Cost of Living Comparison Between Penang and Tawau Cost of Living Comparison Between Penang and Tawau

😐 Solo nomad: Penang is 17.2% more expensive than Tawau without rent, and 0.2% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Penang is 3.7% cheaper than Tawau without rent, and 9.6% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.97 MYR 12.54

$3.6 MYR 15.19

-17.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$20.84 MYR 87.9

$19.17 MYR 80.9

8.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.34 MYR 18.32

$4.02 MYR 16.96

7.96%

Cappuccino

$2.84 MYR 11.97

$2.31 MYR 9.75

22.94%

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

$0.69 MYR 2.89

$0.74 MYR 3.11

-6.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.36 MYR 1.52

$0.39 MYR 1.65

-7.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.23 MYR 17.84

$2.41 MYR 10.16

75.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 MYR 18.6

$3.36 MYR 14.17

31.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 MYR 7.65

$1.56 MYR 6.56

16.67%

White Bread (500g)

$0.99 MYR 4.18

$1.3 MYR 5.49

-23.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.04 MYR 8.62

$1.73 MYR 7.3

17.92%

Eggs

$2.05 MYR 8.63

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.11 MYR 72.2

$15.13 MYR 63.8

13.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.23 MYR 22.05

$4.48 MYR 18.91

16.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.77 MYR 62.3

$9.58 MYR 40.4

54.18%

Apples (1kg)

$2.91 MYR 12.25

$2.86 MYR 12.06

1.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 MYR 6.18

$1.48 MYR 6.22

-1.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.59 MYR 10.92

$2.6 MYR 10.98

-0.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.11 MYR 8.88

$1.44 MYR 6.05

46.53%

Potato (1kg)

$1.18 MYR 4.98

$1.18 MYR 4.96

Onion (1kg)

$1.21 MYR 5.1

$1.33 MYR 5.6

-9.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.91 MYR 3.82

$1.04 MYR 4.4

-12.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.45 MYR 1.91

$0.55 MYR 2.33

-18.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.2 MYR 17.73

$4.3 MYR 18.13

-2.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.1 MYR 59.5

$14.44 MYR 60.9

-2.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.71 MYR 11.44

$2.88 MYR 12.13

-5.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.47 MYR 14.65

$2.94 MYR 12.39

18.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.49 MYR 2.05

$0.68 MYR 2.85

-27.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$17.98 MYR 75.8

$11.97 MYR 50.5

50.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.72 MYR 3.04

$1.16 MYR 4.9

-37.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.5 MYR 2.1

$0.98 MYR 4.15

-48.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7 MYR 29.53

$5.77 MYR 24.33

21.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.46 MYR 1.96

$0.49 MYR 2.09

-6.12%

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

$33.6K MYR 141.7K

$35.7K MYR 150.5K

-5.88%

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

$27.1K MYR 114.3K

$31K MYR 130.6K

-12.49%

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

$39.21 MYR 165

$43.49 MYR 183

-9.84%

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

$10.33 MYR 43.55

$9.16 MYR 38.65

12.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.17 MYR 131

$28.84 MYR 122

8.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.59 MYR 137

$37.56 MYR 158

-13.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.59 MYR 23.59

$5.93 MYR 24.99

-5.73%

Cinema Ticket

$5.01 MYR 21.15

$2.91 MYR 12.27

72.16%

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

$241 MYR 1,014

$191 MYR 804

26.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,174 MYR 26K

$7,045 MYR 29.7K

-12.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.3 MYR 233

$59.8 MYR 252

-7.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.42 MYR 120

$27.2 MYR 115

4.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.2 MYR 258

$72.8 MYR 307

-15.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$53.6 MYR 226

$50.5 MYR 213

6.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$388 MYR 1,637

$387 MYR 1,633

0.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$230 MYR 968

$266 MYR 1,123

-13.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$640 MYR 2,700

$646 MYR 2,724

-0.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$522 MYR 2,201

$478 MYR 2,015

9.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,431 MYR 10.3K

$1,845 MYR 7,781

31.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,481 MYR 6,247

$1,106 MYR 4,664

33.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,101 MYR 4,643

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.16

4.07

2.21%

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

Last update for Penang: October 26, 2025

Last update for Tawau: October 26, 2025

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