Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kedah and Sydney

For one person, living is cheaper in Kedah: $877 a month against $3,267 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $28,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Kedah
Learn more

Kedah Living Index
157

Cost of Living Index in Sydney
Learn more

Sydney Living Index

Jump to prices

Kedah

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$877

/mo nomad

Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,267

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Kedah and in Sydney

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $877 in Kedah versus $3,267 in Sydney.

Kedah $877
Sydney $3,267

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,399 in Kedah versus $4,847 in Sydney.

Kedah $1,399
Sydney $4,847

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,920 in Kedah versus $6,428 in Sydney.

Kedah $1,920
Sydney $6,428

Living in Kedah costs roughly 73% less than in Sydney, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kedah is 36% below, Sydney is 140% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.72 MYR 15.14

$17.50 A$24.87

-78.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.32 MYR 50.2

$90.4 A$128

-86.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.56 MYR 18.59

$11.96 A$16.99

-61.87%

Cappuccino

$2.91 MYR 11.87

$4.00 A$5.68

-27.25%

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

$0.77 MYR 3.14

$2.81 A$4.00

-72.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.39 MYR 1.59

$2.22 A$3.16

-82.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.24 MYR 17.26

$8.13 A$11.56

-47.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 MYR 17.75

$7.20 A$10.23

-39.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.88 MYR 7.66

$1.70 A$2.42

10.59%

White Bread (500g)

$1.06 MYR 4.32

$2.94 A$4.17

-63.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 MYR 6.99

$2.51 A$3.57

-31.47%

Eggs

$2.19 MYR 8.91

$5.66 A$8.04

-61.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.55 MYR 55.2

$12.22 A$17.36

10.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.34 MYR 17.69

$9.31 A$13.24

-53.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.84 MYR 36.02

$16.87 A$23.97

-47.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 MYR 11.98

$3.90 A$5.54

-24.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 MYR 6.65

$3.22 A$4.58

-49.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.75 MYR 11.20

$3.43 A$4.88

-19.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.45 MYR 5.92

$4.33 A$6.16

-66.51%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 MYR 4.48

$3.35 A$4.75

-67.16%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 MYR 4.43

$2.40 A$3.41

-54.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 MYR 4.61

$2.34 A$3.32

-51.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 MYR 2.34

$1.16 A$1.65

-50.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.62 MYR 18.83

$45.47 A$64.6

-89.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.76 MYR 76.5

$13.99 A$19.88

34.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.98 MYR 12.15

$4.11 A$5.84

-27.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.33 MYR 21.72

$4.18 A$5.94

27.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.76 MYR 3.10

$3.12 A$4.44

-75.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.85 MYR 52.4

$152 A$216

-91.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.66 MYR 6.76

$3.46 A$4.92

-52.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 MYR 1.54

$1.56 A$2.22

-75.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.29 MYR 29.70

$39.54 A$56.2

-81.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.60 MYR 2.46

$1.45 A$2.05

-58.62%

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

$45.6K MYR 185.9K

$29.9K A$42.5K

52.63%

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

$35.8K MYR 146.1K

$27.5K A$39.1K

30.27%

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

$36.47 MYR 149

$251 A$356

-85.46%

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

$9.66 MYR 39.35

$27.76 A$39.44

-65.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.48 MYR 120

$58.0 A$82.4

-49.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.63 MYR 141

$70.7 A$100

-51.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.85 MYR 27.92

$23.25 A$33.04

-70.54%

Cinema Ticket

$4.79 MYR 19.53

$17.83 A$25.33

-73.14%

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

$388 MYR 1,579

$2,358 A$3,351

-83.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.7K MYR 43.4K

$27.2K A$38.6K

-60.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.9 MYR 240

$80.5 A$114

-26.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.76 MYR 142

$69.3 A$98.5

-49.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.6 MYR 333

$111 A$157

-26.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$70.7 MYR 288

$127 A$181

-44.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$358 MYR 1,458

$2,566 A$3,646

-86.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$258 MYR 1,051

$1,792 A$2,547

-85.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$712 MYR 2,902

$5,202 A$7,391

-86.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$607 MYR 2,472

$3,156 A$4,485

-80.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,930 MYR 7,865

$13.4K A$19.0K

-85.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,258 MYR 5,124

$8,727 A$12.4K

-85.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,339 MYR 5,456

$4,118 A$5,851

-67.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.04

5.92

-31.76%

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

Last update for Kedah: October 25, 2026

Last update for Sydney: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kedah

$258 29.4%

Sydney

$1.8K 54.9% 595% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Kedah

$257 29.3%

Sydney

$382 11.7% 48.9% $126

Eating Out

Kedah

$113 12.9%

Sydney

$299 9.2% 165% $186

Clothing & Footwear

Kedah

$111 12.6%

Sydney

$175 5.3% 57.8% $64

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kedah

$76 8.6%

Sydney

$337 10.3% 345% $261

Sport & Entertainment

Kedah

$44 5%

Sydney

$106 3.3% 140% $62

Getting Around

Kedah

$19 2.2%

Sydney

$176 5.4% 803% $156

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $358 in Kedah and $2,566 in Sydney. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney pays about 3.1 times more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $12 in Kedah vs $90 in Sydney for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $382 per month, with Kedah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Kedah

🇦🇺 Sydney

🕒 Local time

23:25 11:25 PM

02:25 2:25 AM

3 h ahead of Kedah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

417,800

4,840,600

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.221 EUR

1 AUD = 0.704 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.53 MYR (1 MYR = 0.221 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.704 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.632 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kedah Sydney 6,950 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Kedah
Sydney

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

Kedah vs Sydney: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kedah and Sydney differ by about 272% in total monthly costs ($877 vs $3,267 including rent). Kedah is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 67% lower in Kedah. 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: $358 in Kedah versus $2,566 in Sydney. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $388 in Kedah versus $2,358 in Sydney. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 49% higher in Sydney. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $877 in Kedah versus $3,267 in Sydney, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Kedah but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Kedah the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Kedah is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Sydney, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

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

Expats usually find Kedah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 73% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.