Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Gombak and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Gombak: $904 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Gombak
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Gombak Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Gombak

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$904

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Gombak 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 Gombak and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $904 in Gombak versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Gombak $904
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,437 in Gombak versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Gombak $1,437
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,970 in Gombak versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Gombak $1,970
Phuket $3,154

Living in Gombak costs roughly 29% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Gombak 34% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.60 MYR 14.67

$4.47 ฿151

-19.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.44 MYR 99.6

$32.41 ฿1,094

-24.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.02 MYR 20.47

$8.81 ฿297

-43.02%

Cappuccino

$2.96 MYR 12.07

$2.83 ฿95.5

4.59%

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

$0.91 MYR 3.73

$0.87 ฿29.43

4.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.45 MYR 1.82

$0.49 ฿16.67

-8.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 MYR 13.35

$2.56 ฿86.4

28.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.76 MYR 23.47

$3.68 ฿124

56.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 MYR 7.84

$1.66 ฿56.0

15.66%

White Bread (500g)

$1.07 MYR 4.36

$1.46 ฿49.35

-26.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MYR 6.00

$1.50 ฿50.6

-2.00%

Eggs

$1.76 MYR 7.19

$2.09 ฿70.5

-15.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.87 MYR 40.23

$19.07 ฿644

-48.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.35 MYR 13.67

$3.30 ฿111

1.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.68 MYR 39.46

$10.91 ฿368

-11.27%

Apples (1kg)

$3.40 MYR 13.84

$2.93 ฿99.0

16.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 MYR 7.66

$1.69 ฿57.1

11.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.63 MYR 10.73

$2.25 ฿75.8

16.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.81 MYR 7.36

$2.08 ฿70.1

-12.98%

Potato (1kg)

$2.08 MYR 8.49

$1.51 ฿51.0

37.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.96 MYR 7.99

$1.38 ฿46.56

42.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MYR 5.85

$1.07 ฿35.99

34.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 MYR 2.11

$0.52 ฿17.52

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.48 MYR 18.26

$4.20 ฿142

6.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.92 MYR 81.2

$18.79 ฿634

6.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.68 MYR 10.91

$1.82 ฿61.5

47.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.44 MYR 18.09

$2.84 ฿95.9

56.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.82 MYR 3.35

$1.45 ฿49.03

-43.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.38 MYR 50.4

$56.7 ฿1,913

-78.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.20 MYR 4.88

$3.02 ฿102

-60.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.36 MYR 1.45

$1.02 ฿34.36

-64.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.10 MYR 37.06

$3.69 ฿125

146.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.87 MYR 3.55

$1.47 ฿49.81

-40.82%

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

$46.0K MYR 187.5K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

71.84%

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

$35.1K MYR 143.1K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

31.55%

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

$50.0 MYR 204

$96.4 ฿3,254

-48.11%

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

$8.39 MYR 34.20

$11.26 ฿380

-25.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.39 MYR 108

$16.85 ฿569

56.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.05 MYR 151

$67.2 ฿2,270

-44.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.93 MYR 24.17

$10.73 ฿362

-44.73%

Cinema Ticket

$3.11 MYR 12.69

$7.50 ฿253

-58.53%

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

$282 MYR 1,150

$476 ฿16.1K

-40.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.6K MYR 43.0K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-6.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.7 MYR 211

$62.4 ฿2,106

-17.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.84 MYR 122

$28.41 ฿959

5.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.1 MYR 310

$94.3 ฿3,184

-19.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.2 MYR 343

$85.8 ฿2,898

-1.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$411 MYR 1,673

$716 ฿24.2K

-42.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$285 MYR 1,163

$491 ฿16.6K

-41.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$732 MYR 2,984

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-62.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$608 MYR 2,475

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-57.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,943 MYR 7,917

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-53.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,168 MYR 4,760

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-61.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$542 MYR 2,209

$502 ฿17.0K

7.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.51

5.57

-19.03%

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

Last update for Gombak: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Gombak

$285 31.6%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 72% $206

Groceries & Markets

Gombak

$250 27.7%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 6.3% $16

Eating Out

Gombak

$113 12.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 7.9% $8.9

Clothing & Footwear

Gombak

$109 12%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 12% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Gombak

$85 9.4%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 46.8% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Gombak

$43 4.8%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 90% $39

Getting Around

Gombak

$19 2.1%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 278% $52

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $411 in Gombak and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Gombak pays 8% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $24 in Gombak vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $250 vs $266 per month, with Gombak cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Gombak

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

04:32 4:32 AM

03:32 3:32 AM

1 h behind Gombak

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

41,699

79,308

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Gombak Phuket 630 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Gombak
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

Gombak vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Gombak wins on cost – living expenses run 29% lower than in Phuket. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Gombak the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 8% higher in Gombak, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $411 in Gombak versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 6% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Gombak – a meal for two runs $24 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Gombak is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Gombak and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Gombak gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.