Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hulhumale and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,420 in Hulhumale, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Hulhumale outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

69

Cost of Living Index in Hulhumale
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Hulhumale Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Hulhumale

🇲🇻 Maldives

$1,420

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,420 in Hulhumale versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Hulhumale $1,420
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,583 in Hulhumale versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Hulhumale $2,583
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,747 in Hulhumale versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Hulhumale $3,747
Phuket $3,154

Living in Hulhumale is roughly 11% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Hulhumale is 4% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.09 MVR 93.9

$4.47 ฿151

36.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.34 MVR 607

$32.41 ฿1,093

21.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.58 MVR 148

$8.81 ฿297

8.74%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.78 MVR 73.7

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.90 MVR 75.5

Cappuccino

$3.47 MVR 53.5

$2.83 ฿95.4

22.61%

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

$1.60 MVR 24.64

$0.87 ฿29.41

83.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 MVR 4.46

$0.49 ฿16.65

-40.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

Milk (1 liter)

$1.54 MVR 23.70

$1.66 ฿55.9

-7.23%

White Bread (500g)

$1.62 MVR 24.97

$1.46 ฿49.31

10.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.33 MVR 5.10

$1.50 ฿50.5

-78.00%

Eggs

$1.84 MVR 28.39

$2.09 ฿70.5

-11.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.29 MVR 50.8

$19.07 ฿643

-82.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.94 MVR 91.5

$3.30 ฿111

80.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.36 MVR 144

$10.91 ฿368

-14.21%

Apples (1kg)

$4.02 MVR 61.9

$2.93 ฿98.9

37.20%

Banana (1kg)

$3.14 MVR 48.43

$1.69 ฿57.0

85.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.84 MVR 43.72

$2.25 ฿75.8

26.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.65 MVR 40.87

$2.08 ฿70.0

27.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.23 MVR 19.00

$1.51 ฿51.0

-18.54%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 MVR 17.66

$1.38 ฿46.52

-16.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.08 MVR 32.15

$1.07 ฿35.96

94.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 MVR 9.00

$0.52 ฿17.51

11.54%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$12.13 MVR 187

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.71 MVR 41.78

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 MVR 29.90

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.99 MVR 200

$4.20 ฿142

209.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.99 MVR 30.74

$3.02 ฿102

-34.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.92 MVR 29.58

$1.02 ฿34.33

88.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.09 MVR 156

$3.69 ฿125

173.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 MVR 15.04

$1.47 ฿49.76

-33.33%

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

$32.6K MVR 502.7K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

21.75%

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

$28.9K MVR 444.9K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

8.09%

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

$105 MVR 1,617

$96.4 ฿3,251

8.82%

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

$29.88 MVR 461

$11.26 ฿380

165.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$71.5 MVR 1,103

$16.85 ฿568

324.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$9.57 MVR 148

$7.50 ฿253

27.60%

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

$183 MVR 2,825

$476 ฿16.1K

-61.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,027 MVR 46.7K

$11.3K ฿380.0K

-73.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$38.84 MVR 599

$62.4 ฿2,104

-37.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.67 MVR 766

$28.41 ฿958

74.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.7 MVR 1,321

$94.3 ฿3,181

-9.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$52.3 MVR 806

$85.8 ฿2,895

-39.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,147 MVR 17.7K

$716 ฿24.2K

60.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$762 MVR 11.8K

$491 ฿16.6K

55.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,237 MVR 34.5K

$1,927 ฿65.0K

16.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,299 MVR 35.5K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

60.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,433 MVR 83.8K

$4,175 ฿140.9K

30.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$506 MVR 7,798

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-83.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$721 MVR 11.1K

$502 ฿16.9K

43.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

151.35%

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

Last update for Hulhumale: October 27, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Hulhumale

$762 53.7%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 35.6% $271

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hulhumale

$206 14.5%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 39.6% $82

Groceries & Markets

Hulhumale

$193 13.6%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 38.2% $74

Eating Out

Hulhumale

$127 8.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 3.9% $5

Clothing & Footwear

Hulhumale

$102 7.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 19.6% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Hulhumale

$19 * 1.4%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 329% $63

Getting Around

Hulhumale

$12 * 0.8%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 510% $59

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,147 in Hulhumale and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hulhumale pays 43% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $39 in Hulhumale vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $193 vs $266, with Hulhumale cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇻 Hulhumale

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

14:40 2:40 PM

16:40 4:40 PM

2 h ahead of Hulhumale

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,000

79,308

💱 Currency

Maldivian Rufiyaa MVR Rf

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MVR = 6.49 USD

100 MVR = 5.81 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to MVR – Maldivian Rufiyaa Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇻 Maldivian Rufiyaa (Rf)

Maldivian Rufiyaa exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 15.42 MVR (100 MVR = 6.49 USD). 1 EUR = 17.22 MVR (100 MVR = 5.81 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to MVR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Hulhumale Phuket 2,780 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Hulhumale
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

Hulhumale vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 10% lower than in Hulhumale. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 43% higher in Hulhumale, 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: $1,147 in Hulhumale versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $183 in Hulhumale versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $39 in Hulhumale. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Hulhumale on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.