Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Port Elizabeth and Kuala Lumpur

For one person, living is cheaper in Kuala Lumpur: $1,086 a month against $1,216 in Port Elizabeth, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Port Elizabeth
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Port Elizabeth Living Index
53

Cost of Living Index in Kuala Lumpur
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Kuala Lumpur Living Index

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Port Elizabeth

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,216

/mo nomad

Kuala Lumpur

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$1,086

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Port Elizabeth and in Kuala Lumpur

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

A single person spends $1,216 per month in Port Elizabeth vs $1,086 in Kuala Lumpur, rent included.

Port Elizabeth $1,216
Kuala Lumpur $1,086

A couple spends around $1,835 per month in Port Elizabeth vs $1,663 in Kuala Lumpur, rent included.

Port Elizabeth $1,835
Kuala Lumpur $1,663

A family of three spends $2,453 per month in Port Elizabeth vs $2,239 in Kuala Lumpur, rent included.

Port Elizabeth $2,453
Kuala Lumpur $2,239

Port Elizabeth costs about 12% more than Kuala Lumpur, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Port Elizabeth and Kuala Lumpur are more affordable than the global median – Port Elizabeth 10% lower, Kuala Lumpur 20% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.00 R 181

$4.76 MYR 19.40

131.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.67 R 687

$29.15 MYR 119

42.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.84 R 96.2

$4.78 MYR 19.50

22.18%

Cappuccino

$2.17 R 35.81

$3.08 MYR 12.57

-29.55%

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

$1.03 R 16.91

$0.84 MYR 3.42

22.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 R 12.59

$0.47 MYR 1.93

61.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.69 R 44.37

$4.49 MYR 18.31

-40.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.24 R 53.3

$5.97 MYR 24.35

-45.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 R 18.39

$2.04 MYR 8.31

-45.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 R 17.20

$1.11 MYR 4.51

-6.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 R 24.94

$2.02 MYR 8.22

-25.25%

Eggs

$2.81 R 46.35

$2.49 MYR 10.15

12.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.58 R 141

$14.20 MYR 57.9

-39.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.33 R 87.7

$4.44 MYR 18.11

20.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.36 R 138

$9.85 MYR 40.19

-15.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.19 R 36.04

$3.50 MYR 14.29

-37.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.58

$1.82 MYR 7.44

-18.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.70 R 28.04

$2.29 MYR 9.36

-25.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.81 R 29.74

$1.60 MYR 6.53

13.12%

Potato (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.41

$1.33 MYR 5.44

24.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 R 23.83

$1.36 MYR 5.53

6.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.26 R 20.72

$1.18 MYR 4.83

6.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 R 16.39

$0.67 MYR 2.72

47.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.26 R 53.8

$4.52 MYR 18.46

-27.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.82 R 79.4

$19.75 MYR 80.6

-75.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 R 20.99

$3.54 MYR 14.43

-64.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.82 R 30.00

$4.93 MYR 20.12

-63.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.10 R 18.17

$0.70 MYR 2.87

57.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$36.67 R 604

$12.45 MYR 50.8

194.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.04 R 33.68

$1.23 MYR 5.04

65.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.50 R 8.25

$1.19 MYR 4.84

-57.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.45 R 139

$4.88 MYR 19.90

73.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 R 24.38

$0.88 MYR 3.59

68.18%

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

$35.8K R 589.5K

$41.8K MYR 170.4K

-14.35%

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

$34.1K R 562.5K

$34.9K MYR 142.4K

-2.20%

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

$125 R 2,058

$61.2 MYR 250

104.22%

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

$34.90 R 575

$8.63 MYR 35.22

304.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.55 R 734

$26.31 MYR 107

69.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.20 R 530

$49.33 MYR 201

-34.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.27 R 383

$7.47 MYR 30.46

211.51%

Cinema Ticket

$10.74 R 177

$4.95 MYR 20.17

116.97%

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

$177 R 2,924

$302 MYR 1,234

-41.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,046 R 99.6K

$13.3K MYR 54.4K

-54.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.4 R 1,193

$71.6 MYR 292

1.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.28 R 631

$41.57 MYR 170

-7.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 R 1,806

$84.5 MYR 345

29.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.6 R 1,574

$97.4 MYR 397

-1.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$598 R 9,859

$610 MYR 2,490

-1.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$415 R 6,838

$371 MYR 1,513

11.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$808 R 13.3K

$1,139 MYR 4,646

-29.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$682 R 11.2K

$661 MYR 2,696

3.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$764 R 12.6K

$4,114 MYR 16.8K

-81.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$522 R 8,604

$1,500 MYR 6,120

-65.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,625 R 26.8K

$1,494 MYR 6,093

8.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.94

4.18

185.65%

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

Last update for Port Elizabeth: October 13, 2026

Last update for Kuala Lumpur: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Port Elizabeth

$415 34.1%

Kuala Lumpur

$371 34.1% 10.7% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Port Elizabeth

$204 16.8%

Kuala Lumpur

$96 8.9% 53% $108

Groceries & Markets

Port Elizabeth

$197 16.2%

Kuala Lumpur

$276 25.4% 40.4% $79

Eating Out

Port Elizabeth

$159 13.1%

Kuala Lumpur

$129 11.9% 18.7% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Port Elizabeth

$142 11.7%

Kuala Lumpur

$133 12.2% 6.6% $9.4

Sport & Entertainment

Port Elizabeth

$54 4.4%

Kuala Lumpur

$59 5.5% 10.3% $5.5

Getting Around

Port Elizabeth

$46 3.8%

Kuala Lumpur

$22 2.1% 50.8% $23

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $598 in Port Elizabeth versus $610 in Kuala Lumpur. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 9% higher in Port Elizabeth, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $42.00 in Port Elizabeth versus $29.00 in Kuala Lumpur. Groceries tell a different story – $197 in Port Elizabeth vs $276 in Kuala Lumpur – so Port Elizabeth wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Port Elizabeth

🇲🇾 Kuala Lumpur

🕒 Local time

11:56 11:56 AM

17:56 5:56 PM

6 h ahead of Port Elizabeth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,050,000

1,982,112 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

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).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Port Elizabeth Kuala Lumpur 8,930 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Port Elizabeth
Kuala Lumpur

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

Port Elizabeth vs Kuala Lumpur: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Port Elizabeth is pricier by about 12%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,824 per month in Port Elizabeth and $1,629 in Kuala Lumpur. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kuala Lumpur, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 40% cheaper in Port Elizabeth – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $42.00 in Port Elizabeth and $29.00 in Kuala Lumpur. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Kuala Lumpur, where all-in costs run around $1,086, than in Port Elizabeth at $1,216. In Kuala Lumpur it covers expenses comfortably, while in Port Elizabeth it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Kuala Lumpur. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Port Elizabeth makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.