Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Petaling Jaya and Bintulu

For one person, living is cheaper in Bintulu: $852 a month against $1,094 in Petaling Jaya, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Petaling Jaya outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

52

Cost of Living Index in Petaling Jaya
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Petaling Jaya Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Bintulu
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Bintulu Living Index

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Petaling Jaya

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$1,094

/mo nomad

Bintulu

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$852

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Petaling Jaya 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 Petaling Jaya and in Bintulu actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,094 in Petaling Jaya versus $852 in Bintulu.

Petaling Jaya $1,094
Bintulu $852

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Petaling Jaya versus $1,331 in Bintulu.

Petaling Jaya $1,589
Bintulu $1,331

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,083 in Petaling Jaya versus $1,810 in Bintulu.

Petaling Jaya $2,083
Bintulu $1,810

Living in Petaling Jaya is roughly 28% more expensive than in Bintulu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Petaling Jaya 19% lower, Bintulu 37% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.64 MYR 14.78

$4.02 MYR 16.34

-9.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.78 MYR 101

$18.75 MYR 76.2

32.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.00 MYR 20.30

$5.74 MYR 23.30

-12.89%

Cappuccino

$3.02 MYR 12.27

$2.89 MYR 11.76

4.50%

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

$0.85 MYR 3.45

$0.68 MYR 2.77

25.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.45 MYR 1.81

$0.38 MYR 1.53

18.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 MYR 13.30

$2.99 MYR 12.13

9.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.71 MYR 23.21

$5.19 MYR 21.09

10.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 MYR 7.93

$2.10 MYR 8.54

-7.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.07 MYR 4.36

$1.43 MYR 5.80

-25.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 MYR 5.80

$1.32 MYR 5.37

8.33%

Eggs

$1.85 MYR 7.51

$2.21 MYR 8.96

-16.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.87 MYR 40.07

$17.39 MYR 70.6

-43.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 MYR 13.53

$3.59 MYR 14.59

-7.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.80 MYR 39.82

$5.95 MYR 24.16

64.71%

Apples (1kg)

$3.59 MYR 14.58

$1.76 MYR 7.15

103.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 MYR 7.77

$1.00 MYR 4.05

91.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.63 MYR 10.70

$1.71 MYR 6.93

53.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.74 MYR 7.07

$1.12 MYR 4.56

55.36%

Potato (1kg)

$2.14 MYR 8.70

$0.55 MYR 2.24

289.09%

Onion (1kg)

$2.04 MYR 8.30

$1.19 MYR 4.85

71.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MYR 5.84

$0.75 MYR 3.04

92.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 MYR 2.14

$0.45 MYR 1.81

17.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.50 MYR 18.28

$4.11 MYR 16.70

9.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$20.01 MYR 81.3

$19.47 MYR 79.1

2.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.67 MYR 10.85

$3.02 MYR 12.28

-11.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.49 MYR 18.25

$2.00 MYR 8.12

124.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.22 MYR 4.94

$1.26 MYR 5.13

-3.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.31 MYR 50.0

$16.05 MYR 65.2

-23.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.02 MYR 4.15

$0.95 MYR 3.88

7.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 MYR 1.44

$0.82 MYR 3.32

-57.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.04 MYR 36.71

$2.51 MYR 10.18

260.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 MYR 3.35

$0.66 MYR 2.70

24.24%

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

$45.1K MYR 183.2K

$44.8K MYR 181.9K

0.70%

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

$35.0K MYR 142.3K

$39.9K MYR 161.9K

-12.09%

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

$50.3 MYR 204

$59.5 MYR 242

-15.53%

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

$7.57 MYR 30.76

$31.54 MYR 128

-76.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.54 MYR 108

$30.82 MYR 125

-13.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.38 MYR 192

$68.5 MYR 278

-30.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.12 MYR 12.67

$12.11 MYR 49.17

-74.24%

Cinema Ticket

$4.84 MYR 19.64

$4.51 MYR 18.32

7.32%

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

$280 MYR 1,137

$125 MYR 507

124.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.6K MYR 83.7K

$7,487 MYR 30.4K

175.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.6 MYR 214

$65.4 MYR 266

-19.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.69 MYR 121

$35.43 MYR 144

-16.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 MYR 311

$78.3 MYR 318

-2.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.3 MYR 355

$92.1 MYR 374

-5.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$519 MYR 2,108

$224 MYR 909

131.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$456 MYR 1,850

$156 MYR 634

192.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$931 MYR 3,783

$474 MYR 1,927

96.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$680 MYR 2,762

$335 MYR 1,361

102.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,129 MYR 12.7K

$1,775 MYR 7,211

76.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$972 MYR 3,949

$1,172 MYR 4,760

-17.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,746 MYR 7,090

$613 MYR 2,489

184.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.51

4.5

0.22%

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

Last update for Petaling Jaya: November 1, 2026

Last update for Bintulu: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Petaling Jaya

$456 41.7%

Bintulu

$156 18.3% 65.8% $300

Groceries & Markets

Petaling Jaya

$253 23.1%

Bintulu

$235 27.6% 7% $18

Eating Out

Petaling Jaya

$113 10.4%

Bintulu

$114 13.3% 0.3% $0.3

Clothing & Footwear

Petaling Jaya

$111 10.1%

Bintulu

$122 14.3% 10.2% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Petaling Jaya

$84 7.7%

Bintulu

$122 14.3% 44.4% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Petaling Jaya

$57 5.2%

Bintulu

$78 9.1% 35.9% $20

Getting Around

Petaling Jaya

$20 1.8%

Bintulu

$26 3.1% 30.9% $6.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $519 in Petaling Jaya and $224 in Bintulu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Petaling Jaya pays about 2.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $25 in Petaling Jaya vs $19 in Bintulu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $253 vs $235 per month, with Bintulu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Petaling Jaya

🇲🇾 Bintulu

🕒 Local time

21:15 9:15 PM

Same time as Petaling Jaya

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

771,687

240,172

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.246 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

1 MYR = 0.246 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Petaling Jaya Bintulu 1,270 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Petaling Jaya
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

Petaling Jaya vs Bintulu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bintulu wins on cost – living expenses run 22% lower than in Petaling Jaya. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Bintulu the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Petaling Jaya is about 2.8 times higher, 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: $519 in Petaling Jaya versus $224 in Bintulu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,094 per month in Petaling Jaya versus $852 in Bintulu – Bintulu is about 22% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Petaling Jaya runs roughly 23% less than in Bintulu. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

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, Petaling Jaya 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, Petaling Jaya on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.