
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.37
$0.89
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.53
$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.49
$0.45
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.24
$1.27
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$18.9
$12.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.33
$0.92
🚬 Cigarette pack
$4.57
$3.46
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.02
$6.19
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.89
$6.91
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.89
$2.07
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.43
$2.21
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$50.1
$61.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$5.12
$7.84
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$21.8
$94.1
💇 Haircut, simple
$6.47
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$64.4
$50.6
👟 Brand Sneakers
$93.2
$78.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$309
$1114
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$10356
$27781

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
$813
15 km or 9.1 mi Subang Jaya
$831
19 km or 12 mi Shah Alam
$750
24 km or 15 mi Putrajaya
$627
25 km or 16 mi Cyberjaya
$664
30 km or 19 mi Klang
$762
54 km or 33 mi Seremban
$678
123 km or 77 mi Malacca
$736
124 km or 77 mi Teluk Intan
$701
155 km or 97 mi Muar
$788
167 km or 104 mi Dumai
$513
176 km or 109 mi Ipoh
$696
196 km or 122 mi Kuantan
$588
199 km or 124 mi Batu Pahat
$780
211 km or 131 mi Tanjungbalai
$485
217 km or 135 mi Taiping
$572
219 km or 136 mi Kluang
$770
229 km or 142 mi Chukai
$640
282 km or 175 mi Tebing Tinggi
$461
291 km or 181 mi Butterworth
$740
291 km or 181 mi Kuala Terengganu
$572
292 km or 181 mi Pekanbaru
$495
293 km or 182 mi Pematangsiantar
$470
294 km or 183 mi George Town
$792
297 km or 184 mi Johor Bahru
$838
309 km or 192 mi Sungai Petani
$663
311 km or 193 mi Singapore City
$3119
315 km or 195 mi Bukit Merah
$2806
335 km or 208 mi Padangsidempuan
$558
338 km or 210 mi Kota Bharu
$551
341 km or 212 mi Medan
$461
346 km or 215 mi Batam
$533
360 km or 224 mi Binjai
$458
361 km or 225 mi Alor Setar
$564
394 km or 245 mi Tanjung Pinang
$495
402 km or 250 mi Kangar
$628
413 km or 257 mi Langkawi
$634
441 km or 274 mi Langsa
$451
451 km or 280 mi Hat Yai
$622
457 km or 284 mi Ko Lipe
$790

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1002
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$669
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$696
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$701
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$782
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$594
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$620
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$644
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$557
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$667
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$683
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$643
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$650
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$584
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$671
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$636
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$680
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$684
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$623
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$646
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$860
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$636
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$647
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$652
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$611
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$652
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$604
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$675
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$678
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$525
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$618
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$626
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$644
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$667
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$677
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$601
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$661
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$665
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$632
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$765