Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bintulu and Petaling Jaya

For one person, living is cheaper in Bintulu: $852 a month against $1,094 in Petaling Jaya, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Petaling Jaya outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

41

Cost of Living Index in Bintulu
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Bintulu Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Petaling Jaya
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Petaling Jaya Living Index

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Bintulu

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$852

/mo nomad

Petaling Jaya

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$1,094

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bintulu and in Petaling Jaya

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Bintulu and in Petaling Jaya actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $852 in Bintulu versus $1,094 in Petaling Jaya.

Bintulu $852
Petaling Jaya $1,094

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,331 in Bintulu versus $1,589 in Petaling Jaya.

Bintulu $1,331
Petaling Jaya $1,589

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,810 in Bintulu versus $2,083 in Petaling Jaya.

Bintulu $1,810
Petaling Jaya $2,083

Living in Bintulu costs roughly 22% less than in Petaling Jaya, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bintulu 37% lower, Petaling Jaya 19% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.02 MYR 16.39

$3.64 MYR 14.83

10.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.75 MYR 76.4

$24.78 MYR 101

-24.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.74 MYR 23.38

$5.00 MYR 20.36

14.80%

Cappuccino

$2.89 MYR 11.80

$3.02 MYR 12.31

-4.30%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.68 MYR 2.78

$0.85 MYR 3.47

-20.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.38 MYR 1.53

$0.45 MYR 1.82

-15.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 MYR 12.17

$3.28 MYR 13.35

-8.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.19 MYR 21.16

$5.71 MYR 23.29

-9.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.10 MYR 8.57

$1.95 MYR 7.95

7.69%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 MYR 5.82

$1.07 MYR 4.38

33.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.32 MYR 5.39

$1.43 MYR 5.82

-7.69%

Eggs

$2.21 MYR 8.99

$1.85 MYR 7.53

19.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.39 MYR 70.9

$9.87 MYR 40.21

76.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.59 MYR 14.63

$3.33 MYR 13.57

7.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.95 MYR 24.24

$9.80 MYR 39.95

-39.29%

Apples (1kg)

$1.76 MYR 7.17

$3.59 MYR 14.63

-50.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.00 MYR 4.06

$1.91 MYR 7.79

-47.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.71 MYR 6.96

$2.63 MYR 10.73

-34.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.12 MYR 4.58

$1.74 MYR 7.09

-35.63%

Potato (1kg)

$0.55 MYR 2.24

$2.14 MYR 8.73

-74.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.19 MYR 4.87

$2.04 MYR 8.33

-41.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 MYR 3.06

$1.44 MYR 5.86

-47.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.45 MYR 1.82

$0.53 MYR 2.15

-15.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.11 MYR 16.75

$4.50 MYR 18.34

-8.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.47 MYR 79.4

$20.01 MYR 81.6

-2.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.02 MYR 12.32

$2.67 MYR 10.88

13.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 MYR 8.15

$4.49 MYR 18.31

-55.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.26 MYR 5.14

$1.22 MYR 4.95

3.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.05 MYR 65.4

$12.31 MYR 50.2

30.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.95 MYR 3.89

$1.02 MYR 4.17

-6.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.82 MYR 3.33

$0.35 MYR 1.44

134.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.51 MYR 10.21

$9.04 MYR 36.83

-72.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.66 MYR 2.71

$0.82 MYR 3.36

-19.51%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$44.8K MYR 182.5K

$45.1K MYR 183.8K

-0.69%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$39.9K MYR 162.4K

$35.0K MYR 142.8K

13.76%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$59.5 MYR 242

$50.3 MYR 205

18.39%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$31.54 MYR 129

$7.57 MYR 30.86

316.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.82 MYR 126

$26.54 MYR 108

16.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.5 MYR 279

$47.38 MYR 193

44.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.11 MYR 49.34

$3.12 MYR 12.72

288.14%

Cinema Ticket

$4.51 MYR 18.38

$4.84 MYR 19.71

-6.82%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$125 MYR 509

$280 MYR 1,140

-55.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,487 MYR 30.5K

$20.6K MYR 84.0K

-63.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$65.4 MYR 267

$52.6 MYR 214

24.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.43 MYR 144

$29.69 MYR 121

19.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.3 MYR 319

$76.6 MYR 312

2.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.1 MYR 375

$87.3 MYR 356

5.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$224 MYR 912

$519 MYR 2,115

-56.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$156 MYR 636

$456 MYR 1,857

-65.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$474 MYR 1,933

$931 MYR 3,795

-49.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$335 MYR 1,366

$680 MYR 2,772

-50.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,775 MYR 7,235

$3,129 MYR 12.8K

-43.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,172 MYR 4,776

$972 MYR 3,962

20.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$613 MYR 2,498

$1,746 MYR 7,114

-64.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.5

4.51

-0.22%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Bintulu: November 3, 2026

Last update for Petaling Jaya: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Bintulu

$235 27.6%

Petaling Jaya

$253 23.1% 7.5% $18

Accommodation & Living

Bintulu

$156 18.3%

Petaling Jaya

$456 41.7% 192% $300

Clothing & Footwear

Bintulu

$122 14.3%

Petaling Jaya

$111 10.1% 9.3% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bintulu

$122 14.3%

Petaling Jaya

$84 7.7% 30.8% $37

Eating Out

Bintulu

$114 13.3%

Petaling Jaya

$113 10.4% 0.3% $0.3

Sport & Entertainment

Bintulu

$78 9.1%

Petaling Jaya

$57 5.2% 26.4% $20

Getting Around

Bintulu

$26 3.1%

Petaling Jaya

$20 1.8% 23.6% $6.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $224 in Bintulu and $519 in Petaling Jaya. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Petaling Jaya pays about 2.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $19 in Bintulu vs $25 in Petaling Jaya for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $235 vs $253 per month, with Bintulu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Bintulu

🇲🇾 Petaling Jaya

🕒 Local time

21:02 9:02 PM

Same time as Bintulu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

240,172

771,687

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.219 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.219 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bintulu Petaling Jaya 1,270 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Bintulu
Petaling Jaya

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Bintulu vs Petaling Jaya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bintulu wins on cost – living expenses run 22% lower than in Petaling Jaya. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Bintulu the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 65% lower in Bintulu. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $224 in Bintulu versus $519 in Petaling Jaya. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $852 per month in Bintulu versus $1,094 in Petaling Jaya – Bintulu is about 22% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Petaling Jaya runs roughly 23% less than in Bintulu. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Bintulu is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Bintulu and Petaling Jaya are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Bintulu wins on affordability, Petaling Jaya on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.