Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nis and Bintulu

For one person, living is cheaper in Bintulu: $852 a month against $1,029 in Nis, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Nis outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

50

Cost of Living Index in Nis
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Nis Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Bintulu
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Bintulu Living Index

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Nis

🇷🇸 Serbia

$1,029

/mo nomad

Bintulu

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$852

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nis and in Bintulu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,029 in Nis versus $852 in Bintulu.

Nis $1,029
Bintulu $852

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,526 in Nis versus $1,331 in Bintulu.

Nis $1,526
Bintulu $1,331

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,022 in Nis versus $1,811 in Bintulu.

Nis $2,022
Bintulu $1,811

Living in Nis is roughly 21% more expensive than in Bintulu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Nis 24% lower, Bintulu 37% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.71 RSD 917

$3.94 MYR 16.06

121.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.20 RSD 3,498

$18.20 MYR 74.2

82.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.73 RSD 1,025

$5.86 MYR 23.88

66.04%

Cappuccino

$1.93 RSD 204

$2.86 MYR 11.66

-32.52%

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

$2.28 RSD 240

$0.65 MYR 2.63

250.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 RSD 190

$0.41 MYR 1.66

339.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.71 RSD 391

$2.85 MYR 11.63

30.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 RSD 459

$5.23 MYR 21.29

-16.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.08 RSD 114

$2.14 MYR 8.73

-49.53%

White Bread (500g)

$0.72 RSD 76.2

$1.36 MYR 5.55

-47.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 RSD 177

$1.30 MYR 5.31

29.23%

Eggs

$2.32 RSD 245

$2.23 MYR 9.10

4.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.41 RSD 781

$17.47 MYR 71.2

-57.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.77 RSD 608

$3.46 MYR 14.08

66.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.97 RSD 1,156

$5.97 MYR 24.33

83.75%

Apples (1kg)

$1.08 RSD 114

$1.75 MYR 7.14

-38.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 RSD 179

$0.96 MYR 3.91

77.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.42 RSD 150

$1.75 MYR 7.14

-18.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.07 RSD 218

$1.15 MYR 4.70

80.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RSD 83.1

$0.54 MYR 2.20

46.30%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 RSD 77.6

$1.25 MYR 5.11

-40.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.64 RSD 67.9

$0.74 MYR 3.03

-13.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 RSD 60.2

$0.45 MYR 1.82

26.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.46 RSD 469

$4.23 MYR 17.24

5.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.58 RSD 588

$19.70 MYR 80.3

-71.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 RSD 72.2

$3.01 MYR 12.27

-77.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.36 RSD 143

$1.92 MYR 7.83

-29.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.19 MYR 4.86

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.02 MYR 65.3

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.86 RSD 195

$0.95 MYR 3.86

95.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.69 RSD 72.3

$0.82 MYR 3.33

-15.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.28 RSD 872

$2.43 MYR 9.89

240.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 RSD 196

$0.67 MYR 2.72

177.61%

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

$30.6K RSD 3.2M

$44.9K MYR 183.0K

-31.93%

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

$23.2K RSD 2.4M

$39.0K MYR 158.9K

-40.46%

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

$156 RSD 16.5K

$60.6 MYR 247

157.92%

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

$19.16 RSD 2,019

$31.59 MYR 129

-39.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.67 RSD 2,389

$30.39 MYR 124

-25.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.61 RSD 3,120

$67.4 MYR 275

-56.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.29 RSD 1,611

$12.37 MYR 50.4

23.61%

Cinema Ticket

$4.62 RSD 487

$4.39 MYR 17.89

5.24%

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

$247 RSD 26.0K

$125 MYR 509

97.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,809 RSD 506.7K

$7,223 MYR 29.4K

-33.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.5 RSD 9,114

$64.9 MYR 264

33.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.99 RSD 4,214

$35.87 MYR 146

11.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 RSD 10.6K

$79.9 MYR 326

25.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$109 RSD 11.5K

$93.1 MYR 379

17.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$418 RSD 44.1K

$222 MYR 903

88.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$290 RSD 30.6K

$157 MYR 640

84.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$626 RSD 66.0K

$470 MYR 1,914

33.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$450 RSD 47.4K

$341 MYR 1,389

31.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,650 RSD 279.3K

$1,743 MYR 7,101

52.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,862 RSD 196.2K

$1,142 MYR 4,655

63.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$922 RSD 97.1K

$621 MYR 2,531

48.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

4.5

13.56%

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

Last update for Nis: October 25, 2026

Last update for Bintulu: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nis

$290 28.2%

Bintulu

$157 18.4% 45.9% $133

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nis

$198 19.3%

Bintulu

$123 14.4% 38.1% $76

Groceries & Markets

Nis

$180 17.5%

Bintulu

$235 27.6% 30.3% $55

Eating Out

Nis

$166 16.1%

Bintulu

$112 13.2% 32.1% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Nis

$151 14.7%

Bintulu

$123 14.5% 18.5% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Nis

$39 3.8%

Bintulu

$76 8.9% 96.2% $37

Getting Around

Nis

$5.3 * 0.5%

Bintulu

$26 3% 388% $21

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 $418 in Nis and $222 in Bintulu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nis pays 48% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $33 in Nis vs $18 in Bintulu. Groceries flip the comparison at $180 vs $235, with Nis cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇸 Nis

🇲🇾 Bintulu

🕒 Local time

21:33 9:33 PM

04:33 4:33 AM

7 h ahead of Nis

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

78,470

240,172

💱 Currency

Serbian Dinar RSD din

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 RSD = 9.49 USD

1,000 RSD = 8.53 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, USD, EUR to RSD – Serbian Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇸 Serbian Dinar (din)

Serbian Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 105 RSD (1,000 RSD = 9.49 USD). 1 EUR = 117 RSD (1,000 RSD = 8.53 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

USD to RSD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Nis Bintulu 9,860 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Nis
Bintulu

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

Nis vs Bintulu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bintulu wins on cost – living expenses run 17% lower than in Nis. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Bintulu the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 48% higher in Nis, 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: $418 in Nis versus $222 in Bintulu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $247 in Nis versus $125 in Bintulu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Bintulu – a meal for two runs $18 versus $33 in Nis. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Bintulu is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Nis and Bintulu are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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