Cost of Living in Johor Bahru, 🇲🇾 Malaysia - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Oct 25, 2026 Last changed Oct 31, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 25 26 27 36 $539 $429 $637 $331 $44

Utilities 22 23 — $39 $73 $39 —

Internet & Mobile 10 11 12 $33 $33 $46 $33 $0

Groceries 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 $62 $76 $201 $59 $4

Transportation 8 9 34 $62 $86 $220 $7 $9

Dining Out 14 21 $220 $229 $245 $16 $18

Leisure Activities 16 17 32 $46 $38 $1,066 $12 $11

Health Insurance 31 $63 $49 $147 — $2

Visa & Legal Fees 32 $22 $22 $44 — —

Total $1,047 $1,001 $2,679 $497 $88

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 25 26 27 36 $428.71 $318 – $490 per month

Coworking Space 28 29 30 $88.19 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 27 36 $587.95 $465 – $661 per month

Coliving Space 26 27 28 $465.46 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 15 $2.43 per cup

Beer 19 $2.94 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 14 $1.96 per meal

Fast Food Combo 13 $4.50 per meal

Apples 6 $3.80 per kg

Bread 4 $0.73 per loaf

Milk 5 $2.11 per liter

Rice 1 $0.80 per kg

Chicken Fillets 2 $5.85 per kg

Beef 3 $15.68 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) 20 $13.94 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 21 $14.45 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 7 $0.37 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 9 $0.73 per trip

Taxi per km 9 $0.31 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 8 $7.35 per month

Gasoline 24 $1.13 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) 34 $2.94 per trip

Scooter Rental 35 $122.49 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 10 $8.57 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 12 $24.25 per month

Gym Membership 17 $37.97 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) — per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 11 $2.94 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 16 $4.16 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans — per pair

Summer Dress — per dress

Running Shoes — per pair

Personal Care

Haircut — per visit

Laundry — per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) — per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) 18 $3.13 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Oct 25, 2026
Last changed: Oct 31, 2026
Exchange rate: 1 USD = 4.082 MYR on Oct 19, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Hanoi, Da Nang, Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City

AEON2Go Jati Signature Thai rice 5kg RM16.39Listings
AEON2Go chicken breast 500g RM11.95Listings
AEON2Go beef cuts ~RM64/kg (250g packs)Listings
AEON2Go Gardenia white bread 400g RM3Listings
AEON2Go Farm Fresh milk 1L RM8.60Listings
AEON2Go China Fuji apple 6 pcs RM15.50Listings
AEON2Go bottled water 1.5L from RM1.00–1.65Listings
BAS.MY Kad 30 Hari unlimited bus RM30/30 daysOfficial
SPaD JB budget taxi RM3 flagfall, RM1.25/km (Oct 2026)Secondary
CelcomDigi Prepaid 5G Hyper 35 RM35/30 daysOfficial
CelcomDigi one-time tourist data passes from RM12Official
Unifi Home 100Mbps from RM89–99/monthOfficial
McDonald's Malaysia Big Mac Medium McValue Meal RM18.35Listings
Mami Fasha Bistro JB inexpensive meals RM4.64–11Listings
Starbucks Malaysia Tall Caffè Latte RM9.90 (2026)Secondary
GSC KSL City JB flat adult 2D ticket RM17Secondary
Celebrity Fitness home club from RM155/monthOfficial
Guardian Panadol Tablets 30s RM12.80Listings
Tiger lager 6×320ml RM47.45Listings
Wolf Blass Bilyara red wine 750ml RM56.90Listings
Jaiho & Son JB ShellOut Couple RM58.99 (2 pax)Listings
TNB domestic tariff 44.43 sen/kWh (≤1500 kWh)Official
TNB bill components and ≤800 kWh exemptions Oct 2026Secondary
Malaysia RON95 RM4.62/L, 19 Oct 2026Index
Greenfield Regency 1BR RM1,299/monthListings
Mudah Tebrau furnished 1BR RM1,500–2,000/monthListings
Airbnb monthly furnished stays Johor BahruListings
Infinity8 Mount Austin hot desk RM299–360/monthSecondary
INFINITY8 Mount Austin coworkingOfficial
HQ Menara Pelangi hot desk RM449/monthListings
SafetyWing Essential USD 62.72 per 4 weeksOfficial
DE Rantau Nomad Pass programme and feesOfficial
JB international school tuition 2026/27Secondary
Grab fare ranges in Johor Bahru ~RM12/5kmSecondary
Mudah JB motorcycle monthly rental ~RM400–550Listings
Numbeo Johor Bahru cross-check (Oct 2026)Index

