Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Miri and Haikou

For one person, living costs are similar in Miri and in Haikou: $809 and $806 a month, rent and utilities included.

39

Cost of Living Index in Miri
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Miri Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Haikou
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Haikou Living Index

Jump to prices

Miri

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$809

/mo nomad

Haikou

🇨🇳 China

$806

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Miri and in Haikou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $809 in Miri versus $806 in Haikou.

Miri $809
Haikou $806

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,235 in Miri versus $1,152 in Haikou.

Miri $1,235
Haikou $1,152

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,661 in Miri versus $1,497 in Haikou.

Miri $1,661
Haikou $1,497

Monthly costs are close between Miri and Haikou; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities sit below the global median: Miri 40% lower, Haikou 40% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.57 MYR 14.57

$4.40 ¥29.45

-18.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.29 MYR 50.1

$14.72 ¥98.4

-16.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.58 MYR 18.66

$6.02 ¥40.26

-23.92%

Cappuccino

$2.39 MYR 9.74

$2.43 ¥16.25

-1.65%

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

$0.83 MYR 3.40

$0.86 ¥5.74

-3.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 MYR 1.23

$0.34 ¥2.27

-11.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.93 MYR 11.94

$1.51 ¥10.06

94.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 MYR 15.63

$2.72 ¥18.18

40.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MYR 5.76

$2.13 ¥14.26

-33.80%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 MYR 7.62

$1.48 ¥9.90

26.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.94 MYR 3.82

$0.66 ¥4.40

42.42%

Eggs

$3.56 MYR 14.53

$1.36 ¥9.07

161.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.84 MYR 19.74

$3.92 ¥26.23

23.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.25 MYR 62.2

$15.42 ¥103

-1.10%

Apples (1kg)

$1.69 ¥11.30

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 MYR 8.09

$0.87 ¥5.80

127.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.11 ¥7.40

Tomato (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.24

Potato (1kg)

$0.89 ¥5.95

Onion (1kg)

$0.73 ¥4.85

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.47 ¥3.12

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.39 MYR 1.57

$0.57 ¥3.83

-31.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.22 MYR 17.20

$3.09 ¥20.68

36.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.34 MYR 78.9

$8.76 ¥58.6

120.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.02 MYR 12.31

$0.57 ¥3.84

429.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 MYR 9.77

$1.23 ¥8.23

94.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.50 MYR 2.04

$0.92 ¥6.17

-45.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$14.38 MYR 58.7

$53.3 ¥356

-73.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.21 MYR 4.93

$2.19 ¥14.66

-44.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.58 MYR 2.36

$0.43 ¥2.86

34.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.22 MYR 25.38

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.68 MYR 2.78

$1.22 ¥8.15

-44.26%

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

$49.8K MYR 203.1K

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

$32.7K MYR 133.3K

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

$49.34 MYR 201

$35.41 ¥237

39.34%

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

$9.96 MYR 40.64

$13.21 ¥88.3

-24.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.87 MYR 134

$13.38 ¥89.4

145.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.98 MYR 118

$45.67 ¥305

-36.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.10 MYR 24.88

$6.33 ¥42.35

-3.63%

Cinema Ticket

$4.49 MYR 18.33

$4.50 ¥30.10

-0.22%

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

$98.5 MYR 402

$862 ¥5,762

-88.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,442 MYR 26.3K

$19.5K ¥130.4K

-66.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.57 MYR 182

$27.00 ¥181

65.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$23.03 MYR 93.9

$34.89 ¥233

-33.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$54.8 MYR 224

$44.76 ¥299

22.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$42.84 MYR 175

$37.57 ¥251

14.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$338 MYR 1,377

$377 ¥2,523

-10.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$290 MYR 1,183

$294 ¥1,966

-1.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$594 MYR 2,423

$570 ¥3,808

4.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$587 MYR 2,393

$369 ¥2,469

58.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,212 MYR 4,946

$3,154 ¥21.1K

-61.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$683 MYR 2,785

$2,183 ¥14.6K

-68.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$683 MYR 2,787

$727 ¥4,859

-5.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.12

3.85

7.01%

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

Last update for Miri: October 11, 2026

Last update for Haikou: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Miri

$290 35.9%

Haikou

$294 36.5% 1.4% $4.2

Groceries & Markets

Miri

$196 * 24.2%

Haikou

$169 * 20.9% 13.9% $27

Eating Out

Miri

$98 12.1%

Haikou

$100 12.4% 2.5% $2.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Miri

$92 11.4%

Haikou

$62 7.7% 32.7% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Miri

$74 9.2%

Haikou

$65 8.1% 12.7% $9.5

Sport & Entertainment

Miri

$38 4.7%

Haikou

$55 6.8% 44% $17

Getting Around

Miri

$20 2.5%

Haikou

$61 7.6% 199% $41

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $338 in Miri and $377 in Haikou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Haikou pays 6% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $12.00 in Miri vs $15.00 in Haikou. Groceries flip the comparison at $196 vs $169, with Haikou cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Miri

🇨🇳 Haikou

🕒 Local time

09:04 9:04 AM

Same time as Miri

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

248,877

2,873,358

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Miri Haikou 1,790 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Miri
Haikou

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

Miri vs Haikou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

On paper, salaries run 6% lower in Haikou. 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: $338 in Miri versus $377 in Haikou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $98.5 in Miri versus $862 in Haikou. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Haikou – a meal for two runs $15.00 versus $12.00 in Miri. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Haikou gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

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

It comes down to priorities – Haikou wins on affordability, Miri on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.