Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kuala Lumpur and Gizo

For one person, living is cheaper in Kuala Lumpur: $1,067 a month against $2,121 in Gizo, rent and utilities included – about $12,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

53

Cost of Living Index in Kuala Lumpur
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Kuala Lumpur Living Index
105

Cost of Living Index in Gizo
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Gizo Living Index

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Kuala Lumpur

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$1,067

/mo nomad

Gizo

🇸🇧 Solomon Islands

$2,121

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Kuala Lumpur and in Gizo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,067 in Kuala Lumpur versus $2,121 in Gizo.

Kuala Lumpur $1,067
Gizo $2,121

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,662 in Kuala Lumpur versus $3,041 in Gizo.

Kuala Lumpur $1,662
Gizo $3,041

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,257 in Kuala Lumpur versus $3,960 in Gizo.

Kuala Lumpur $2,257
Gizo $3,960

Living in Kuala Lumpur costs roughly 50% less than in Gizo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kuala Lumpur is 20% below, Gizo is 58% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.80 MYR 19.60

$3.15 SBD 25.40

52.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.82 MYR 118

$56.5 SBD 456

-48.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.00 MYR 20.40

$15.76 SBD 127

-68.27%

Cappuccino

$3.05 MYR 12.47

$2.76 SBD 22.25

10.51%

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

$0.85 MYR 3.46

$1.26 SBD 10.17

-32.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.45 MYR 1.84

$1.25 SBD 10.10

-64.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.51 MYR 18.41

$2.55 SBD 20.61

76.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.00 MYR 24.50

$2.53 SBD 20.43

137.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.11 MYR 8.63

$3.29 SBD 26.57

-35.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.08 MYR 4.40

$1.32 SBD 10.65

-18.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.02 MYR 8.24

$1.40 SBD 11.32

44.29%

Eggs

$2.55 MYR 10.40

$7.24 SBD 58.5

-64.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.85 MYR 56.6

$8.64 SBD 69.8

60.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 MYR 17.91

$6.33 SBD 51.1

-30.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.66 MYR 39.46

$8.74 SBD 70.6

10.53%

Apples (1kg)

$3.47 MYR 14.16

$6.88 SBD 55.5

-49.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.77 MYR 7.23

$6.01 SBD 48.50

-70.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 MYR 9.21

$6.33 SBD 51.2

-64.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.55 MYR 6.34

$3.04 SBD 24.56

-49.01%

Potato (1kg)

$1.33 MYR 5.43

$3.03 SBD 24.49

-56.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 MYR 5.64

$2.41 SBD 19.50

-42.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 MYR 4.79

$2.43 SBD 19.61

-51.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 MYR 2.73

$1.33 SBD 10.77

-49.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 MYR 17.87

$4.27 SBD 34.49

2.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.87 MYR 77.1

$12.57 SBD 102

50.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.62 MYR 14.78

$1.89 SBD 15.24

91.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.06 MYR 20.64

$2.19 SBD 17.67

131.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 MYR 2.92

$0.39 SBD 3.12

84.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.46 MYR 50.9

$31.04 SBD 251

-59.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.25 MYR 5.11

$1.23 SBD 9.91

1.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.24 MYR 5.05

$2.45 SBD 19.76

-49.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.82 MYR 19.68

$12.41 SBD 100

-61.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.86 MYR 3.52

$1.77 SBD 14.25

-51.41%

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

$41.4K MYR 168.8K

$20.6K SBD 166.3K

100.78%

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

$34.6K MYR 141.1K

$21.5K SBD 173.4K

60.94%

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

$61.5 MYR 251

$756 SBD 6,107

-91.87%

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

$8.60 MYR 35.12

$13.69 SBD 111

-37.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.25 MYR 107

$125 SBD 1,008

-78.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.06 MYR 200

$18.41 SBD 149

166.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.69 MYR 31.39

$6.05 SBD 48.87

27.11%

Cinema Ticket

$4.95 MYR 20.23

$4.39 SBD 35.43

12.76%

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

$295 MYR 1,204

$121 SBD 981

142.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.2K MYR 54.0K

$1,253 SBD 10.1K

954.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.6 MYR 296

$24.88 SBD 201

191.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.57 MYR 170

$92.0 SBD 743

-54.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.7 MYR 350

$100 SBD 809

-14.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.2 MYR 389

$90.5 SBD 731

5.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$625 MYR 2,553

$608 SBD 4,908

2.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$378 MYR 1,545

$594 SBD 4,799

-36.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,177 MYR 4,806

$618 SBD 4,991

90.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$639 MYR 2,608

$1,234 SBD 9,964

-48.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,112 MYR 16.8K

$86.8K SBD 700.6K

-95.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,504 MYR 6,141

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,491 MYR 6,088

$395 SBD 3,192

277.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.18

16.33

-74.40%

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

Last update for Kuala Lumpur: October 5, 2026

Last update for Gizo: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kuala Lumpur

$378 34.7%

Gizo

$594 27.2% 57.1% $216

Groceries & Markets

Kuala Lumpur

$273 25%

Gizo

$354 16.2% 29.8% $81

Clothing & Footwear

Kuala Lumpur

$133 12.2%

Gizo

$138 6.3% 4.2% $5.6

Eating Out

Kuala Lumpur

$130 11.9%

Gizo

$133 6.1% 2.8% $3.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kuala Lumpur

$96 8.8%

Gizo

$895 40.9% 829% $799

Sport & Entertainment

Kuala Lumpur

$59 5.4%

Gizo

$27 1.2% 53.9% $32

Getting Around

Kuala Lumpur

$23 2.1%

Gizo

$46 2.1% 102% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $625 in Kuala Lumpur and $608 in Gizo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kuala Lumpur pays 277% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $29.00 in Kuala Lumpur vs $56.0 in Gizo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $354 per month, with Kuala Lumpur cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Kuala Lumpur

🇸🇧 Gizo

🕒 Local time

21:47 9:47 PM

00:47 12:47 AM

3 h ahead of Kuala Lumpur

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,982,112 Capital

7,177

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Solomon Islands Dollar SBD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.219 EUR

1 SBD = 0.124 USD

1 SBD = 0.111 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SBD, 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).

Solomon Islands Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 8.08 SBD (1 SBD = 0.124 USD). 1 EUR = 9.05 SBD (1 SBD = 0.111 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Kuala Lumpur Gizo 6,240 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Kuala Lumpur
Gizo

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

Kuala Lumpur vs Gizo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kuala Lumpur wins on cost – living expenses run 99% lower than in Gizo. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Kuala Lumpur the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 277% higher in Kuala Lumpur, 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: $625 in Kuala Lumpur versus $608 in Gizo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% higher in Gizo. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Kuala Lumpur – a meal for two runs $29.00 versus $56.0 in Gizo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,067 in Kuala Lumpur versus $2,121 in Gizo, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Kuala Lumpur but tight or insufficient in Gizo. The gap between the two cities makes Kuala Lumpur the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Kuala Lumpur delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,067 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Kuala Lumpur hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Kuala Lumpur and Gizo 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 Kuala Lumpur gentler on the wallet – expenses run 99% less than in Gizo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.