Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Matola and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Matola: $999 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

48

Cost of Living Index in Matola
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Matola Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Matola

🇲🇿 Mozambique

$999

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $999 per month in Matola vs $1,278 in Phuket, rent included.

Matola $999
Phuket $1,278

A couple spends around $1,523 per month in Matola vs $2,216 in Phuket, rent included.

Matola $1,523
Phuket $2,216

A family of three spends $2,048 per month in Matola vs $3,154 in Phuket, rent included.

Matola $2,048
Phuket $3,154

Matola is about 22% cheaper than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Matola and Phuket are more affordable than the global median – Matola 27% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.80 MZN 493

$4.47 ฿151

74.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.6 MZN 3,960

$32.41 ฿1,093

93.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.34 MZN 464

$8.81 ฿297

-16.69%

Cappuccino

$1.59 MZN 100

$2.83 ฿95.4

-43.82%

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

$0.82 MZN 52.0

$0.87 ฿29.40

-5.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 MZN 42.67

$0.49 ฿16.65

36.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.18 MZN 74.8

$2.56 ฿86.3

-53.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.54 MZN 97.5

$3.68 ฿124

-58.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 MZN 101

$1.66 ฿55.9

-4.22%

White Bread (500g)

$0.99 MZN 62.6

$1.46 ฿49.29

-32.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 MZN 101

$1.50 ฿50.5

6.00%

Eggs

$1.93 MZN 122

$2.09 ฿70.5

-7.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.47 MZN 852

$19.07 ฿643

-29.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.82 MZN 368

$3.30 ฿111

76.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.76 MZN 301

$10.91 ฿368

-56.37%

Apples (1kg)

$1.97 MZN 125

$2.93 ฿98.8

-32.76%

Banana (1kg)

$0.62 MZN 39.38

$1.69 ฿57.0

-63.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.64 MZN 103

$2.25 ฿75.7

-27.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.03 MZN 65.4

$2.08 ฿70.0

-50.48%

Potato (1kg)

$1.00 MZN 63.5

$1.51 ฿51.0

-33.77%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 MZN 47.08

$1.38 ฿46.51

-46.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.95 MZN 60.1

$1.07 ฿35.95

-11.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 MZN 33.64

$0.52 ฿17.50

1.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.89 MZN 183

$4.20 ฿142

-31.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.21 MZN 456

$18.79 ฿634

-61.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 MZN 61.3

$1.82 ฿61.4

-46.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MZN 76.8

$2.84 ฿95.8

-57.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.97

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,911

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.61 MZN 102

$3.02 ฿102

-46.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.20 MZN 76.1

$1.02 ฿34.32

17.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.12 MZN 1,525

$3.69 ฿124

553.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 MZN 88.5

$1.47 ฿49.75

-4.76%

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

$31.4K MZN 2.0M

$26.8K ฿903.2K

17.33%

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

$22.5K MZN 1.4M

$26.7K ฿900.3K

-15.58%

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

$39.21 MZN 2,480

$96.4 ฿3,250

-59.30%

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

$7.64 MZN 483

$11.26 ฿380

-32.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$77.9 MZN 4,926

$16.85 ฿568

362.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.09 MZN 2,473

$67.2 ฿2,268

-41.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.60 MZN 481

$7.50 ฿253

1.33%

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

$173 MZN 10.9K

$476 ฿16.1K

-63.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,041 MZN 318.8K

$11.3K ฿379.9K

-55.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.21 MZN 3,113

$62.4 ฿2,103

-21.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.0 MZN 3,539

$28.41 ฿958

96.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.2 MZN 5,011

$94.3 ฿3,180

-15.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.4 MZN 4,898

$85.8 ฿2,894

-9.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$462 MZN 29.2K

$716 ฿24.1K

-35.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$391 MZN 24.7K

$491 ฿16.6K

-20.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$696 MZN 44.0K

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-63.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$552 MZN 34.9K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-61.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$307 MZN 19.4K

$502 ฿16.9K

-38.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

348.83%

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

Last update for Matola: 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

Matola

$391 39.1%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 25.6% $100

Groceries & Markets

Matola

$185 18.6%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 43.6% $81

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Matola

$125 12.5%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 0.2% $0.3

Eating Out

Matola

$118 11.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 2.8% $3.3

Clothing & Footwear

Matola

$118 11.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 3.4% $4.1

Sport & Entertainment

Matola

$54 5.4%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 51.5% $28

Getting Around

Matola

$7.6 * 0.8%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 826% $63

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $462 in Matola versus $716 in Phuket. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 64% higher in Phuket. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $63 in Matola versus $32 in Phuket. Groceries tell a different story – $185 in Matola vs $266 in Phuket – so Matola wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇿 Matola

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

23:59 11:59 PM

04:59 4:59 AM

5 h ahead of Matola

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

675,422

79,308

💱 Currency

Mozambican Metical MZN MT

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MZN = 1.58 USD

100 MZN = 1.41 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to MZN – Mozambican Metical Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇿 Mozambican Metical (MT)

Mozambican Metical exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 63.25 MZN (100 MZN = 1.58 USD). 1 EUR = 70.89 MZN (100 MZN = 1.41 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.81 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to MZN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Matola Phuket 8,040 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Matola
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

Matola vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $999 in Matola, $1,278 in Phuket – Matola comes out roughly 22% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,498 per month in Matola and $1,917 in Phuket. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Matola, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $462 there versus $716 in Phuket.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $999 in Matola and $1,278 in Phuket. That makes Matola about 22% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $173 per month in Matola and $476 in Phuket. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Matola, where all-in costs run around $999, than in Phuket at $1,278. In Matola it covers expenses comfortably, while in Phuket it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Matola – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Matola. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Phuket makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.