Cost of Living Guide
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City comparison

Cost of living in London vs Kuala Lumpur

One person needs about €3,468 a month in London and €892 in Kuala Lumpur, rent included — Kuala Lumpur is 74% cheaper overall.

🇬🇧
London
United Kingdom · 8.9M pop
vs
🇲🇾
Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia · 1.8M pop
Monthly rent (1BR)
€2,400€520
78% cheaper
Groceries / mo
€420€230
45% cheaper
Eating out (meal)
€22€4
82% cheaper
Internet (100mbps)
€42€20
52% cheaper
Avg salary (tech)
€5,600€1,600
71% lower
Coworking / mo
€380€120
68% cheaper
LondonKuala Lumpur
Rent€2,400€520
Groceries€420€230
Transport€190€30
Utilities€240€60

🇬🇧 London

Salaries are high, everything else is higher — transport alone costs a Tbilisi flat.

Monthly budget: €3,468

Sources: ONS + VOA, CPIH & private rental market summary (2025) · 468 community reports

🇲🇾 Kuala Lumpur

Condo-with-pool living for the price of a European room share.

Monthly budget: €892

Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports

Should you move to London or Kuala Lumpur?

On salary, London pays more for tech roles (€5,600 versus €1,600 a month), so the money left over after costs is €2,132 in London at the top end.

Rent drives most of the gap: €2,400 in London against €520 in Kuala Lumpur. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.

For remote workers, the nomad index scores London at 64 and Kuala Lumpur at 79 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.

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