Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kuala Lumpur and Papua New Guinea

Name: Papua New Guinea
Address: PG

For one person, living is cheaper in Kuala Lumpur: $1,067 a month against $1,325 in Papua New Guinea, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

53

Cost of Living Index in Kuala Lumpur
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Kuala Lumpur Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Papua New Guinea
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Papua New Guinea Living Index

Jump to prices

Kuala Lumpur

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$1,067

/mo nomad

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

$1,325

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Kuala Lumpur is 19.9% cheaper than Papua New Guinea without rent, and 19.5% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Kuala Lumpur is 18.4% cheaper than Papua New Guinea without rent, and 25.5% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.80 MYR 19.60

$7.14 PGK 31.29

-32.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.82 MYR 118

$44.69 PGK 196

-35.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.00 MYR 20.40

$5.55 PGK 24.32

-9.91%

Cappuccino

$3.05 MYR 12.47

$2.34 PGK 10.24

30.34%

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

$0.85 MYR 3.46

$0.76 PGK 3.33

11.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.45 MYR 1.84

$0.65 PGK 2.86

-30.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.51 MYR 18.41

$2.62 PGK 11.47

72.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.00 MYR 24.50

$3.86 PGK 16.90

55.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.11 MYR 8.63

$1.92 PGK 8.43

9.90%

White Bread (500g)

$1.08 MYR 4.40

$1.53 PGK 6.73

-29.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.02 MYR 8.24

$1.36 PGK 5.96

48.53%

Eggs

$2.55 MYR 10.40

$3.81 PGK 16.69

-33.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.85 MYR 56.6

$6.27 PGK 27.49

120.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 MYR 17.91

$6.00 PGK 26.29

-26.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.66 MYR 39.46

$9.33 PGK 40.88

3.54%

Apples (1kg)

$3.47 MYR 14.16

$4.01 PGK 17.56

-13.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.77 MYR 7.23

$3.35 PGK 14.69

-47.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 MYR 9.21

$6.17 PGK 27.05

-63.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.55 MYR 6.34

$5.13 PGK 22.47

-69.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.33 MYR 5.43

$3.65 PGK 16.00

-63.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 MYR 5.64

$2.74 PGK 12.03

-49.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 MYR 4.79

$2.00 PGK 8.77

-41.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 MYR 2.73

$1.14 PGK 4.97

-41.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 MYR 17.87

$6.37 PGK 27.94

-31.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.87 MYR 77.1

$10.54 PGK 46.21

79.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.62 MYR 14.78

$2.58 PGK 11.29

40.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.06 MYR 20.64

$3.66 PGK 16.03

38.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 MYR 2.92

$0.43 PGK 1.87

67.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.46 MYR 50.9

$25.43 PGK 111

-51.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.25 MYR 5.11

$4.95 PGK 21.70

-74.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.24 MYR 5.05

$2.23 PGK 9.78

-44.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.82 MYR 19.68

$14.19 PGK 62.2

-66.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.86 MYR 3.52

$0.95 PGK 4.15

-9.47%

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

$41.4K MYR 168.8K

$28.7K PGK 125.6K

44.23%

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

$34.6K MYR 141.1K

$22.7K PGK 99.6K

52.10%

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

$61.5 MYR 251

$93.1 PGK 408

-33.96%

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

$8.60 MYR 35.12

$27.52 PGK 121

-68.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.25 MYR 107

$116 PGK 506

-77.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.06 MYR 200

$63.5 PGK 278

-22.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.69 MYR 31.39

$24.15 PGK 106

-68.16%

Cinema Ticket

$4.95 MYR 20.23

$8.99 PGK 39.42

-44.94%

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

$295 MYR 1,204

$526 PGK 2,307

-43.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.2K MYR 54.0K

$5,532 PGK 24.2K

138.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.6 MYR 296

$35.26 PGK 155

105.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.57 MYR 170

$30.74 PGK 135

35.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.7 MYR 350

$69.0 PGK 302

24.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.2 MYR 389

$92.3 PGK 404

3.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$625 MYR 2,553

$1,597 PGK 6,998

-60.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$378 MYR 1,545

$444 PGK 1,946

-14.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,177 MYR 4,806

$2,846 PGK 12.5K

-58.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$639 MYR 2,608

$1,033 PGK 4,525

-38.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,112 MYR 16.8K

$2,005 PGK 8,789

105.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,504 MYR 6,141

$3,785 PGK 16.6K

-60.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,491 MYR 6,088

$418 PGK 1,833

256.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.18

13.67

-69.42%

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

Last update for Kuala Lumpur: October 5, 2026

Last update for Papua New Guinea: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kuala Lumpur

$378 34.7%

Papua New Guinea

$444 33.2% 17.3% $66

Groceries & Markets

Kuala Lumpur

$273 25%

Papua New Guinea

$302 22.6% 10.6% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Kuala Lumpur

$133 12.2%

Papua New Guinea

$102 7.7% 23% $31

Eating Out

Kuala Lumpur

$130 11.9%

Papua New Guinea

$128 9.6% 1.2% $1.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kuala Lumpur

$96 8.8%

Papua New Guinea

$236 17.7% 145% $140

Sport & Entertainment

Kuala Lumpur

$59 5.4%

Papua New Guinea

$81 6.1% 38.2% $23

Getting Around

Kuala Lumpur

$23 2.1%

Papua New Guinea

$43 3.2% 90.1% $20

Good to know

🇲🇾 Kuala Lumpur

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

🕒 Local time

20:06 8:06 PM

22:06 10:06 PM

2 h ahead of Kuala Lumpur

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,982,112 Capital

8,935,000

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Papua New Guinean Kina PGK K

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.219 EUR

1 PGK = 0.228 USD

1 PGK = 0.204 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PGK, 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).

Papua New Guinean Kina exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.38 PGK (1 PGK = 0.228 USD). 1 EUR = 4.91 PGK (1 PGK = 0.204 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Kuala Lumpur Papua New Guinea 5,230 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Kuala Lumpur
Papua New Guinea

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 other spots: cost of living compared

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