Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chengdu and Kota Bharu

For one person, living is cheaper in Kota Bharu: $694 a month against $723 in Chengdu, rent and utilities included – about $350 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Chengdu outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

35

Cost of Living Index in Chengdu
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Chengdu Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Kota Bharu
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Kota Bharu Living Index

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Chengdu

🇨🇳 China

$723

/mo nomad

Kota Bharu

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$694

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chengdu and in Kota Bharu

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

A single person spends $723 per month in Chengdu vs $694 in Kota Bharu, rent included.

Chengdu $723
Kota Bharu $694

A couple spends around $1,161 per month in Chengdu vs $1,075 in Kota Bharu, rent included.

Chengdu $1,161
Kota Bharu $1,075

A family of three spends $1,600 per month in Chengdu vs $1,455 in Kota Bharu, rent included.

Chengdu $1,600
Kota Bharu $1,455

Chengdu costs about 4% more than Kota Bharu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Chengdu and Kota Bharu are more affordable than the global median – Chengdu 47% lower, Kota Bharu 49% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.87 ¥19.13

$2.24 MYR 9.12

28.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.50 ¥150

$19.43 MYR 79.2

15.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.82 ¥32.12

$4.79 MYR 19.51

0.63%

Cappuccino

$2.86 ¥19.04

$2.18 MYR 8.87

31.19%

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

$0.48 ¥3.23

$0.47 MYR 1.93

2.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 ¥1.66

$0.26 MYR 1.05

-3.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.54 ¥10.27

$4.27 MYR 17.40

-63.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 ¥15.12

$4.34 MYR 17.68

-47.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 ¥12.27

$1.57 MYR 6.38

17.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 ¥10.48

$0.90 MYR 3.67

74.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.87 ¥5.82

$0.78 MYR 3.18

11.54%

Eggs

$1.57 ¥10.47

$1.60 MYR 6.51

-1.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.41 ¥96.0

$13.48 MYR 55.0

6.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.54 ¥23.56

$3.06 MYR 12.49

15.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.09 ¥73.9

$6.52 MYR 26.57

70.09%

Apples (1kg)

$1.82 ¥12.15

$3.07 MYR 12.52

-40.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.32 ¥8.77

$1.45 MYR 5.89

-8.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.09 ¥7.25

$2.76 MYR 11.25

-60.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.15 ¥7.65

$1.12 MYR 4.58

2.68%

Potato (1kg)

$0.74 ¥4.96

$0.95 MYR 3.86

-22.11%

Onion (1kg)

$0.71 ¥4.76

$1.10 MYR 4.46

-35.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.64 ¥4.23

$1.10 MYR 4.48

-41.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 ¥3.75

$0.45 MYR 1.83

24.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.81 ¥25.40

$3.35 MYR 13.66

13.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.43 ¥29.49

$19.31 MYR 78.7

-77.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 ¥5.54

$2.93 MYR 11.93

-71.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.48 ¥9.83

$5.45 MYR 22.19

-72.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 ¥2.07

$0.76 MYR 3.11

-59.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.92 ¥153

$12.22 MYR 49.79

87.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.38 ¥9.18

$1.77 MYR 7.20

-22.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.31 ¥2.09

$0.41 MYR 1.65

-24.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.55 ¥30.29

$3.75 MYR 15.29

21.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 ¥8.62

$0.48 MYR 1.96

168.75%

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

$19.5K ¥129.7K

$31.4K MYR 128.1K

-38.06%

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

$17.5K ¥116.6K

$29.5K MYR 120.3K

-40.69%

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

$47.63 ¥317

$37.70 MYR 154

26.34%

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

$9.12 ¥60.8

$8.53 MYR 34.74

6.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.83 ¥85.5

$26.29 MYR 107

-51.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.91 ¥179

$48.85 MYR 199

-44.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.12 ¥74.1

Cinema Ticket

$5.86 ¥39.01

$4.44 MYR 18.11

31.98%

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

$1,162 ¥7,740

$122 MYR 497

853.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$34.0K ¥226.5K

$11.6K MYR 47.3K

193.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$25.39 ¥169

$54.7 MYR 223

-53.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.92 ¥186

$19.81 MYR 80.7

40.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$57.9 ¥385

$80.7 MYR 329

-28.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$53.4 ¥356

$69.8 MYR 284

-23.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$422 ¥2,813

$247 MYR 1,007

70.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$232 ¥1,545

$123 MYR 502

88.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ¥5,036

$676 MYR 2,753

11.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$472 ¥3,145

$224 MYR 913

110.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,537 ¥23.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,850 ¥12.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,334 ¥8,882

$296 MYR 1,205

351.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.38

4.24

-20.28%

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

Last update for Chengdu: November 3, 2026

Last update for Kota Bharu: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chengdu

$232 32.1%

Kota Bharu

$123 17.7% 46.9% $109

Groceries & Markets

Chengdu

$194 26.9%

Kota Bharu

$229 33% 18% $35

Eating Out

Chengdu

$87 12%

Kota Bharu

$91 13.2% 5.1% $4.4

Clothing & Footwear

Chengdu

$74 10.3%

Kota Bharu

$101 14.6% 36.6% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chengdu

$70 9.6%

Kota Bharu

$73 10.5% 4.2% $2.9

Sport & Entertainment

Chengdu

$39 5.4%

Kota Bharu

$58 8.3% 49.5% $19

Getting Around

Chengdu

$27 3.8%

Kota Bharu

$19 2.8% 29.7% $8.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $422 in Chengdu versus $247 in Kota Bharu. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Chengdu are about 4.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $23 in Chengdu versus $19 in Kota Bharu. Groceries tell a different story – $194 in Chengdu vs $229 in Kota Bharu – so Chengdu wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Chengdu

🇲🇾 Kota Bharu

🕒 Local time

13:36 1:36 PM

Same time as Chengdu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,937,757

568,900

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.219 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 6.66 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.45 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.56 MYR (1 MYR = 0.219 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chengdu Kota Bharu 2,730 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Chengdu
Kota Bharu

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

Chengdu vs Kota Bharu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $723 in Chengdu, $694 in Kota Bharu – Kota Bharu comes out roughly 4% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,084 per month in Chengdu and $1,041 in Kota Bharu. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kota Bharu, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $247 there versus $422 in Chengdu.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $23 in Chengdu and $19 in Kota Bharu. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $723 in Chengdu and $694 in Kota Bharu. That makes Kota Bharu about 4% cheaper.

$800 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $723 in Chengdu and $694 in Kota Bharu, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Kota Bharu – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Kota Bharu. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Chengdu makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.