Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mdina and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $2,080 in Mdina, rent and utilities included – about $10,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

95

Cost of Living Index in Mdina
Learn more

Mdina Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Mdina

🇲🇹 Malta

$2,080

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,080 in Mdina versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Mdina $2,080
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,064 in Mdina versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Mdina $3,064
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,048 in Mdina versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Mdina $4,048
Phuket $2,867

Living in Mdina is roughly 72% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mdina is 54% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.17 €17.05

$4.58 ฿153

318.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$85.3 €75.9

$32.48 ฿1,086

162.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.38 €11.90

$8.55 ฿286

56.49%

Cappuccino

$2.78 €2.47

$2.72 ฿91.0

2.21%

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

$3.15 €2.80

$0.94 ฿31.25

235.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 €1.94

$0.49 ฿16.39

344.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.42 €3.93

$2.59 ฿86.6

70.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.06 €4.50

$3.83 ฿128

32.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 €1.18

$1.74 ฿58.1

-23.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 €1.21

$1.43 ฿47.82

-4.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.31 €3.83

$1.53 ฿51.0

181.70%

Eggs

$4.25 €3.78

$2.17 ฿72.7

95.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.34 €7.42

$19.15 ฿640

-56.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.26 €9.13

$3.30 ฿110

210.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.48 €16.44

$11.14 ฿372

65.89%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 €3.60

$2.95 ฿98.5

37.29%

Banana (1kg)

$2.78 €2.48

$1.68 ฿56.1

65.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.63 €3.23

$2.30 ฿76.8

57.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 €3.01

$2.13 ฿71.3

58.69%

Potato (1kg)

$2.43 €2.16

$1.53 ฿51.1

58.82%

Onion (1kg)

$2.04 €1.82

$1.36 ฿45.55

50.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.12 ฿37.44

102.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 €1.19

$0.55 ฿18.24

143.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.82 €6.06

$4.26 ฿142

60.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.23 €7.32

$18.19 ฿608

-54.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 €1.58

$1.74 ฿58.2

2.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 €2.10

$2.79 ฿93.3

-15.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.55 €2.27

$2.22 ฿74.1

14.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.45 €4.85

$2.91 ฿97.3

87.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.21 €1.96

$1.01 ฿33.79

118.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.64 €23.70

$3.83 ฿128

595.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.49 ฿49.85

-1.34%

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

$37.6K €33.4K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

40.88%

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

$38.9K €34.6K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

45.56%

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

$104 €92.5

$99.4 ฿3,321

4.60%

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

$25.81 €22.96

$11.28 ฿377

128.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.04 €37.39

$17.36 ฿580

142.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$70.5 €62.7

$52.3 ฿1,747

34.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$9.90 €8.80

$7.57 ฿253

30.78%

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

$370 €329

$558 ฿18.7K

-33.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K €9,820

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-3.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.3 €77.6

$62.9 ฿2,102

38.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.22 €35.78

$28.58 ฿955

40.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.4 €87.5

$96.1 ฿3,213

2.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.1 €70.4

$88.1 ฿2,943

-10.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 €1,040

$729 ฿24.4K

60.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,045 €930

$460 ฿15.4K

127.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,554 €1,383

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-25.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,544 €1,374

$1,222 ฿40.8K

26.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,557 €3,164

$3,459 ฿115.6K

2.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,055 €2,717

$2,489 ฿83.2K

22.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,467 €1,305

$493 ฿16.5K

197.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.9

5.57

-47.94%

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

Last update for Mdina: October 12, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mdina

$1K 50.3%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 56% $586

Groceries & Markets

Mdina

$328 15.8%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 18.4% $60

Eating Out

Mdina

$280 13.5%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 56.7% $159

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mdina

$172 8.3%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 25.5% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Mdina

$137 6.6%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 9.6% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Mdina

$90 4.3%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 25.3% $23

Getting Around

Mdina

$27 * 1.3%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 45.7% $12

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 $1,170 in Mdina and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mdina pays 198% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $85.0 in Mdina vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇹 Mdina

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

17:51 5:51 PM

22:51 10:51 PM

5 h ahead of Mdina

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

193

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mdina Phuket 8,950 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Mdina
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

Mdina vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mdina and Phuket differ by about 72% in total monthly costs ($2,080 vs $1,207 including rent). Phuket is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 198% higher in Mdina, 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: $1,170 in Mdina versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 23% higher in Mdina. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,080 per month in Mdina versus $1,207 in Phuket – a 72% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,080 in Mdina, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Mdina. 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, Mdina 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 Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 72% less than in Mdina. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.