Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kota Kinabalu and Sydney

For one person, living is cheaper in Kota Kinabalu: $917 a month against $3,182 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $27,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Kota Kinabalu
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Kota Kinabalu Living Index
155

Cost of Living Index in Sydney
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Sydney Living Index

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Kota Kinabalu

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$917

/mo nomad

Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,182

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Kota Kinabalu 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 Kota Kinabalu and in Sydney actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $917 in Kota Kinabalu versus $3,182 in Sydney.

Kota Kinabalu $917
Sydney $3,182

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,429 in Kota Kinabalu versus $4,696 in Sydney.

Kota Kinabalu $1,429
Sydney $4,696

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,941 in Kota Kinabalu versus $6,210 in Sydney.

Kota Kinabalu $1,941
Sydney $6,210

Living in Kota Kinabalu costs roughly 71% less than in Sydney, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kota Kinabalu is 32% below, Sydney is 137% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.57 MYR 14.59

$17.66 A$25.28

-79.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.54 MYR 79.8

$97.1 A$139

-79.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.92 MYR 20.09

$11.94 A$17.09

-58.79%

Cappuccino

$2.63 MYR 10.74

$4.00 A$5.72

-34.25%

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

$0.60 MYR 2.44

$2.84 A$4.06

-78.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 MYR 1.22

$2.27 A$3.25

-86.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.39 MYR 9.75

$7.89 A$11.29

-69.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 MYR 15.27

$7.13 A$10.20

-47.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 MYR 7.11

$1.66 A$2.38

4.82%

White Bread (500g)

$1.28 MYR 5.23

$2.79 A$4.00

-54.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.26 MYR 9.23

$2.32 A$3.33

-2.59%

Eggs

$3.46 MYR 14.13

$5.53 A$7.92

-37.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$28.33 MYR 116

$12.08 A$17.28

134.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.69 MYR 15.05

$9.84 A$14.09

-62.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.68 MYR 27.27

$16.61 A$23.78

-59.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 MYR 9.15

$4.02 A$5.76

-44.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MYR 5.84

$3.15 A$4.51

-54.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 MYR 7.91

$3.50 A$5.01

-44.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 MYR 8.13

$4.47 A$6.39

-55.48%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 MYR 6.81

$3.32 A$4.76

-49.70%

Onion (1kg)

$2.13 MYR 8.71

$2.30 A$3.30

-7.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.94 MYR 3.84

$2.34 A$3.35

-59.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.47 MYR 1.93

$1.15 A$1.65

-59.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.92 MYR 20.10

$45.02 A$64.4

-89.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.84 MYR 64.7

$13.96 A$19.97

13.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.63 MYR 14.81

$3.98 A$5.70

-8.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.47 MYR 10.07

$4.07 A$5.82

-39.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.91 MYR 7.80

$3.16 A$4.52

-39.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.92 MYR 171

$150 A$215

-72.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.91 MYR 7.82

$3.45 A$4.94

-44.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 MYR 0.94

$1.63 A$2.33

-85.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.98 A$57.2

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.76 MYR 3.11

$1.40 A$2.01

-45.71%

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

$42.1K MYR 172.1K

$28.4K A$40.7K

48.27%

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

$35.6K MYR 145.5K

$29.4K A$42.1K

21.18%

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

$70.5 MYR 288

$220 A$315

-67.95%

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

$9.69 MYR 39.56

$27.70 A$39.64

-65.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.36 MYR 132

$55.5 A$79.5

-41.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 MYR 214

$74.3 A$106

-29.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.09 MYR 12.64

$23.95 A$34.28

-87.10%

Cinema Ticket

$5.22 MYR 21.31

$17.73 A$25.37

-70.56%

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

$141 MYR 575

$2,157 A$3,087

-93.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,995 MYR 28.6K

$28.3K A$40.5K

-75.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.5 MYR 333

$78.4 A$112

3.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.64 MYR 150

$70.5 A$101

-48.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.7 MYR 382

$111 A$159

-15.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$48.75 MYR 199

$132 A$189

-63.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$425 MYR 1,735

$2,514 A$3,598

-83.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$193 MYR 788

$1,732 A$2,478

-88.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$679 MYR 2,771

$4,889 A$6,996

-86.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$368 MYR 1,501

$3,039 A$4,349

-87.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,848 MYR 7,546

$13.2K A$18.9K

-86.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,099 MYR 4,489

$8,117 A$11.6K

-86.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$592 MYR 2,419

$4,082 A$5,842

-85.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.9

5.84

-33.22%

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

Last update for Kota Kinabalu: October 3, 2026

Last update for Sydney: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kota Kinabalu

$288 31.1%

Sydney

$380 12% 32.3% $93

Accommodation & Living

Kota Kinabalu

$193 20.9%

Sydney

$1.7K 54.5% 798% $1.5K

Clothing & Footwear

Kota Kinabalu

$117 12.7%

Sydney

$176 5.6% 50.5% $59

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kota Kinabalu

$113 12.2%

Sydney

$303 9.6% 169% $191

Eating Out

Kota Kinabalu

$98 10.6%

Sydney

$299 9.4% 206% $201

Sport & Entertainment

Kota Kinabalu

$63 6.8%

Sydney

$110 3.5% 74.9% $47

Getting Around

Kota Kinabalu

$53 5.7%

Sydney

$174 5.5% 231% $122

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $425 in Kota Kinabalu and $2,514 in Sydney. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney pays 589% 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: $20.00 in Kota Kinabalu vs $97.0 in Sydney for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $380 per month, with Kota Kinabalu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Kota Kinabalu

🇦🇺 Sydney

🕒 Local time

18:36 6:36 PM

21:36 9:36 PM

3 h ahead of Kota Kinabalu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

500,425

4,840,600

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.219 EUR

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.624 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.58 MYR (1 MYR = 0.219 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.699 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.624 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Kota Kinabalu Sydney 5,770 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Kota Kinabalu
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

Kota Kinabalu vs Sydney: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kota Kinabalu wins on cost – living expenses run 247% lower than in Sydney. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Kota Kinabalu the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 589% lower in Sydney. 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: $425 in Kota Kinabalu versus $2,514 in Sydney. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Kota Kinabalu runs roughly 258% less than in Sydney. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $141 in Kota Kinabalu versus $2,157 in Sydney. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $917 in Kota Kinabalu versus $3,182 in Sydney, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kota Kinabalu but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Kota Kinabalu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Kota Kinabalu delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $917 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Kota Kinabalu hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Kota Kinabalu 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 Kota Kinabalu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 247% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.