Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kota Kinabalu and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Kota Kinabalu: $921 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

45

Cost of Living Index in Kota Kinabalu
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Kota Kinabalu Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Kota Kinabalu

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$921

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $921 in Kota Kinabalu versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Kota Kinabalu $921
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,421 in Kota Kinabalu versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Kota Kinabalu $1,421
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,921 in Kota Kinabalu versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Kota Kinabalu $1,921
Phuket $2,867

Living in Kota Kinabalu costs roughly 24% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Kota Kinabalu 32% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.64 MYR 14.86

$4.58 ฿153

-20.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.52 MYR 79.6

$32.48 ฿1,086

-39.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.82 MYR 19.65

$8.55 ฿286

-43.63%

Cappuccino

$2.57 MYR 10.50

$2.72 ฿91.0

-5.51%

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

$0.59 MYR 2.41

$0.94 ฿31.25

-37.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 MYR 1.20

$0.49 ฿16.39

-40.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.50 MYR 10.19

$2.59 ฿86.6

-3.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.75 MYR 15.28

$3.83 ฿128

-2.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MYR 7.02

$1.74 ฿58.1

-1.15%

White Bread (500g)

$1.30 MYR 5.28

$1.43 ฿47.82

-9.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 MYR 9.43

$1.53 ฿51.0

50.98%

Eggs

$3.52 MYR 14.37

$2.17 ฿72.7

62.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$28.38 MYR 116

$19.15 ฿640

48.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.69 MYR 15.06

$3.30 ฿110

11.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.91 MYR 28.19

$11.14 ฿372

-37.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.25 MYR 9.20

$2.95 ฿98.5

-23.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 MYR 5.81

$1.68 ฿56.1

-15.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 MYR 7.78

$2.30 ฿76.8

-16.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.93 MYR 7.88

$2.13 ฿71.3

-9.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.66 MYR 6.79

$1.53 ฿51.1

8.50%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 MYR 8.44

$1.36 ฿45.55

52.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.00 MYR 4.06

$1.12 ฿37.44

-10.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.48 MYR 1.95

$0.55 ฿18.24

-12.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.81 MYR 19.64

$4.26 ฿142

12.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.20 MYR 66.1

$18.19 ฿608

-10.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.76 MYR 15.36

$1.74 ฿58.2

116.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.49 MYR 10.14

$2.79 ฿93.3

-10.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.90 MYR 7.76

$2.22 ฿74.1

-14.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$43.22 MYR 176

$22.06 ฿737

95.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.91 MYR 7.77

$2.91 ฿97.3

-34.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 MYR 0.93

$1.01 ฿33.79

-77.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.71 MYR 2.89

$1.49 ฿49.85

-52.35%

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

$42.5K MYR 173.5K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

59.45%

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

$34.8K MYR 142.1K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

30.37%

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

$69.4 MYR 283

$99.4 ฿3,321

-30.20%

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

$9.25 MYR 37.75

$11.28 ฿377

-18.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.46 MYR 132

$17.36 ฿580

86.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.3 MYR 209

$52.3 ฿1,747

-1.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.07 MYR 12.53

$10.85 ฿362

-71.71%

Cinema Ticket

$5.11 MYR 20.83

$7.57 ฿253

-32.50%

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

$138 MYR 565

$558 ฿18.7K

-75.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,981 MYR 28.5K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-39.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.7 MYR 333

$62.9 ฿2,102

29.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.02 MYR 151

$28.58 ฿955

29.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.7 MYR 374

$96.1 ฿3,213

-4.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$48.12 MYR 196

$88.1 ฿2,943

-45.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$438 MYR 1,786

$729 ฿24.4K

-39.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$190 MYR 775

$460 ฿15.4K

-58.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$676 MYR 2,759

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-67.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$368 MYR 1,501

$1,222 ฿40.8K

-69.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,802 MYR 7,351

$3,459 ฿115.6K

-47.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,089 MYR 4,444

$2,489 ฿83.2K

-56.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$578 MYR 2,356

$493 ฿16.5K

17.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.9

5.57

-29.98%

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

Last update for Kota Kinabalu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kota Kinabalu

$290 31.5%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 7.7% $22

Accommodation & Living

Kota Kinabalu

$190 20.6%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 142% $270

Clothing & Footwear

Kota Kinabalu

$116 12.6%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 6.6% $7.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kota Kinabalu

$111 12.1%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 15.3% $17

Eating Out

Kota Kinabalu

$98 10.6%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 23.8% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Kota Kinabalu

$61 6.7%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 9.6% $5.9

Getting Around

Kota Kinabalu

$54 5.9%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 27.8% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $438 in Kota Kinabalu and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kota Kinabalu pays 17% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $20.00 in Kota Kinabalu vs $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $290 vs $268, with Phuket cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Kota Kinabalu

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

09:03 9:03 AM

08:03 8:03 AM

1 h behind Kota Kinabalu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

500,425

79,308

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Kota Kinabalu Phuket 1,960 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Kota Kinabalu
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

Kota Kinabalu vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kota Kinabalu wins on cost – living expenses run 31% lower than in Phuket. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Kota Kinabalu the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 17% higher in Kota Kinabalu, 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: $438 in Kota Kinabalu versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Kota Kinabalu runs roughly 96% less than in Phuket. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $138 in Kota Kinabalu versus $558 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $921 in Kota Kinabalu versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kota Kinabalu but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Kota Kinabalu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Kota Kinabalu delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $921 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Kota Kinabalu hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Kota Kinabalu and Phuket are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Kota Kinabalu 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.