Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Malatya and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Malatya: $687 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Malatya
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Malatya Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Malatya

🇹🇷 Turkey

$687

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $687 in Malatya versus $1,294 in Phuket.

Malatya $687
Phuket $1,294

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,058 in Malatya versus $2,204 in Phuket.

Malatya $1,058
Phuket $2,204

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,429 in Malatya versus $3,115 in Phuket.

Malatya $1,429
Phuket $3,115

Living in Malatya costs roughly 47% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Malatya 49% lower, Phuket 4% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.74 ₺237

$4.39 ฿148

7.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.59 ₺1,480

$32.31 ฿1,086

-8.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.27 ₺364

$8.70 ฿293

-16.44%

Cappuccino

$1.56 ₺78.1

$2.72 ฿91.6

-42.65%

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

$0.93 ₺46.35

$0.93 ฿31.28

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.32 ₺15.81

$0.50 ฿16.79

-36.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.21 ₺111

$2.53 ฿85.1

-12.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.51 ₺176

$3.63 ฿122

-3.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.79 ₺39.47

$1.74 ฿58.5

-54.60%

White Bread (500g)

$0.76 ₺38.20

$1.45 ฿48.77

-47.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.68 ₺134

$1.50 ฿50.5

78.67%

Eggs

$1.73 ₺86.4

$2.17 ฿73.0

-20.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.15 ₺408

$19.09 ฿642

-57.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.28 ₺114

$3.40 ฿114

-32.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.99 ₺800

$10.90 ฿366

46.70%

Apples (1kg)

$1.61 ₺80.6

$2.94 ฿98.9

-45.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 ₺78.2

$1.69 ฿56.9

-7.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.79 ₺39.36

$2.19 ฿73.8

-63.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.74 ₺37.04

$2.12 ฿71.4

-65.09%

Potato (1kg)

$0.39 ₺19.69

$1.46 ฿49.03

-73.29%

Onion (1kg)

$0.37 ₺18.62

$1.37 ฿45.99

-72.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.51 ₺25.72

$1.08 ฿36.17

-52.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.48 ₺23.88

$0.55 ฿18.34

-12.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.94 ₺97.1

$4.43 ฿149

-56.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.94 ₺597

$18.25 ฿614

-34.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.84 ₺92.2

$1.77 ฿59.6

3.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 ₺107

$2.88 ฿96.8

-25.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.66

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,845

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.73 ₺36.73

$1.51 ฿50.9

-51.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.69 ₺34.50

$0.78 ฿26.08

-11.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿129

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ₺66.4

$1.49 ฿50.0

-10.74%

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

$40.2K ₺2.0M

$26.9K ฿903.7K

49.52%

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

$40.5K ₺2.0M

$26.3K ฿885.7K

53.77%

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

$30.18 ₺1,510

$97.8 ฿3,288

-69.14%

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

$10.13 ₺507

$11.29 ฿380

-10.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.05 ₺703

$17.19 ฿578

-18.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.41 ₺1,771

$68.3 ฿2,297

-48.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿367

Cinema Ticket

$5.23 ₺262

$7.43 ฿250

-29.61%

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

$530 ฿17.8K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿631.4K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$15.02 ₺751

$61.7 ฿2,073

-75.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$71.1 ₺3,558

$28.25 ฿950

151.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$50.1 ₺2,505

$96.0 ฿3,228

-47.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$29.91 ₺1,496

$86.8 ฿2,919

-65.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$332 ₺16.6K

$721 ฿24.2K

-53.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$217 ₺10.9K

$509 ฿17.1K

-57.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$466 ₺23.3K

$1,950 ฿65.6K

-76.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$326 ₺16.3K

$1,397 ฿47.0K

-76.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿140.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,105 ₺55.3K

$492 ฿16.5K

124.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

671.99%

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

Last update for Malatya: November 2, 2026

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Malatya

$217 31.7%

Phuket

$509 39.3% 134% $291

Groceries & Markets

Malatya

$188 27.4%

Phuket

$267 20.6% 41.7% $79

Eating Out

Malatya

$102 14.8%

Phuket

$120 9.2% 17.7% $18

Clothing & Footwear

Malatya

$75 10.9%

Phuket

$123 9.5% 64.1% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Malatya

$54 7.9%

Phuket

$126 9.8% 132% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Malatya

$46 6.7%

Phuket

$83 6.4% 81.3% $37

Getting Around

Malatya

$4.2 * 0.6%

Phuket

$66 5.1% 1481% $62

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 $332 in Malatya and $721 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Malatya pays about 2.2 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $30 in Malatya vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $188 vs $267 per month, with Malatya cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Malatya

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

00:55 12:55 AM

04:55 4:55 AM

4 h ahead of Malatya

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

781,305

79,308

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2 USD

100 TRY = 1.78 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to TRY – Turkish Lira Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇷 Turkish Lira (₺)

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 50.02 TRY (100 TRY = 2 USD). 1 EUR = 56.31 TRY (100 TRY = 1.78 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.85 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Malatya Phuket 6,870 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Malatya
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

Malatya vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $687 in Malatya and $1,294 in Phuket, so Malatya is about 47% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Malatya is about 2.2 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: $332 in Malatya versus $721 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Malatya – a meal for two runs $30 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $687 per month in Malatya versus $1,294 in Phuket – Malatya is about 47% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $687 in Malatya versus $1,294 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Malatya but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Malatya 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, Malatya and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.