Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Brasilia and Ipoh

For one person, living is cheaper in Ipoh: $826 a month against $916 in Brasilia, rent and utilities included – about $1,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Brasilia
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Brasilia Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Ipoh
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Ipoh Living Index

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Brasilia

🇧🇷 Brazil

$916

/mo nomad

Ipoh

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$826

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Brasilia and in Ipoh

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $916 in Brasilia versus $826 in Ipoh.

Brasilia $916
Ipoh $826

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,514 in Brasilia versus $1,228 in Ipoh.

Brasilia $1,514
Ipoh $1,228

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,112 in Brasilia versus $1,629 in Ipoh.

Brasilia $2,112
Ipoh $1,629

Living in Brasilia is roughly 11% more expensive than in Ipoh, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Brasilia 33% lower, Ipoh 39% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.44 R$45.89

$3.23 MYR 13.10

161.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.71 R$200

$19.61 MYR 79.5

87.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.98 R$43.42

$4.33 MYR 17.54

84.30%

Cappuccino

$2.53 R$13.74

$2.78 MYR 11.28

-8.99%

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

$1.42 R$7.72

$0.70 MYR 2.82

102.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R$5.45

$0.46 MYR 1.87

117.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.20 R$11.96

$4.51 MYR 18.30

-51.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.76 R$20.43

$4.71 MYR 19.09

-20.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 R$5.54

$1.97 MYR 7.99

-48.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.95 R$10.63

$1.02 MYR 4.12

91.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.24 R$6.75

$1.36 MYR 5.52

-8.82%

Eggs

$2.27 R$12.37

$2.24 MYR 9.09

1.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.17 R$60.8

$13.38 MYR 54.2

-16.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.86 R$21.02

$4.54 MYR 18.41

-14.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.58 R$46.66

$7.82 MYR 31.72

9.72%

Apples (1kg)

$2.31 R$12.54

$3.09 MYR 12.51

-25.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 R$7.50

$1.85 MYR 7.51

-25.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.26 R$6.84

$2.32 MYR 9.42

-45.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.52 R$8.27

$1.50 MYR 6.06

1.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.11 R$6.05

$1.28 MYR 5.17

-13.28%

Onion (1kg)

$0.98 R$5.31

$1.36 MYR 5.52

-27.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.76 R$4.11

$1.12 MYR 4.53

-32.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 R$5.08

$0.45 MYR 1.82

106.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.36 R$12.86

$4.54 MYR 18.40

-48.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.67 R$41.71

$17.30 MYR 70.1

-55.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 R$6.75

$3.41 MYR 13.81

-63.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 R$12.81

$4.49 MYR 18.20

-47.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.73 R$3.96

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.76 R$162

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.01 R$5.52

$1.23 MYR 4.99

-17.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.86 R$4.67

$1.19 MYR 4.83

-27.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.77 R$31.40

$5.01 MYR 20.32

15.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 R$6.79

$0.52 MYR 2.09

140.38%

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

$22.0K R$119.4K

$44.6K MYR 180.8K

-50.78%

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

$31.9K R$173.3K

$34.5K MYR 139.9K

-7.70%

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

$92.1 R$501

$64.0 MYR 259

43.94%

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

$11.85 R$64.4

$8.65 MYR 35.08

36.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.93 R$114

$26.30 MYR 107

-20.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.47 R$166

$24.72 MYR 100

23.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.29 R$143

Cinema Ticket

$7.46 R$40.61

$3.50 MYR 14.19

113.14%

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

$764 R$4,158

$458 MYR 1,855

67.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.7K R$85.5K

$13.2K MYR 53.5K

19.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.6 R$286

$61.4 MYR 249

-14.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.10 R$229

$36.45 MYR 148

15.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.4 R$432

$62.1 MYR 252

27.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.6 R$455

$60.1 MYR 243

39.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$517 R$2,813

$325 MYR 1,316

59.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$242 R$1,314

$230 MYR 931

5.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,156 R$6,290

$495 MYR 2,006

133.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$580 R$3,153

$361 MYR 1,463

60.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,398 R$13.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 R$9,128

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$784 R$4,267

$950 MYR 3,851

-17.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.12

3.99

203.76%

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

Last update for Brasilia: October 24, 2026

Last update for Ipoh: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Brasilia

$242 26.4%

Ipoh

$230 27.8% 4.9% $12

Groceries & Markets

Brasilia

$201 21.9%

Ipoh

$251 30.4% 25.1% $50

Eating Out

Brasilia

$150 16.4%

Ipoh

$109 13.2% 27.4% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Brasilia

$125 13.6%

Ipoh

$99 12% 20.8% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Brasilia

$116 12.7%

Ipoh

$99 12% 14.6% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Brasilia

$45 5%

Ipoh

$32 3.8% 30.1% $14

Getting Around

Brasilia

$38 4.1%

Ipoh

$7.2 * 0.9% 81.1% $31

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $517 in Brasilia and $325 in Ipoh. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ipoh pays 21% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37 in Brasilia vs $20 in Ipoh. Groceries flip the comparison at $201 vs $251, with Brasilia cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Brasilia

🇲🇾 Ipoh

🕒 Local time

05:01 5:01 AM

16:01 4:01 PM

11 h ahead of Brasilia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,817,381 Capital

759,952

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.184 USD

1 BRL = 0.165 EUR

1 MYR = 0.247 USD

1 MYR = 0.221 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 5.44 BRL (1 BRL = 0.184 USD). 1 EUR = 6.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.165 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 4.05 MYR (1 MYR = 0.247 USD). 1 EUR = 4.53 MYR (1 MYR = 0.221 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Brasilia Ipoh 16,410 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Brasilia
Ipoh

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

Brasilia vs Ipoh: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $916 in Brasilia and $826 in Ipoh, so Ipoh is about 10% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 17% lower in Brasilia. 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: $517 in Brasilia versus $325 in Ipoh. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $764 in Brasilia versus $458 in Ipoh. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Ipoh – a meal for two runs $20 versus $37 in Brasilia. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Ipoh 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.