Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Johor Bahru and Dar es Salaam

For one person, living is cheaper in Dar es Salaam: $702 a month against $1,080 in Johor Bahru, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

52

Cost of Living Index in Johor Bahru
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Johor Bahru Living Index
34

Cost of Living Index in Dar es Salaam
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Dar es Salaam Living Index

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Johor Bahru

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$1,080

/mo nomad

Dar es Salaam

🇹🇿 Tanzania

$702

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Johor Bahru and in Dar es Salaam

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

A single person spends $1,080 per month in Johor Bahru vs $702 in Dar es Salaam, rent included.

Johor Bahru $1,080
Dar es Salaam $702

A couple spends around $1,611 per month in Johor Bahru vs $1,108 in Dar es Salaam, rent included.

Johor Bahru $1,611
Dar es Salaam $1,108

A family of three spends $2,141 per month in Johor Bahru vs $1,514 in Dar es Salaam, rent included.

Johor Bahru $2,141
Dar es Salaam $1,514

Johor Bahru costs about 54% more than Dar es Salaam, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Johor Bahru and Dar es Salaam are more affordable than the global median – Johor Bahru 21% lower, Dar es Salaam 48% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.57 MYR 14.53

$1.87 TZS 4,890

90.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.54 MYR 75.5

$18.77 TZS 49.2K

-1.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.03 MYR 20.49

$7.72 TZS 20.2K

-34.84%

Cappuccino

$3.00 MYR 12.21

$2.01 TZS 5,272

49.25%

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

$0.85 MYR 3.45

$0.37 TZS 981

129.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 MYR 2.30

$0.22 TZS 577

154.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.54 MYR 18.50

$0.93 TZS 2,431

388.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.27 MYR 25.53

$1.87 TZS 4,905

235.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MYR 6.92

$0.82 TZS 2,157

107.32%

White Bread (500g)

$1.05 MYR 4.28

$0.62 TZS 1,622

69.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MYR 5.77

$1.09 TZS 2,865

30.28%

Eggs

$1.73 MYR 7.04

$1.85 TZS 4,845

-6.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.23 MYR 74.3

$9.16 TZS 24.0K

99.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.57 MYR 18.62

$4.72 TZS 12.4K

-3.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.51 MYR 42.80

$4.00 TZS 10.5K

162.75%

Apples (1kg)

$3.28 MYR 13.38

$2.47 TZS 6,481

32.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 MYR 7.09

$1.07 TZS 2,800

62.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.91 MYR 15.94

$1.03 TZS 2,694

279.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.64 MYR 6.68

$0.89 TZS 2,324

84.27%

Potato (1kg)

$1.41 MYR 5.73

$0.93 TZS 2,442

51.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.65 MYR 6.71

$0.99 TZS 2,593

66.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 MYR 5.56

$0.83 TZS 2,173

65.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 MYR 2.26

$0.39 TZS 1,011

43.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.19 MYR 17.06

$2.14 TZS 5,605

95.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.20 MYR 57.9

$7.27 TZS 19.0K

95.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.92 MYR 11.91

$0.91 TZS 2,395

220.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.03 MYR 12.33

$1.54 TZS 4,020

96.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.70 MYR 2.83

$0.26 TZS 681

169.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.36 MYR 50.4

$14.54 TZS 38.1K

-14.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.94 MYR 3.84

$1.66 TZS 4,355

-43.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.75 MYR 3.07

$1.52 TZS 3,992

-50.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.95 MYR 40.54

$13.17 TZS 34.5K

-24.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 MYR 3.37

$1.36 TZS 3,561

-38.97%

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

$43.9K MYR 178.7K

$16.5K TZS 43.2M

166.03%

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

$35.7K MYR 145.6K

$26.4K TZS 69.1M

35.52%

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

$52.7 MYR 215

$55.6 TZS 145.7K

-5.30%

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

$11.01 MYR 44.86

$9.20 TZS 24.1K

19.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.28 MYR 115

$33.86 TZS 88.7K

-16.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.28 MYR 168

$83.9 TZS 219.8K

-50.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.80 MYR 23.61

$9.73 TZS 25.5K

-40.39%

Cinema Ticket

$4.81 MYR 19.61

$4.97 TZS 13.0K

-3.22%

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

$239 MYR 975

$559 TZS 1.5M

-57.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,518 MYR 18.4K

$13.0K TZS 34.2M

-65.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.6 MYR 222

$15.31 TZS 40.1K

256.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.53 MYR 67.3

$25.76 TZS 67.5K

-35.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.3 MYR 331

$44.36 TZS 116.2K

83.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.3 MYR 400

$58.7 TZS 153.8K

67.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$523 MYR 2,132

$565 TZS 1.5M

-7.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$416 MYR 1,693

$195 TZS 510.0K

113.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$983 MYR 4,004

$1,345 TZS 3.5M

-26.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$707 MYR 2,881

$433 TZS 1.1M

63.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,002 MYR 8,154

$1,541 TZS 4.0M

29.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,214 MYR 4,944

$1,053 TZS 2.8M

15.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,076 MYR 4,382

$285 TZS 746.4K

277.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

18.25

-77.75%

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

Last update for Johor Bahru: October 25, 2026

Last update for Dar es Salaam: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Johor Bahru

$416 38.5%

Dar es Salaam

$195 27.8% 53.1% $221

Groceries & Markets

Johor Bahru

$269 24.9%

Dar es Salaam

$152 21.6% 43.6% $117

Eating Out

Johor Bahru

$120 11.2%

Dar es Salaam

$73 10.4% 39.4% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Johor Bahru

$113 10.4%

Dar es Salaam

$65 9.3% 42.5% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Johor Bahru

$92 8.5%

Dar es Salaam

$99 14.1% 7.3% $6.7

Sport & Entertainment

Johor Bahru

$51 4.7%

Dar es Salaam

$94 13.4% 84.4% $43

Getting Around

Johor Bahru

$20 1.8%

Dar es Salaam

$25 3.5% 25.2% $5

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $523 in Johor Bahru versus $565 in Dar es Salaam. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Johor Bahru are about 3.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Johor Bahru versus $19 in Dar es Salaam. Groceries tell a different story – $269 in Johor Bahru vs $152 in Dar es Salaam – so Dar es Salaam wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Johor Bahru

🇹🇿 Dar es Salaam

🕒 Local time

09:53 9:53 AM

04:53 4:53 AM

5 h behind Johor Bahru

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

858,118

5,383,728

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Tanzanian Shilling TZS Sh

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

10,000 TZS = 3.82 USD

10,000 TZS = 3.43 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TZS, USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

Tanzanian Shilling exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 2,619 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.82 USD). 1 EUR = 2,916 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.43 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Johor Bahru Dar es Salaam 7,210 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Johor Bahru
Dar es Salaam

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

Johor Bahru vs Dar es Salaam: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Johor Bahru is pricier by about 54%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,620 per month in Johor Bahru and $1,052 in Dar es Salaam. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $523 in Johor Bahru and $565 in Dar es Salaam. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Public transport costs about 15% less in Johor Bahru. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Groceries cost about 77% more in Johor Bahru, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Dar es Salaam, where all-in costs run around $702, than in Johor Bahru at $1,080. In Dar es Salaam it covers expenses comfortably, while in Johor Bahru it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Dar es Salaam has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $702 in Dar es Salaam to $1,080 in Johor Bahru. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Dar es Salaam. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Johor Bahru makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.