Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Haikou and Miri

For one person, living costs are similar in Haikou and in Miri: $806 and $809 a month, rent and utilities included.

40

Cost of Living Index in Haikou
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Haikou Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Miri
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Miri Living Index

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Haikou

🇨🇳 China

$806

/mo nomad

Miri

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$809

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Haikou and in Miri

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $806 in Haikou versus $809 in Miri.

Haikou $806
Miri $809

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,152 in Haikou versus $1,235 in Miri.

Haikou $1,152
Miri $1,235

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,497 in Haikou versus $1,661 in Miri.

Haikou $1,497
Miri $1,661

Monthly costs are close between Haikou and Miri; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities sit below the global median: Haikou 40% lower, Miri 40% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ¥29.45

$3.57 MYR 14.57

23.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$14.72 ¥98.4

$12.29 MYR 50.1

19.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.02 ¥40.26

$4.58 MYR 18.66

31.44%

Cappuccino

$2.43 ¥16.25

$2.39 MYR 9.74

1.67%

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

$0.86 ¥5.74

$0.83 MYR 3.40

3.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.34 ¥2.27

$0.30 MYR 1.23

13.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 ¥10.06

$2.93 MYR 11.94

-48.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 ¥18.18

$3.83 MYR 15.63

-28.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.13 ¥14.26

$1.41 MYR 5.76

51.06%

White Bread (500g)

$1.48 ¥9.90

$1.87 MYR 7.62

-20.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.66 ¥4.40

$0.94 MYR 3.82

-29.79%

Eggs

$1.36 ¥9.07

$3.56 MYR 14.53

-61.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.92 ¥26.23

$4.84 MYR 19.74

-19.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.42 ¥103

$15.25 MYR 62.2

1.11%

Apples (1kg)

$1.69 ¥11.30

Banana (1kg)

$0.87 ¥5.80

$1.98 MYR 8.09

-56.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.11 ¥7.40

Tomato (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.24

Potato (1kg)

$0.89 ¥5.95

Onion (1kg)

$0.73 ¥4.85

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.47 ¥3.12

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 ¥3.83

$0.39 MYR 1.57

46.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.09 ¥20.68

$4.22 MYR 17.20

-26.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.76 ¥58.6

$19.34 MYR 78.9

-54.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 ¥3.84

$3.02 MYR 12.31

-81.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.23 ¥8.23

$2.39 MYR 9.77

-48.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 ¥6.17

$0.50 MYR 2.04

84.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.3 ¥356

$14.38 MYR 58.7

270.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.19 ¥14.66

$1.21 MYR 4.93

80.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 ¥2.86

$0.58 MYR 2.36

-25.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.22 MYR 25.38

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 ¥8.15

$0.68 MYR 2.78

79.41%

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

$49.8K MYR 203.1K

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

$32.7K MYR 133.3K

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

$35.41 ¥237

$49.34 MYR 201

-28.23%

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

$13.21 ¥88.3

$9.96 MYR 40.64

32.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.38 ¥89.4

$32.87 MYR 134

-59.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.67 ¥305

$28.98 MYR 118

57.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.33 ¥42.35

$6.10 MYR 24.88

3.77%

Cinema Ticket

$4.50 ¥30.10

$4.49 MYR 18.33

0.22%

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

$862 ¥5,762

$98.5 MYR 402

775.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.5K ¥130.4K

$6,442 MYR 26.3K

202.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.00 ¥181

$44.57 MYR 182

-39.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.89 ¥233

$23.03 MYR 93.9

51.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$44.76 ¥299

$54.8 MYR 224

-18.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$37.57 ¥251

$42.84 MYR 175

-12.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 ¥2,523

$338 MYR 1,377

11.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$294 ¥1,966

$290 MYR 1,183

1.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$570 ¥3,808

$594 MYR 2,423

-4.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$369 ¥2,469

$587 MYR 2,393

-37.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,154 ¥21.1K

$1,212 MYR 4,946

160.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,183 ¥14.6K

$683 MYR 2,785

219.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$727 ¥4,859

$683 MYR 2,787

6.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

4.12

-6.55%

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

Last update for Haikou: October 12, 2026

Last update for Miri: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Haikou

$294 36.5%

Miri

$290 35.9% 1.4% $4.2

Groceries & Markets

Haikou

$169 * 20.9%

Miri

$196 * 24.2% 16.2% $27

Eating Out

Haikou

$100 12.4%

Miri

$98 12.1% 2.5% $2.5

Clothing & Footwear

Haikou

$65 8.1%

Miri

$74 9.2% 14.6% $9.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Haikou

$62 7.7%

Miri

$92 11.4% 48.7% $30

Getting Around

Haikou

$61 7.6%

Miri

$20 2.5% 66.6% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Haikou

$55 6.8%

Miri

$38 4.7% 30.6% $17

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 $377 in Haikou and $338 in Miri. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Haikou pays 6% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $15.00 in Haikou vs $12.00 in Miri. Groceries flip the comparison at $169 vs $196, with Haikou cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Haikou

🇲🇾 Miri

🕒 Local time

12:16 12:16 PM

Same time as Haikou

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,873,358

248,877

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 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 October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Haikou Miri 1,790 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Haikou
Miri

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

Haikou vs Miri: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Average pay runs 6% higher in Haikou, 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: $377 in Haikou versus $338 in Miri. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $862 in Haikou versus $98.5 in Miri. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Haikou – a meal for two runs $15.00 versus $12.00 in Miri. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Haikou 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.

Safety-wise, Haikou and Miri are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

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