Change history

Oct 31, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 812.53 587.95
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 444.35 428.71
- Apples 2.92 3.8
- Beef 10.66 15.68
- Beer 4.57 2.94
40 more changes
- Bread 1.07 0.73
- Chicken Fillets 5.33 5.85
- Cinema Ticket 5.59 4.16
- Coffee 3.3 2.43
- Coliving Space 355.48 465.46
- Coworking Space 114.26 88.19
- Dining Out local 101.57, nomad 457.05, expat 279.31, family 457.05, tourist 33.01 local 15.68, nomad 220.48, expat 229.3, family 244.98, tourist 18.37
- Doctor Visit (GP) 16.5 not set
- Fast Food Combo 5.59 4.5
- Gasoline 0.52 1.13
- Groceries local 152.35, nomad 114.26, expat 304.7, family 609.4, tourist 6.35 local 59.28, nomad 62.47, expat 75.94, family 200.88, tourist 3.67
- Gym Membership 40.63 37.97
- Haircut 8.89 not set
- Health Insurance local 0, nomad 71.1, expat 63.48, family 215.83, tourist 3.81 local 0, nomad 62.72, expat 48.99, family 147.03, tourist 2.09
- Housing local 279.31, nomad 710.97, expat 431.66, family 812.53, tourist 55.86 local 330.72, nomad 538.95, expat 428.71, family 636.94, tourist 44.1
- Internet & Mobile local 20.31, nomad 38.09, expat 45.7, family 63.48, tourist 3.05 local 32.83, family 45.74, tourist 0.42
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 27.93 24.25
- Jeans 60.94 not set
- Laundry 3.81 not set
- Leisure Activities local 38.09, nomad 152.35, expat 126.96, family 304.7, tourist 15.23 local 12.25, nomad 46.3, expat 37.97, family 1065.65, tourist 11.02
- Meal (Inexpensive) 3.05 1.96
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 21.58 14.45
- Milk 1.98 2.11
- Mobile Plan 11.43 8.57
- Monthly Transport Pass 12.7 7.35
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 5.08 3.13
- Rice 1.4 0.8
- Ride-hailing (5km) 2.54 2.94
- Running Shoes 81.25 not set
- SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 8.89 2.94
- Scooter Rental 10.16 122.49
- Summer Dress 33.01 not set
- Taxi Start 1.02 0.73
- Taxi per km 0.38 0.31
- Tennis Court (Weekend) 6.35 not set
- Transportation local 38.09, nomad 101.57, expat 177.74, family 304.7, tourist 11.43 local 7.35, nomad 61.73, expat 85.74, family 220.48, tourist 8.82
- Utilities local 38.09, nomad 88.87, expat 101.57, family 165.05, tourist 0 local 39.05, nomad 0, family 73.49, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, nomad 25.39, expat 38.09, family 101.57, tourist 1.27 local 0, nomad 22, expat 22, family 44
- Water (1.5L bottle) 0.63 0.37
- Wine (Mid-range) 16.5 13.94
Coworking Space, Mobile Plan, Housing, Health Insurance, Visa & Legal Fees, Coliving Space, Ride-hailing (5km), Scooter Rental, SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) moved ≥15% vs prior export (cravingsinmalaysia.com, celcomdigi.com, mudah.my, safetywing.com, mdec.my, airbnb.com, southern-homestay.com, mudah.my, celcomdigi.com)

Johor Bahru cost of living