How much does it cost to live in Semporna?
Typical Month (Mid Range)
$1,315 (MYR 5,372)
Updated September 2026 · Sources cited: mudah.my, booking.com
- Typical Month (Lower End)
- $456 (MYR 1,864)
- Typical Month (Premium)
- $2,585 (MYR 10,561)
Good to know
Good to Know
- Semporna is primarily a dive-tourism gateway town for Sipadan, Mabul, and Kapalai — it has no documented digital-nomad or long-term expat community, so there is almost no pre-listed 'monthly furnished rental' market; most accommodation is priced and marketed for short tourist stays.
- Budget local apartments/rooms are cheapest when arranged directly with a landlord (often via local Facebook groups or in-person enquiry) rather than through Airbnb/Booking.com, which price for nightly tourists and can be 2-4x more expensive for an equivalent month.
- Bataras Hypermarket and Servay are the main supermarkets in town; imported and Western packaged goods cost more than local rice, produce, and fresh seafood.
- Eating at local kopitiams (coffee shops) is dramatically cheaper than sit-down restaurants and is the everyday norm for residents — a good way to keep dining costs low.
- Semporna is a small dive-tourism town, not an established digital-nomad hub — don't expect a coworking scene; plan to work from your dive resort, hostel, or a hotel with reliable wifi.
- Mobile data coverage is noticeably patchier in Borneo/remote areas than in Peninsular Malaysia, so test your carrier's coverage before committing to a long stay.
- The town center is small enough to walk almost everywhere; there's no local bus network, and ride-hailing apps like Grab may have limited or unreliable coverage here compared to major Malaysian cities.
- Most everyday transactions in Semporna are cash-based (Malaysian Ringgit) — don't rely on cards for small local vendors.
Monthly Totals
- Mid-range month
- MYR 5,372
Includes 6 estimated components
1 component missing
- Lean month
- MYR 1,864
Includes 4 estimated components
- Comfortable month
- MYR 10,561
Includes 7 estimated components
1 component missing
Living Costs
- Where nomads live
- Semporna has no documented digital-nomad or long-term expat residential cluster — it is fundamentally a small dive-tourism gateway town (jumping-off point for Sipadan, Mabul, Kapalai). The closest reasonable proxy is Semporna town centre / Pekan Semporna around the government jetty and seafront (near the seafood market and main wharf), where the guesthouses, budget hotels, dive-operator offices, and the town's two main supermarkets (Bataras, Servay) are concentrated. All housing figures below are priced against this town-centre area.
Housing (per month)
- Mid-range 1-bed
- MYR 4,240
Estimated
Booking.com lists a category of Semporna apartments/rooms averaging $49.44/night. Scaled to a full month (30 nights) with an assumed ~30% long-stay discount, since no explicit monthly rate is published. Represents a small furnished studio/serviced apartment rather than a large unit.
Published in USD
- Budget studio / 1-bed
- Not shown: failed a consistency check
- Premium apartment
- MYR 9,084
Estimated
Booking.com lists a nicer category of furnished Semporna apartments averaging $114.07/night ('very nice and comfortable apartment... quiet part of Semporna'). Scaled to a full month with an assumed ~35% long-stay discount, since no explicit monthly rate is published — a rough estimate, not a stated monthly price.
Published in USD
- Private room in a shared home
- MYR 900
Estimated
No documented private-room-in-a-shared-home rental market found for Semporna specifically. Estimated by analogy to typical small-town Sabah room-share pricing (roughly RM400-600/month for a basic shared room elsewhere in Sabah), adjusted upward for Semporna's higher cost of imported goods and tourist-town pricing.
Groceries
- Groceries for one (month)
- MYR 500
Estimated
Blended estimate: SabahGuide's household food-budget breakdown for smaller Sabah towns (a family of four spending RM 600–900/month on food) combined with general knowledge of one-person grocery costs in small Malaysian towns, adjusted upward slightly for Semporna's higher share of imported goods. No single source states a one-person Semporna grocery figure directly.
Sample prices
1L Fresh Milk
- 1L Fresh Milk
- MYR 8.00
Estimated
General Malaysian small-town retail price estimate; not scraped from a Semporna-specific price check.
Dozen Eggs
- Dozen Eggs
- MYR 6.00
Estimated
General Malaysian small-town retail price estimate; not scraped from a Semporna-specific price check.
1kg Rice
- 1kg Rice
- MYR 4.00
Estimated
Rice is a subsidised staple in Malaysia; general small-town price estimate, not Semporna-specific.
1kg Chicken Breast
- 1kg Chicken Breast
- MYR 12
Estimated
General Malaysian small-town retail price estimate; not scraped from a Semporna-specific price check.
