Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cheras and Boksburg

For one person, living is cheaper in Cheras: $1,139 a month against $1,210 in Boksburg, rent and utilities included – about $850 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Cheras
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Cheras Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Boksburg
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Boksburg Living Index

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Cheras

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$1,139

/mo nomad

Boksburg

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cheras and in Boksburg

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,139 in Cheras versus $1,210 in Boksburg.

Cheras $1,139
Boksburg $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,560 in Cheras versus $1,890 in Boksburg.

Cheras $1,560
Boksburg $1,890

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,982 in Cheras versus $2,570 in Boksburg.

Cheras $1,982
Boksburg $2,570

Living in Cheras costs roughly 6% less than in Boksburg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cheras 16% lower, Boksburg 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.61 MYR 14.65

$12.05 R 201

-70.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.03 MYR 97.4

$45.54 R 760

-47.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.02 MYR 20.33

$5.33 R 88.9

-5.82%

Cappuccino

$2.99 MYR 12.11

$2.32 R 38.69

28.88%

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

$0.91 MYR 3.69

$1.11 R 18.59

-18.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.57 MYR 2.31

$0.85 R 14.11

-32.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.33 MYR 17.54

$2.35 R 39.19

84.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.32 MYR 25.61

$2.75 R 45.83

129.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.89 MYR 7.65

$1.31 R 21.95

44.27%

White Bread (500g)

$1.07 MYR 4.34

$1.12 R 18.72

-4.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.49 MYR 6.04

$1.78 R 29.69

-16.29%

Eggs

$1.78 MYR 7.23

$2.74 R 45.75

-35.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.03 MYR 73.1

$8.48 R 142

112.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.56 MYR 18.49

$5.20 R 86.8

-12.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.89 MYR 44.16

$8.73 R 146

24.74%

Apples (1kg)

$3.58 MYR 14.51

$1.77 R 29.54

102.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.86 MYR 7.54

$1.65 R 27.47

12.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.63 MYR 10.68

$1.76 R 29.40

49.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.67 MYR 6.77

$1.83 R 30.59

-8.74%

Potato (1kg)

$2.08 MYR 8.43

$1.63 R 27.25

27.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.65 MYR 6.70

$1.72 R 28.72

-4.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.33 MYR 5.40

$1.17 R 19.46

13.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.50 MYR 2.04

$1.27 R 21.18

-60.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MYR 17.45

$3.24 R 54.1

32.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.15 MYR 57.4

$5.88 R 98.2

140.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 MYR 10.76

$1.58 R 26.36

68.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 MYR 12.76

$1.91 R 31.94

64.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.76 MYR 3.09

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.45 MYR 50.5

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.94 MYR 3.82

$0.31 R 5.23

203.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.36 MYR 1.45

$0.82 R 13.62

-56.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.17 MYR 37.20

$14.32 R 239

-35.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.86 MYR 3.51

$1.50 R 25.01

-42.67%

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

$45.0K MYR 182.6K

$34.8K R 581.3K

29.34%

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

$35.8K MYR 145.2K

$34.8K R 581.0K

2.93%

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

$49.55 MYR 201

$225 R 3,763

-78.02%

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

$10.91 MYR 44.24

$38.67 R 646

-71.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.88 MYR 113

$36.62 R 611

-23.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.1 MYR 211

$27.68 R 462

88.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.66 MYR 26.98

Cinema Ticket

$4.99 MYR 20.25

$8.19 R 137

-39.07%

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

$164 MYR 664

$244 R 4,070

-32.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,411 MYR 17.9K

$5,450 R 91.0K

-19.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.6 MYR 217

$52.2 R 872

2.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.08 MYR 122

$45.39 R 758

-33.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.9 MYR 332

$101 R 1,686

-18.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.3 MYR 394

$112 R 1,874

-13.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$386 MYR 1,566

$319 R 5,318

21.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$463 MYR 1,877

$349 R 5,823

32.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$666 MYR 2,700

$663 R 11.1K

0.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$490 MYR 1,985

$777 R 13.0K

-36.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,001 MYR 8,114

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,081 MYR 4,380

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,161 MYR 4,706

$862 R 14.4K

34.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

10.91

-62.79%

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

Last update for Cheras: October 24, 2026

Last update for Boksburg: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cheras

$463 40.6%

Boksburg

$349 28.8% 24.6% $114

Groceries & Markets

Cheras

$269 23.6%

Boksburg

$207 17.1% 23.1% $62

Eating Out

Cheras

$120 10.5%

Boksburg

$165 13.7% 37.7% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Cheras

$118 10.4%

Boksburg

$140 11.6% 18.3% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cheras

$88 7.8%

Boksburg

$301 24.9% 240% $212

Sport & Entertainment

Cheras

$62 5.5%

Boksburg

$44 3.6% 29% $18

Getting Around

Cheras

$18 1.6%

Boksburg

$4.4 * 0.4% 75.9% $14

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 $386 in Cheras and $319 in Boksburg. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cheras pays 35% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $24 in Cheras vs $46 in Boksburg. Groceries flip the comparison at $269 vs $207, with Boksburg cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Cheras

🇿🇦 Boksburg

🕒 Local time

10:08 10:08 AM

04:08 4:08 AM

6 h behind Cheras

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

440,000

260,000

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.247 USD

1 MYR = 0.221 EUR

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.05 MYR (1 MYR = 0.247 USD). 1 EUR = 4.53 MYR (1 MYR = 0.221 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 16.69 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.64 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cheras Boksburg 8,520 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cheras
Boksburg

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

Cheras vs Boksburg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,139 in Cheras and $1,210 in Boksburg, so Cheras is about 6% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 35% higher in Cheras, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $386 in Cheras versus $319 in Boksburg. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Boksburg pay roughly 23% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,139 per month in Cheras versus $1,210 in Boksburg – Cheras is about 6% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Cheras gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.