Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Petaling Jaya and Butterworth

For one person, living is cheaper in Butterworth: $913 a month against $1,056 in Petaling Jaya, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Petaling Jaya
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Petaling Jaya Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Butterworth
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Butterworth Living Index

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Petaling Jaya

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$1,056

/mo nomad

Butterworth

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$913

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Petaling Jaya and in Butterworth

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 Butterworth actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,056 per month in Petaling Jaya vs $913 in Butterworth, rent included.

Petaling Jaya $1,056
Butterworth $913

A couple spends around $1,569 per month in Petaling Jaya vs $1,408 in Butterworth, rent included.

Petaling Jaya $1,569
Butterworth $1,408

A family of three spends $2,082 per month in Petaling Jaya vs $1,902 in Butterworth, rent included.

Petaling Jaya $2,082
Butterworth $1,902

Petaling Jaya costs about 16% more than Butterworth, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both Petaling Jaya and Butterworth are more affordable than the global median – Petaling Jaya 22% lower, Butterworth 33% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.57 MYR 14.53

$3.72 MYR 15.16

-4.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.39 MYR 99.3

$19.36 MYR 78.8

25.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.85 MYR 19.74

$4.77 MYR 19.43

1.68%

Cappuccino

$3.08 MYR 12.52

$2.89 MYR 11.76

6.57%

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

$0.85 MYR 3.46

$0.73 MYR 2.96

16.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.41 MYR 1.66

$0.36 MYR 1.48

13.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 MYR 13.37

$4.12 MYR 16.78

-20.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.69 MYR 23.17

$4.38 MYR 17.82

29.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.93 MYR 7.86

$2.12 MYR 8.61

-8.96%

White Bread (500g)

$1.03 MYR 4.21

$1.10 MYR 4.48

-6.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.44 MYR 5.86

$1.69 MYR 6.88

-14.79%

Eggs

$1.77 MYR 7.20

$2.24 MYR 9.13

-20.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.71 MYR 39.52

$13.69 MYR 55.7

-29.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.28 MYR 13.35

$4.49 MYR 18.26

-26.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.73 MYR 39.62

$8.64 MYR 35.18

12.62%

Apples (1kg)

$3.51 MYR 14.28

$3.06 MYR 12.47

14.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.86 MYR 7.56

$1.71 MYR 6.95

8.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 MYR 11.12

$2.23 MYR 9.07

22.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.83 MYR 7.43

$1.47 MYR 5.98

24.49%

Potato (1kg)

$2.15 MYR 8.74

$1.06 MYR 4.33

102.83%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 MYR 8.22

$1.09 MYR 4.42

85.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 MYR 5.90

$1.09 MYR 4.43

33.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 MYR 2.13

$0.58 MYR 2.38

-10.34%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.56 MYR 18.58

$4.36 MYR 17.76

4.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.38 MYR 78.9

$19.00 MYR 77.3

2.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.64 MYR 10.74

$2.93 MYR 11.91

-9.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 MYR 18.22

$4.98 MYR 20.27

-10.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.25 MYR 5.10

$0.70 MYR 2.84

78.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.45 MYR 50.7

$10.85 MYR 44.18

14.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 MYR 4.84

$1.19 MYR 4.83

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 MYR 1.44

$0.38 MYR 1.53

-7.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.75 MYR 35.62

$4.85 MYR 19.72

80.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.87 MYR 3.54

$0.89 MYR 3.61

-2.25%

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

$45.9K MYR 186.7K

$43.5K MYR 177.0K

5.50%

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

$35.3K MYR 143.8K

$35.5K MYR 144.4K

-0.41%

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

$49.61 MYR 202

$36.81 MYR 150

34.77%

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

$8.18 MYR 33.30

$8.61 MYR 35.03

-4.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.36 MYR 111

$26.45 MYR 108

3.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.42 MYR 165

$32.93 MYR 134

22.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.03 MYR 12.33

$5.90 MYR 24.00

-48.64%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MYR 20.36

$4.79 MYR 19.52

4.38%

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

$273 MYR 1,110

$240 MYR 977

13.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K MYR 42.8K

$10.9K MYR 44.3K

-3.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.6 MYR 210

$59.8 MYR 243

-13.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.45 MYR 120

$35.01 MYR 143

-15.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.0 MYR 318

$82.5 MYR 336

-5.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.2 MYR 355

$69.5 MYR 283

25.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$511 MYR 2,082

$412 MYR 1,678

24.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$426 MYR 1,736

$300 MYR 1,223

41.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$961 MYR 3,910

$813 MYR 3,309

18.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$699 MYR 2,846

$563 MYR 2,292

24.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,144 MYR 12.8K

$1,966 MYR 8,002

59.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$976 MYR 3,974

$1,205 MYR 4,905

-18.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,746 MYR 7,108

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.51

4.04

11.63%

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

Last update for Petaling Jaya: October 25, 2026

Last update for Butterworth: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Petaling Jaya

$426 40.4%

Butterworth

$300 32.9% 29.6% $126

Groceries & Markets

Petaling Jaya

$249 23.6%

Butterworth

$258 28.3% 3.6% $9

Eating Out

Petaling Jaya

$113 10.7%

Butterworth

$113 12.3% 0.3% $0.3

Clothing & Footwear

Petaling Jaya

$111 10.5%

Butterworth

$111 12.2% 0.2% $0.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Petaling Jaya

$85 8.1%

Butterworth

$72 7.9% 15.6% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Petaling Jaya

$50 4.8%

Butterworth

$43 4.7% 15.7% $7.9

Getting Around

Petaling Jaya

$20 1.9%

Butterworth

$17 1.8% 18.2% $3.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $511 in Petaling Jaya versus $412 in Butterworth. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $24 in Petaling Jaya versus $19 in Butterworth. Groceries tell a different story – $249 in Petaling Jaya vs $258 in Butterworth – so Petaling Jaya wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Petaling Jaya

🇲🇾 Butterworth

🕒 Local time

02:24 2:24 AM

Same time as Petaling Jaya

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

771,687

339,132

💱 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

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Petaling Jaya Butterworth 290 km

From you

Petaling Jaya
Butterworth

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 Butterworth: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,056 in Petaling Jaya, $913 in Butterworth – Butterworth comes out roughly 13% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,583 per month in Petaling Jaya and $1,370 in Butterworth. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Butterworth, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $412 there versus $511 in Petaling Jaya.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,056 in Petaling Jaya and $913 in Butterworth. That makes Butterworth about 13% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 13% less in Butterworth. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,200 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,056 in Petaling Jaya and $913 in Butterworth, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Butterworth – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.