Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Malahide and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $3,240 in Malahide, rent and utilities included – about $23,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

156

Cost of Living Index in Malahide
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Malahide Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Malahide

🇮🇪 Ireland

$3,240

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,240 in Malahide versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Malahide $3,240
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,056 in Malahide versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Malahide $4,056
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,872 in Malahide versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Malahide $4,872
Phuket $3,154

Living in Malahide is roughly 154% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Malahide is 138% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.84 €17.78

$4.47 ฿151

343.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.7 €81.3

$32.41 ฿1,094

179.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.52 €10.32

$8.81 ฿297

30.76%

Cappuccino

$4.02 €3.61

$2.83 ฿95.4

42.05%

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

$2.40 €2.15

$0.87 ฿29.42

175.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 €2.02

$0.49 ฿16.66

361.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.74 €6.04

$2.56 ฿86.3

163.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.67 €5.97

$3.68 ฿124

81.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.42 €1.27

$1.66 ฿56.0

-14.46%

White Bread (500g)

$2.35 €2.10

$1.46 ฿49.32

60.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.98 €1.77

$1.50 ฿50.5

32.00%

Eggs

$4.61 €4.13

$2.09 ฿70.5

120.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.27 €8.31

$19.07 ฿643

-51.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.97 €10.72

$3.30 ฿111

262.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.07 €11.72

$10.91 ฿368

19.80%

Apples (1kg)

$2.92 €2.62

$2.93 ฿98.9

-0.34%

Banana (1kg)

$2.19 €1.96

$1.69 ฿57.0

29.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 €2.73

$2.25 ฿75.8

35.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.72 €4.23

$2.08 ฿70.1

126.92%

Potato (1kg)

$2.13 €1.91

$1.51 ฿51.0

41.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.38 ฿46.54

2.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 €1.06

$1.07 ฿35.97

10.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 €1.52

$0.52 ฿17.51

225.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.51 €19.28

$4.20 ฿142

412.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.42 €11.13

$18.79 ฿634

-33.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.13 €2.80

$1.82 ฿61.5

71.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.04 €3.62

$2.84 ฿95.9

42.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.41 €2.16

$1.45 ฿49.00

66.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.64 €5.05

$3.02 ฿102

86.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.02 ฿34.34

27.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.80 €31.18

$3.69 ฿125

843.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.00 €1.79

$1.47 ฿49.78

36.05%

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

$35.8K €32.1K

$26.8K ฿903.7K

33.67%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$26.7K ฿900.8K

24.24%

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

$255 €228

$96.4 ฿3,252

164.35%

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

$19.11 €17.13

$11.26 ฿380

69.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.0 €45.67

$16.85 ฿569

202.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.8 €59.9

$67.2 ฿2,269

-0.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$11.94 €10.70

$7.50 ฿253

59.20%

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

$1,127 €1,010

$476 ฿16.1K

136.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,725 €5,130

$11.3K ฿380.1K

-49.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$108 €97.0

$62.4 ฿2,105

73.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.41 €36.21

$28.41 ฿959

42.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €93.4

$94.3 ฿3,182

10.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.9 €89.5

$85.8 ฿2,896

16.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,593 €1,427

$716 ฿24.2K

122.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,000 €1,792

$491 ฿16.6K

307.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,550 €2,285

$1,927 ฿65.0K

32.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,100 €1,882

$1,431 ฿48.3K

46.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,231 €2,895

$3,045 ฿102.8K

6.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.81

5.57

-31.60%

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

Last update for Malahide: 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

Malahide

$2K 61.7%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 75.5% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Malahide

$337 10.4%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 21.1% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Malahide

$325 10%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 61.7% $200

Eating Out

Malahide

$307 9.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 60.4% $186

Clothing & Footwear

Malahide

$159 4.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 23.2% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Malahide

$91 2.8%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 9.3% $8.4

Getting Around

Malahide

$22 * 0.7%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 224% $49

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 $1,593 in Malahide and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $91 in Malahide vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $337 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇪 Malahide

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

02:22 2:22 AM

09:22 9:22 AM

7 h ahead of Malahide

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

18,608

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Malahide Phuket 10,250 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Malahide
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

Malahide vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 61% lower than in Malahide. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $4,861 in Malahide and $1,917 in Phuket to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,593 in Malahide versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,127 in Malahide 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 $91 in Malahide. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $3,240 in Malahide, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Malahide. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket 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, Malahide and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.