Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Butterworth and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Butterworth: $913 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Butterworth
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Butterworth Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Butterworth

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$913

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Butterworth and in Phuket

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Butterworth and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $913 per month in Butterworth vs $1,278 in Phuket, rent included.

Butterworth $913
Phuket $1,278

A couple spends around $1,408 per month in Butterworth vs $2,216 in Phuket, rent included.

Butterworth $1,408
Phuket $2,216

A family of three spends $1,902 per month in Butterworth vs $3,154 in Phuket, rent included.

Butterworth $1,902
Phuket $3,154

Butterworth is about 29% cheaper than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Butterworth and Phuket are more affordable than the global median – Butterworth 33% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.72 MYR 15.16

$4.47 ฿151

-16.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.36 MYR 78.8

$32.41 ฿1,093

-40.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.77 MYR 19.43

$8.81 ฿297

-45.86%

Cappuccino

$2.89 MYR 11.76

$2.83 ฿95.4

2.12%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.73 MYR 2.96

$0.87 ฿29.40

-16.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.36 MYR 1.48

$0.49 ฿16.65

-26.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.12 MYR 16.78

$2.56 ฿86.3

60.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 MYR 17.82

$3.68 ฿124

19.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.12 MYR 8.61

$1.66 ฿55.9

27.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 MYR 4.48

$1.46 ฿49.29

-24.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 MYR 6.88

$1.50 ฿50.5

12.67%

Eggs

$2.24 MYR 9.13

$2.09 ฿70.5

7.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.69 MYR 55.7

$19.07 ฿643

-28.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.49 MYR 18.26

$3.30 ฿111

36.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.64 MYR 35.18

$10.91 ฿368

-20.81%

Apples (1kg)

$3.06 MYR 12.47

$2.93 ฿98.8

4.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.71 MYR 6.95

$1.69 ฿57.0

1.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 MYR 9.07

$2.25 ฿75.7

-0.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 MYR 5.98

$2.08 ฿70.0

-29.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.06 MYR 4.33

$1.51 ฿51.0

-29.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 MYR 4.42

$1.38 ฿46.51

-21.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 MYR 4.43

$1.07 ฿35.95

1.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 MYR 2.38

$0.52 ฿17.50

11.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.36 MYR 17.76

$4.20 ฿142

3.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.00 MYR 77.3

$18.79 ฿634

1.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.93 MYR 11.91

$1.82 ฿61.4

60.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.98 MYR 20.27

$2.84 ฿95.8

75.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.70 MYR 2.84

$1.45 ฿48.97

-51.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.85 MYR 44.18

$56.7 ฿1,911

-80.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 MYR 4.83

$3.02 ฿102

-60.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 MYR 1.53

$1.02 ฿34.32

-62.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.85 MYR 19.72

$3.69 ฿124

31.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.89 MYR 3.61

$1.47 ฿49.75

-39.46%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$43.5K MYR 177.0K

$26.8K ฿903.2K

62.39%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$35.5K MYR 144.4K

$26.7K ฿900.3K

32.88%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$36.81 MYR 150

$96.4 ฿3,250

-61.80%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$8.61 MYR 35.03

$11.26 ฿380

-23.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.45 MYR 108

$16.85 ฿568

56.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.93 MYR 134

$67.2 ฿2,268

-51.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.90 MYR 24.00

$10.73 ฿362

-45.01%

Cinema Ticket

$4.79 MYR 19.52

$7.50 ฿253

-36.13%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$240 MYR 977

$476 ฿16.1K

-49.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.9K MYR 44.3K

$11.3K ฿379.9K

-3.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.8 MYR 243

$62.4 ฿2,103

-4.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.01 MYR 143

$28.41 ฿958

23.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.5 MYR 336

$94.3 ฿3,180

-12.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.5 MYR 283

$85.8 ฿2,894

-18.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$412 MYR 1,678

$716 ฿24.1K

-42.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$300 MYR 1,223

$491 ฿16.6K

-38.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$813 MYR 3,309

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-57.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$563 MYR 2,292

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-60.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,966 MYR 8,002

$4,175 ฿140.8K

-52.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,205 MYR 4,905

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-60.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.04

5.57

-27.47%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Butterworth: October 24, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Butterworth

$300 32.9%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 63.4% $191

Groceries & Markets

Butterworth

$258 28.3%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 3% $7.8

Eating Out

Butterworth

$113 12.3%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 8.2% $9.2

Clothing & Footwear

Butterworth

$111 12.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 9.7% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Butterworth

$72 7.9%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 73.2% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Butterworth

$43 4.7%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 93.4% $40

Getting Around

Butterworth

$17 1.8%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 323% $54

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $412 in Butterworth versus $716 in Phuket. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Butterworth versus $32 in Phuket. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $266 – making Butterworth the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Butterworth

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

20:54 8:54 PM

19:54 7:54 PM

1 h behind Butterworth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

339,132

79,308

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.246 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.246 USD). 1 EUR = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.64 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

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Butterworth Phuket 350 km

From you

Butterworth
Phuket

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Butterworth vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $913 in Butterworth, $1,278 in Phuket – Butterworth comes out roughly 29% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,370 per month in Butterworth and $1,917 in Phuket. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Butterworth, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $412 there versus $716 in Phuket.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $913 in Butterworth and $1,278 in Phuket. That makes Butterworth about 29% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 81% less in Butterworth. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Butterworth, where all-in costs run around $913, than in Phuket at $1,278. In Butterworth it covers expenses comfortably, while in Phuket it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Butterworth – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

For expats, Butterworth is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 29% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.