Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kedah and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Kedah: $877 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Kedah
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Kedah Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Kedah

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$877

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $877 in Kedah versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Kedah $877
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,399 in Kedah versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Kedah $1,399
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,920 in Kedah versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Kedah $1,920
Phuket $3,154

Living in Kedah costs roughly 31% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Kedah 36% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.72 MYR 15.13

$4.47 ฿151

-16.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.32 MYR 50.2

$32.41 ฿1,093

-61.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.56 MYR 18.57

$8.81 ฿297

-48.24%

Cappuccino

$2.91 MYR 11.86

$2.83 ฿95.4

2.83%

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

$0.77 MYR 3.14

$0.87 ฿29.40

-11.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.39 MYR 1.59

$0.49 ฿16.65

-20.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.24 MYR 17.24

$2.56 ฿86.3

65.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 MYR 17.73

$3.68 ฿124

18.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.88 MYR 7.65

$1.66 ฿55.9

13.25%

White Bread (500g)

$1.06 MYR 4.31

$1.46 ฿49.29

-27.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 MYR 6.98

$1.50 ฿50.5

14.67%

Eggs

$2.19 MYR 8.90

$2.09 ฿70.5

4.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.55 MYR 55.1

$19.07 ฿643

-28.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.34 MYR 17.68

$3.30 ฿111

31.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.84 MYR 35.99

$10.91 ฿368

-18.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 MYR 11.97

$2.93 ฿98.8

0.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 MYR 6.65

$1.69 ฿57.0

-3.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.75 MYR 11.19

$2.25 ฿75.7

22.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.45 MYR 5.92

$2.08 ฿70.0

-30.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 MYR 4.48

$1.51 ฿51.0

-27.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 MYR 4.43

$1.38 ฿46.51

-21.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 MYR 4.61

$1.07 ฿35.95

5.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 MYR 2.33

$0.52 ฿17.50

9.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.62 MYR 18.81

$4.20 ฿142

10.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.76 MYR 76.4

$18.79 ฿634

-0.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.98 MYR 12.14

$1.82 ฿61.4

63.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.33 MYR 21.70

$2.84 ฿95.8

87.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.76 MYR 3.10

$1.45 ฿48.97

-47.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.85 MYR 52.3

$56.7 ฿1,911

-77.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.66 MYR 6.75

$3.02 ฿102

-45.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 MYR 1.54

$1.02 ฿34.32

-62.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.29 MYR 29.67

$3.69 ฿124

97.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.60 MYR 2.46

$1.47 ฿49.75

-59.18%

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

$45.6K MYR 185.8K

$26.8K ฿903.2K

70.43%

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

$35.8K MYR 145.9K

$26.7K ฿900.3K

34.30%

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

$36.47 MYR 148

$96.4 ฿3,250

-62.15%

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

$9.66 MYR 39.31

$11.26 ฿380

-14.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.48 MYR 120

$16.85 ฿568

74.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.63 MYR 141

$67.2 ฿2,268

-48.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.85 MYR 27.89

$10.73 ฿362

-36.16%

Cinema Ticket

$4.79 MYR 19.51

$7.50 ฿253

-36.13%

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

$388 MYR 1,578

$476 ฿16.1K

-18.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.7K MYR 43.4K

$11.3K ฿379.9K

-5.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.9 MYR 240

$62.4 ฿2,103

-5.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.76 MYR 141

$28.41 ฿958

22.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.6 MYR 332

$94.3 ฿3,180

-13.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$70.7 MYR 288

$85.8 ฿2,894

-17.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$358 MYR 1,456

$716 ฿24.1K

-50.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$258 MYR 1,050

$491 ฿16.6K

-47.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$712 MYR 2,899

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-63.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$607 MYR 2,469

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-57.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,930 MYR 7,857

$4,175 ฿140.8K

-53.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,258 MYR 5,119

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-58.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,339 MYR 5,451

$502 ฿16.9K

166.62%

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 Kedah: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kedah

$258 29.4%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 90.3% $233

Groceries & Markets

Kedah

$257 29.3%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 3.7% $9.6

Eating Out

Kedah

$113 12.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 7.8% $8.8

Clothing & Footwear

Kedah

$111 12.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 10.2% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kedah

$76 8.6%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 64.6% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Kedah

$44 5%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 86% $38

Getting Around

Kedah

$19 2.2%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 263% $51

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $358 in Kedah and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kedah pays about 2.7 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $12 in Kedah vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $266 per month, with Kedah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Kedah

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

01:26 1:26 AM

00:26 12:26 AM

1 h behind Kedah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

417,800

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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kedah Phuket 290 km

From you

Kedah
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

Kedah vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $877 in Kedah and $1,278 in Phuket, so Kedah is about 31% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Kedah is about 2.7 times higher, 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: $358 in Kedah versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $388 in Kedah versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 4% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $877 in Kedah versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Kedah but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Kedah the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Expats usually find Kedah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 31% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.