1.5L Bottled Water (Store, Not Restaurant)
- 1.5L Bottled Water (Store, Not Restaurant)
- MYR 2.00
Estimated
General Malaysian small-town retail price estimate; not scraped from a Semporna-specific price check.
Eating out
- Cheap meal
- MYR 4.88
Estimated
Amazing Borneo's Sabah living-cost guide states lunch/dinner at a small coffee shop costs MYR 3–10; RM 6.5 is the midpoint of that stated range. [Adjusted 2026-09-18: the source's 6.5 MYR reduced by 25%; see "adjusted".]
- High-end meal
- MYR 50
Estimated
No source states a specific high-end Semporna meal price. Estimated based on Semporna's reputation as a seafood-restaurant town (waterfront seafood restaurants near the jetty/seafood market) and typical Malaysian small-town pricing for a seafood dinner for one.
- Mid-range meal
- MYR 11
Estimated
Amazing Borneo's Sabah living-cost guide states an average restaurant meal costs MYR 10–20, drinks not included; RM 15 is the midpoint of that stated range. [Adjusted 2026-09-18: the source's 15 MYR reduced by 25%; see "adjusted".]
Work, Transport & Essentials
Coworking
- Day pass
- Not available
No verifiably operating coworking space could be confirmed in Semporna. The only listed venue found (Usaha Samah, tagged on Foursquare) has zero reviews, photos, or published pricing, so no reliable day-pass figure exists.
- Monthly hot desk
- Not available
Same gap as “Day pass” — Semporna is a small dive-tourism town with no documented dedicated coworking operator; most remote workers here use hotel/hostel wifi or dive-resort common areas instead.
Transport
- Single ride
- MYR 10
Estimated
No metered local taxi or ride-hailing tariff could be confirmed for in-town Semporna trips; figure is a rough estimate for a short informal taxi/motorbike ride based on typical small-town Sabah fares, not a published tariff.
- Monthly pass
- Not available
Mobile & data
- Monthly plan
- MYR 25
Survey / cost-of-living site
Short Stays (per night)
- Seasonal pricing
- Yes
- Why
- Dry season (April–September) offers optimal conditions for water-based activities and includes the major Pesta Regatta Lepa festival in April, which drives documented accommodation booking pressure; wet season (October–March) brings heavier monsoon rains and rougher seas, reducing tourism appeal.
Low season
- Budget
- MYR 240
Hotel booking sites consistently cite budget 2-star/hostel options from $14–20 USD in low season (October–March)
- Luxury
- MYR 1,560
5-star properties; Booking.com weekend data showing $104 USD average for 5-star tier; Expedia and Traveloka emphasize significantly lower rates in October–February
- Premium
- MYR 1,008
4-star hotels; implied from high-season differential (typically 35–40% lower in low season per multiple booking platform guidance)
- Standard
- MYR 624
3-star hotels and 1BR Airbnb; Budget Your Trip aggregator showing $31 average for mid-range hotels in low season; sources cite significantly lower prices during October–February
High season
- Budget
- MYR 520
Hotel aggregator data (Kayak, Booking.com) showing 2-star hotels and basic Airbnb studios during April–September; average nightly range $50–70 USD converted to MYR at current rates
- Luxury
- MYR 2,952
5-star properties (e.g., Seafest Regency from $155, Mabul Water Bungalows from $428, SKY Resort from $492); Trip.com data showing $620 USD weekday average for 5-star luxury segment
- Premium
- MYR 1,740
4-star hotels (e.g., Grace Hotel Semporna, Sipadan Kapalai Dive Resort base tier); Trip.com 12-month average of $365 USD for 4-star hotels
- Standard
- MYR 1,480
3-star hotels (e.g., Seafest Hotel Semporna, Semporna Seaview Hotel) and 1BR Airbnb; Trip.com data showing average $151 USD weekday rates for 3-star tier in high season
Low-season months
- October
- November
- December
- January
- February
- March
High-season months
- April
- May
- June
- July
- August
- September
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this cost of living research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
- 1.mudah.my
- 2.booking.com
- 3.amazingborneo.com
- 4.manamurah.com
- 5.sabahguide.com
- 6.forbes.com
- 7.foursquare.com
- 8.rome2rio.com
- 9.rome2rio.com
- 10.tripadvisor.com
- 11.12go.asia
- 12.tripadvisor.com
- 13.pulaumabul.com
- 14.wikitravel.org
- 15.scuba-holics.com
- 16.rome2rio.com
- 17.traveltomtom.net
- 18.esim.holafly.com
- 19.nomadesim.com
- 20.bnesim.com
- 21.timeout.com
More About Semporna
Data last updated September 2026 · Verify anything important.