We ran the exact same search on Google Flights, Skyscanner, Kayak, Momondo and Kiwi.com using the same dates and currency. On one of the longest trips you can book, the tools agree, and the cheapest fare is a trap. Here's what we found.
There's no nonstop, because Kuala Lumpur and Rio are almost antipodal, so every fare is a long connection. The tools basically agreed: a protected two-stop through Istanbul and São Paulo (Turkish Airlines and Gol) ran MYR 7,656 to 7,713 everywhere, Google a hair cheapest. The headline-cheapest fare, MYR 7,563, is a four-stop self-transfer that takes nearly 60 hours and saves about MYR 90, which is a terrible trade on a trip this long. Kiwi.com sold the same flights, and even led with the cleaner KLM one-stop through Amsterdam, but priced it up at MYR 8,365, so it's last. Prices change constantly, so treat this as a snapshot.
Ranked by the cheapest protected connection, the safest fare to book. The badge under each tool shows how you book with it. Every term is explained under the table.
| Rank | Tool | Cheapest protected connection | Cheapest self-transfer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Google Flights Comparison site | MYR 7,656   Turkish + Gol · 2 stops · Istanbul, São Paulo up to ~48h round trip | MYR 7,563 Emirates + Ryanair + ITA · 4 stops ⚠ up to ~62h |
| 2 |  Skyscanner Comparison site | MYR 7,713 Turkish + Gol · 2 stops up to ~48h round trip | MYR 7,462 Multi-stop · separate tickets ⚠ up to ~43h |
| 3 |  Kayak Comparison site | MYR 7,713 Turkish + Gol · 2 stops up to ~48h round trip | MYR 7,500 Multi-stop · separate tickets ⚠ up to ~45h |
| 4 |  Momondo Comparison site | MYR 7,713 Turkish + Gol · 2 stops up to ~48h round trip | MYR 7,500 Multi-stop · separate tickets ⚠ up to ~45h |
| 5 |  Kiwi.com Reseller | MYR 8,365  KLM · 1 stop · Amsterdam ~30h each way | MYR 7,756 3 stops · separate tickets ⚠ up to ~108h round trip |
All legs on one ticket, so the airline rebooks you free if a connection is missed. The safest fare to book.
Separate tickets you stitch together (the tool's own label, not ours). Often cheaper, but a missed leg is on you unless a guarantee covers it.
A comparison site shows the fares and sends you to the airline or an agency to pay. A reseller like Kiwi.com takes your payment itself and adds its own fees, so it usually costs a little more.
Why the tools agree here: with no nonstop to find and no low-cost carrier flying the whole way, every tool is building the same connection from the same big airlines (Turkish, KLM, Emirates, Qatar) through the same hubs. So they land within about MYR 60 of each other. There's no hidden trick fare on a route like this; the only real variable is how many stops you're willing to take.
The cheap self-transfer is a trap. The tools will happily show you a four-stop, roughly 60-hour routing on separate Emirates, Ryanair and ITA tickets for about MYR 90 less than a clean two-stop. On separate tickets, every one of those four connections is yours to make, and a single delay can strand you a continent away with nobody obliged to rebook you. On a 30-hour trip that's already tiring, paying a little more for one protected ticket is money well spent.
Kayak and Momondo are owned by the same company and returned the same fares; we list both because people search for each. Kiwi.com is a reseller. It shows the same flights, and to its credit led with the cleaner KLM one-stop through Amsterdam rather than a self-transfer, but it charged more for everything (MYR 8,365 for that KLM connection versus MYR 7,656 to 7,713 for the two-stop on the comparison sites), so it's ranked last. Prices are live and drift by the hour, so read the pattern, not the exact ringgit.
A 30-hour, multi-airline journey is exactly where baggage goes wrong. The cheap self-transfer stitches together separate tickets, so your bag isn't checked through: you collect it and re-check it at each change, clearing immigration in places like Dubai or Milan, and you pay each airline's bag fee separately.
The protected Turkish + Gol connection checks your bag through to Rio and includes an allowance on one ticket. That alone is worth the ~MYR 90 difference. Whatever you book, confirm the checked-bag allowance on every leg before you pay, and add it to the price you compare.