Photos: Kuala Lumpur by Brownc, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Miami by Radomianin, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.
Kuala Lumpur or Miami?
Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.
Choose Kuala Lumpur for
- prices
- getting around
- food and drink
What lies behind each score is written up on Kuala Lumpur’s own page.
Choose Miami for
- beaches
- nightlife
- nature and the outdoors
What lies behind each score is written up on Miami’s own page.
Scoreboard
Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.
What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Kuala Lumpur and Miami.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Wins on prices and getting around with your weighting.
Wins on beaches and nightlife with your weighting.
What matters to you?
When should you go?
Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.
Kuala Lumpur in July
Miami in July
Daytime high, °C
Rainfall in the month, mm
Where the figures come from
Kuala Lumpur's temperatures are measured 46 km from the centre, at Sepang/KL International Airport.
Kuala Lumpur has no rain gauge within 25 km of the centre, so its rainfall comes from a gridded climate dataset read at the city rather than from a gauge further away.
Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Kuala Lumpur: 1991-2020 normals, Sepang/KL International Airport (46.1 km from centre). Miami: 1991-2020 normals, Miami International Airport (10 km from centre).
Before you go
| Measure | Kuala Lumpur | Miami |
|---|---|---|
| Official language | Malay | - |
| Currency | Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) | US Dollar (USD) |
| Sockets | G240 V, 50 Hz | AB120 V, 60 Hz |
| Driving side | Left | Right |
| Time zone | UTC+8 | UTC-5, UTC-4 in summer |
| Emergency number | 999 | 911 |
| Elevation | 50 m | 2 m |
| Main airport | Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL)45 km from centre146 non-stop destinations | Miami International Airport (MIA)7 km from centre198 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | - | 11 days |
By the numbers
| Measure | Kuala Lumpur | Miami |
|---|---|---|
| City population | 9,000,280 | 442,241 |
| People per km² | 36,932 | 3,046 |
| Museums within 10 km | 25 | 17 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 1 | 0 |
| Swim season, months above 21 °C | 12 months | 12 months |
Where else could you go?
Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Kuala Lumpur or Miami somewhere new.