Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Selangor

For one person, living is cheaper in Selangor: $1,020 a month against $3,152 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $25,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

155

Cost of Living Index in Sydney
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Sydney Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Selangor
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Selangor Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

Selangor

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$1,020

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Selangor

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,152 in Sydney versus $1,020 in Selangor.

Sydney $3,152
Selangor $1,020

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,710 in Sydney versus $1,469 in Selangor.

Sydney $4,710
Selangor $1,469

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,268 in Sydney versus $1,918 in Selangor.

Sydney $6,268
Selangor $1,918

Living in Sydney is roughly 209% more expensive than in Selangor, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sydney is 133% above, Selangor is 24% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.57 A$25.29

$4.33 MYR 17.67

305.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.5 A$132

$19.20 MYR 78.3

376.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$17.21

$4.04 MYR 16.46

196.04%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.85

$2.26 MYR 9.23

80.09%

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

$2.85 A$4.10

$0.78 MYR 3.18

265.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.24

$0.47 MYR 1.93

378.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.60 A$10.94

$4.43 MYR 18.08

71.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.43 A$10.69

$4.96 MYR 20.24

49.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$1.93 MYR 7.87

-13.99%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 A$4.00

$1.05 MYR 4.30

164.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.49

$1.53 MYR 6.25

58.17%

Eggs

$5.64 A$8.12

$1.92 MYR 7.82

193.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 A$16.85

$14.26 MYR 58.2

-17.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 A$13.89

$4.36 MYR 17.78

121.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 A$24.10

$9.60 MYR 39.16

74.48%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.85

$3.44 MYR 14.04

18.31%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 A$4.68

$1.84 MYR 7.52

76.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 A$4.96

$2.34 MYR 9.55

47.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 A$6.16

$1.59 MYR 6.49

169.18%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.72

$1.34 MYR 5.45

144.78%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$1.03 MYR 4.21

123.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.31

$1.11 MYR 4.52

107.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 A$1.74

$0.54 MYR 2.19

124.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.71 A$62.9

$4.50 MYR 18.35

871.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.88 A$19.97

$19.53 MYR 79.7

-28.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.90 A$5.62

$3.59 MYR 14.64

8.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 A$5.63

$4.86 MYR 19.81

-19.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 A$4.38

$1.19 MYR 4.87

155.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$216

$12.26 MYR 50.0

1125.37%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.38 A$4.86

$1.24 MYR 5.06

172.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.24

$1.25 MYR 5.10

24.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.01 A$57.6

$4.34 MYR 17.72

821.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$0.73 MYR 2.99

91.78%

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

$29.1K A$41.9K

$41.9K MYR 171.0K

-30.50%

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

$30.1K A$43.4K

$35.3K MYR 143.8K

-14.53%

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

$223 A$320

$63.4 MYR 258

251.33%

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

$27.16 A$39.08

$8.50 MYR 34.69

219.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 A$80.3

$25.97 MYR 106

114.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.6 A$107

$41.09 MYR 168

81.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.99 A$34.52

$6.87 MYR 28.04

249.20%

Cinema Ticket

$17.56 A$25.27

$5.05 MYR 20.59

247.72%

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

$2,196 A$3,160

$122 MYR 499

1694.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K A$40.6K

$7,175 MYR 29.3K

292.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$113

$70.8 MYR 289

10.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.4 A$98.5

$41.40 MYR 169

65.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$160

$77.1 MYR 315

44.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$83.0 MYR 339

61.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,500 A$3,598

$511 MYR 2,083

389.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,460

$346 MYR 1,413

393.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,946 A$7,117

$880 MYR 3,589

462.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,022 A$4,349

$481 MYR 1,963

528.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$1,578 MYR 6,438

734.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,370 A$12.0K

$705 MYR 2,875

1087.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,113 A$5,919

$1,019 MYR 4,157

303.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

3.96

47.47%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 11, 2026

Last update for Selangor: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2%

Selangor

$346 34% 79.7% $1.4K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$379 12%

Selangor

$266 26.1% 29.7% $112

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$306 9.7%

Selangor

$98 9.6% 68% $208

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.5%

Selangor

$111 10.9% 62.8% $188

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$177 5.6%

Selangor

$123 12% 30.6% $54

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Selangor

$25 2.4% 85.9% $149

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Selangor

$51 5% 53.4% $59

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,500 in Sydney and $511 in Selangor. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney pays 304% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $91.0 in Sydney vs $19.00 in Selangor for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $379 vs $266 per month, with Selangor cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇲🇾 Selangor

🕒 Local time

17:43 5:43 PM

14:43 2:43 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

281,717

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sydney Selangor 6,670 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

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Sydney
Selangor

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

Sydney vs Selangor: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sydney and Selangor differ by about 209% in total monthly costs ($3,152 vs $1,020 including rent). Selangor is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 304% higher in Sydney, 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: $2,500 in Sydney versus $511 in Selangor. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 42% higher in Sydney. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Selangor – a meal for two runs $19.00 versus $91.0 in Sydney. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,020 in Selangor versus $3,152 in Sydney, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Selangor but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Selangor the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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, Sydney and Selangor are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Selangor gentler on the wallet – expenses run 209% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.