Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Putra Heights and Kuching

For one person, living is cheaper in Putra Heights: $927 a month against $972 in Kuching, rent and utilities included – about $540 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Putra Heights
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Putra Heights Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Kuching
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Kuching Living Index

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Putra Heights

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$927

/mo nomad

Kuching

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$972

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Putra Heights and in Kuching

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $927 in Putra Heights versus $972 in Kuching.

Putra Heights $927
Kuching $972

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,421 in Putra Heights versus $1,521 in Kuching.

Putra Heights $1,421
Kuching $1,521

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,915 in Putra Heights versus $2,070 in Kuching.

Putra Heights $1,915
Kuching $2,070

Living in Putra Heights costs roughly 5% less than in Kuching, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Putra Heights 32% lower, Kuching 29% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.77 MYR 15.29

$3.37 MYR 13.68

11.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.15 MYR 73.6

$24.51 MYR 99.4

-25.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.90 MYR 19.87

$4.90 MYR 19.88

Cappuccino

$2.83 MYR 11.47

$3.19 MYR 12.94

-11.29%

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

$0.78 MYR 3.17

$0.78 MYR 3.18

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.42 MYR 1.70

$0.38 MYR 1.55

10.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.51 MYR 18.27

$4.61 MYR 18.69

-2.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.23 MYR 25.27

$5.96 MYR 24.18

4.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 MYR 6.75

$2.39 MYR 9.69

-30.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.07 MYR 4.33

$1.19 MYR 4.84

-10.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 MYR 5.81

$1.19 MYR 4.82

20.17%

Eggs

$1.75 MYR 7.09

$2.38 MYR 9.63

-26.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.08 MYR 57.1

$10.99 MYR 44.55

28.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.56 MYR 18.48

$4.34 MYR 17.58

5.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.18 MYR 41.27

$10.00 MYR 40.53

1.80%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 MYR 13.44

$3.17 MYR 12.86

4.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 MYR 7.03

$1.32 MYR 5.36

31.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.31 MYR 9.35

$2.52 MYR 10.23

-8.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 MYR 6.07

$1.78 MYR 7.22

-15.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.23 MYR 4.98

$1.38 MYR 5.60

-10.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 MYR 5.50

$1.19 MYR 4.82

14.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 MYR 4.59

$1.61 MYR 6.53

-29.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 MYR 2.21

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MYR 17.86

$4.76 MYR 19.28

-7.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.20 MYR 57.6

$22.25 MYR 90.2

-36.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.95 MYR 11.96

$4.13 MYR 16.73

-28.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 MYR 12.25

$5.06 MYR 20.50

-40.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.74 MYR 3.00

$0.36 MYR 1.46

105.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.19 MYR 49.41

$7.48 MYR 30.32

62.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.95 MYR 3.84

$0.97 MYR 3.93

-2.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 MYR 2.86

$1.23 MYR 4.99

-42.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.99 MYR 20.24

$8.82 MYR 35.74

-43.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.87 MYR 3.53

$0.94 MYR 3.81

-7.45%

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

$44.4K MYR 180.2K

$45.9K MYR 186.2K

-3.24%

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

$34.7K MYR 140.5K

$36.1K MYR 146.2K

-3.89%

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

$62.9 MYR 255

$35.63 MYR 144

76.54%

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

$8.99 MYR 36.46

$10.19 MYR 41.31

-11.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.85 MYR 105

$25.50 MYR 103

1.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.32 MYR 151

$33.85 MYR 137

10.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.72 MYR 23.19

$12.26 MYR 49.69

-53.34%

Cinema Ticket

$5.01 MYR 20.29

$4.87 MYR 19.75

2.87%

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

$241 MYR 977

$135 MYR 548

78.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,302 MYR 21.5K

$7,150 MYR 29.0K

-25.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.1 MYR 219

$64.1 MYR 260

-15.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.45 MYR 66.7

$37.52 MYR 152

-56.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 MYR 324

$90.0 MYR 365

-11.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 MYR 397

$64.6 MYR 262

51.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$422 MYR 1,709

$469 MYR 1,902

-10.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$286 MYR 1,159

$334 MYR 1,354

-14.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$707 MYR 2,867

$834 MYR 3,382

-15.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$546 MYR 2,214

$654 MYR 2,653

-16.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,818 MYR 7,370

$2,053 MYR 8,322

-11.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,236 MYR 5,010

$1,534 MYR 6,217

-19.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,102 MYR 4,468

$535 MYR 2,170

105.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

4.37

-7.09%

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

Last update for Putra Heights: October 27, 2026

Last update for Kuching: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Putra Heights

$286 30.8%

Kuching

$334 34.4% 16.9% $48

Groceries & Markets

Putra Heights

$246 26.5%

Kuching

$272 28% 10.7% $26

Eating Out

Putra Heights

$119 12.8%

Kuching

$120 12.3% 0.9% $1

Clothing & Footwear

Putra Heights

$112 12.1%

Kuching

$115 11.9% 3.1% $3.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Putra Heights

$98 10.5%

Kuching

$71 7.3% 27% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Putra Heights

$47 5.1%

Kuching

$44 4.5% 7.9% $3.8

Getting Around

Putra Heights

$20 2.1%

Kuching

$16 1.7% 18.3% $3.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $422 in Putra Heights and $469 in Kuching. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Putra Heights pays about 2.1 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $18 in Putra Heights vs $25 in Kuching for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $246 vs $272 per month, with Putra Heights cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Putra Heights

🇲🇾 Kuching

🕒 Local time

10:16 10:16 AM

Same time as Putra Heights

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

60,000

349,147

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.247 USD

1 MYR = 0.221 EUR

1 MYR = 0.247 USD

1 MYR = 0.221 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Putra Heights Kuching 990 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Putra Heights
Kuching

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

Putra Heights vs Kuching: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Putra Heights is about 5% cheaper overall, especially in groceries and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Putra Heights is about 2.1 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: $422 in Putra Heights versus $469 in Kuching. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Putra Heights – a meal for two runs $18 versus $25 in Kuching. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $927 per month in Putra Heights versus $972 in Kuching – Putra Heights is about 5% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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, Putra Heights and Kuching are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.