Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tawau and Austin, TX

For one person, living is cheaper in Tawau: $888 a month against $2,698 in Austin, TX, rent and utilities included – about $21,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Tawau
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Tawau Living Index
129

Cost of Living Index in Austin, TX
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Austin, TX Living Index

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Tawau

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$888

/mo nomad

Austin, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$2,698

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tawau and in Austin, TX

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $888 in Tawau versus $2,698 in Austin, TX.

Tawau $888
Austin, TX $2,698

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,354 in Tawau versus $4,160 in Austin, TX.

Tawau $1,354
Austin, TX $4,160

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,820 in Tawau versus $5,622 in Austin, TX.

Tawau $1,820
Austin, TX $5,622

Living in Tawau costs roughly 67% less than in Austin, TX, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tawau is 34% below, Austin, TX is 99% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.14 MYR 12.80

$20.63 $20.63

-84.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.22 MYR 78.4

$84.6 $84.6

-77.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.21 MYR 17.19

$12.07 $12.07

-65.12%

Cappuccino

$3.15 MYR 12.86

$5.48 $5.48

-42.52%

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

$0.95 MYR 3.86

$3.80 $3.80

-75.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.36 MYR 1.46

$2.47 $2.47

-85.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.66 MYR 10.83

$8.05 $8.05

-66.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.52 MYR 18.45

$8.88 $8.88

-49.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 MYR 7.10

$1.11 $1.11

56.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.00 MYR 4.09

$3.72 $3.72

-73.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.49 MYR 6.06

$3.37 $3.37

-55.79%

Eggs

$2.16 MYR 8.80

$4.32 $4.32

-50.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.36 MYR 58.6

$13.13 $13.13

9.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.35 MYR 17.75

$14.15 $14.15

-69.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.83 MYR 40.10

$16.33 $16.33

-39.80%

Apples (1kg)

$3.04 MYR 12.41

$4.55 $4.55

-33.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.67 MYR 6.83

$1.46 $1.46

14.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.48 MYR 10.13

$4.71 $4.71

-47.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 MYR 6.10

$4.15 $4.15

-64.10%

Potato (1kg)

$1.31 MYR 5.32

$2.58 $2.58

-49.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.21 MYR 4.94

$2.35 $2.35

-48.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 MYR 4.37

$1.77 $1.77

-39.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 MYR 2.31

$2.14 $2.14

-73.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.48 MYR 18.30

$10.10 $10.10

-55.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.05 MYR 77.7

$15.19 $15.19

25.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.02 MYR 12.32

$2.82 $2.82

7.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.98 MYR 20.32

$3.44 $3.44

44.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.70 MYR 2.84

$1.54 $1.54

-54.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.41 MYR 50.6

$40.99 $40.99

-69.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.25 MYR 5.11

$2.80 $2.80

-55.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.48 MYR 1.97

$1.60 $1.60

-70.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.98 MYR 28.49

$34.34 $34.34

-79.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.87 MYR 3.57

$0.94 $0.94

-7.45%

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

$50.2K MYR 204.8K

$34.0K $34.0K

47.73%

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

$36.0K MYR 146.9K

$26.8K $26.8K

34.56%

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

$49.37 MYR 201

$223 $223

-77.83%

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

$10.55 MYR 43.02

$58.9 $58.9

-82.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.74 MYR 117

$70.6 $70.6

-59.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.34 MYR 177

$57.7 $57.7

-24.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.82 MYR 27.83

$16.53 $16.53

-58.74%

Cinema Ticket

$3.77 MYR 15.39

$14.26 $14.26

-73.56%

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

$183 MYR 746

$1,511 $1,511

-87.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,623 MYR 31.1K

$20.9K $20.9K

-63.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.9 MYR 240

$51.3 $51.3

14.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.06 MYR 135

$44.17 $44.17

-25.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.3 MYR 303

$87.0 $87.0

-14.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.2 MYR 360

$104 $104

-15.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$387 MYR 1,578

$1,940 $1,940

-80.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$253 MYR 1,030

$1,316 $1,316

-80.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$596 MYR 2,433

$3,664 $3,664

-83.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$447 MYR 1,823

$2,565 $2,565

-82.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,936 MYR 7,900

$7,354 $7,354

-73.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,216 MYR 4,962

$3,129 $3,129

-61.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$418 MYR 1,707

$5,286 $5,286

-92.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

6.79

-40.21%

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

Last update for Tawau: October 17, 2026

Last update for Austin, TX: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Tawau

$260 29.2%

Austin, TX

$406 15.1% 56.4% $146

Accommodation & Living

Tawau

$253 28.4%

Austin, TX

$1.3K 48.8% 421% $1.1K

Clothing & Footwear

Tawau

$114 12.9%

Austin, TX

$129 4.8% 12.7% $15

Eating Out

Tawau

$103 11.6%

Austin, TX

$350 13% 240% $247

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tawau

$89 10%

Austin, TX

$352 13.1% 297% $263

Sport & Entertainment

Tawau

$51 5.7%

Austin, TX

$86 3.2% 69.5% $35

Getting Around

Tawau

$19 2.1%

Austin, TX

$58 2.2% 207% $39

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $387 in Tawau and $1,940 in Austin, TX. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Austin, TX pays 1163% 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: $19.00 in Tawau vs $85.0 in Austin, TX for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $260 vs $406 per month, with Tawau cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Tawau

🇺🇸 Austin, TX

🕒 Local time

04:45 4:45 AM

15:45 3:45 PM

13 h behind Tawau

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

420,806

974,447

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Tawau Austin, TX 14,620 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Tawau
Austin, TX

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

Tawau vs Austin, TX: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tawau wins on cost – living expenses run 204% lower than in Austin, TX. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Tawau the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 1163% lower in Austin, TX. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $387 in Tawau versus $1,940 in Austin, TX. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $888 per month in Tawau versus $2,698 in Austin, TX – a 204% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Tawau runs roughly 230% less than in Austin, TX. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $888 in Tawau versus $2,698 in Austin, TX, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Tawau but tight or insufficient in Austin, TX. The gap between the two cities makes Tawau 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, Tawau and Austin, TX 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 Tawau gentler on the wallet – expenses run 204% less than in Austin, TX. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.