Kuala Lumpur vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Kuala Lumpur Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$866
$1128
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2078
$3104
🏠 One person rent
$415
$605
🏘️ Family rent
$706
$1067
🍽️ Food expenses
$295
$289
🚐 Transport expenses
$74
$110
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1175
$931
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
16 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
93
100
😀 Quality of life
78
77
🏙️ Population
1.98M
24.9M

The cost of living in Kuala Lumpur is 23% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 6384th and 4879th ($866 vs $1128) 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 985th and 1383rd 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
$4.41
$4.7
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$26.8
$40
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.77
$5.69
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$4.73
$1.47
☕ Cappuccino
$3.11
$3.79
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.88
$0.51
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$522
$848
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$311
$485
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$927
$1510
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$550
$875
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$36
$34.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$55.1
$52
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$25.7
$12.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.46%
3.36%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3056
$14877
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1519
$7318
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.7
$0.56
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$16.2
$31.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$9.83
$6.41
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.53
$1.13
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$2.04
$2.11
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.01
$1.88
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.45
$1.34
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.47
$1.88
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14
$15.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.97
$3.52
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.52
$10.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.13
$2.26
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.65
$1.78
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.66
$1.8
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.5
$1.54
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.27
$0.81
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.39
$1.07
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.46
$0.44
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.26
$1.27
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$17.5
$11.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.22
$0.86
🚬 Cigarette pack
$4.3
$3.02
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$3.73
$6.07
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.59
$6
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.76
$2.02
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.29
$2.12
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$46.7
$59.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$4.79
$8.24
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$21
$92.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$5.58
$12.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$62.4
$52.8
👟 Brand Sneakers
$94.3
$75.1
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$267
$1172
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$9002
$27624

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
$731
15 km or 9.1 mi Subang Jaya
$789
19 km or 12 mi Shah Alam
$681
24 km or 15 mi Putrajaya
$584
25 km or 16 mi Cyberjaya
$609
30 km or 19 mi Klang
$704
54 km or 33 mi Seremban
$643
123 km or 77 mi Malacca
$689
124 km or 77 mi Teluk Intan
$654
155 km or 97 mi Muar
$771
167 km or 104 mi Dumai
$519
176 km or 109 mi Ipoh
$657
196 km or 122 mi Kuantan
$552
199 km or 124 mi Batu Pahat
$788
211 km or 131 mi Tanjungbalai
$488
217 km or 135 mi Taiping
$552
219 km or 136 mi Kluang
$771
229 km or 142 mi Chukai
$598
282 km or 175 mi Tebing Tinggi
$461
291 km or 181 mi Butterworth
$701
291 km or 181 mi Kuala Terengganu
$534
292 km or 181 mi Pekanbaru
$503
293 km or 182 mi Pematangsiantar
$472
294 km or 183 mi George Town
$754
297 km or 184 mi Johor Bahru
$789
309 km or 192 mi Sungai Petani
$653
311 km or 193 mi Singapore City
$3201
315 km or 195 mi Bukit Merah
$2909
335 km or 208 mi Padangsidempuan
$563
338 km or 210 mi Kota Bharu
$517
341 km or 212 mi Medan
$466
346 km or 215 mi Batam
$542
360 km or 224 mi Binjai
$460
361 km or 225 mi Alor Setar
$509
394 km or 245 mi Tanjung Pinang
$502
402 km or 250 mi Kangar
$570
413 km or 257 mi Langkawi
$592
441 km or 274 mi Langsa
$449
451 km or 280 mi Hat Yai
$592
457 km or 284 mi Ko Lipe
$756

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1003
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$673
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$696
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$696
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$771
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$597
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$612
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$632
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$547
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$648
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$679
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$631
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$634
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$576
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$713
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$621
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$740
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$674
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$601
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$630
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$826
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$622
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$634
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$639
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$597
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$642
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$597
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$651
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$664
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$531
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$602
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$618
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$637
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$672
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$663
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$590
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$666
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$659
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$617
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$753