Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Miri and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Miri: $805 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Miri
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Miri Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Miri

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$805

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $805 in Miri versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Miri $805
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,224 in Miri versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Miri $1,224
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,644 in Miri versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Miri $1,644
Phuket $3,154

Living in Miri costs roughly 37% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Miri 41% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.55 MYR 14.40

$4.47 ฿151

-20.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.12 MYR 49.15

$32.41 ฿1,094

-62.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.42 MYR 17.91

$8.81 ฿297

-49.83%

Cappuccino

$2.26 MYR 9.15

$2.83 ฿95.4

-20.14%

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

$0.80 MYR 3.24

$0.87 ฿29.42

-8.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 MYR 1.22

$0.49 ฿16.66

-38.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.90 MYR 11.77

$2.56 ฿86.3

13.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.86 MYR 15.65

$3.68 ฿124

4.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.40 MYR 5.69

$1.66 ฿56.0

-15.66%

White Bread (500g)

$1.80 MYR 7.29

$1.46 ฿49.32

23.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.99 MYR 4.02

$1.50 ฿50.5

-34.00%

Eggs

$3.43 MYR 13.89

$2.09 ฿70.5

64.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.88 MYR 19.80

$3.30 ฿111

47.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.99 MYR 60.8

$10.91 ฿368

37.40%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MYR 7.95

$1.69 ฿57.0

15.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.39 MYR 1.57

$0.52 ฿17.51

-25.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 MYR 17.39

$4.20 ฿142

2.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.71 MYR 79.9

$18.79 ฿634

4.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.00 MYR 12.15

$1.82 ฿61.5

64.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 MYR 9.46

$2.84 ฿95.9

-17.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.47 MYR 1.92

$1.45 ฿49.00

-67.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$14.01 MYR 56.8

$56.7 ฿1,912

-75.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.25 MYR 5.05

$3.02 ฿102

-58.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.59 MYR 2.38

$1.02 ฿34.34

-42.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.98 MYR 24.24

$3.69 ฿125

62.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.64 MYR 2.61

$1.47 ฿49.78

-56.46%

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

$49.6K MYR 201.0K

$26.8K ฿903.7K

85.17%

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

$32.5K MYR 131.8K

$26.7K ฿900.8K

21.80%

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

$49.18 MYR 199

$96.4 ฿3,252

-48.96%

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

$9.92 MYR 40.21

$11.26 ฿380

-11.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.44 MYR 136

$16.85 ฿569

98.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.19 MYR 118

$67.2 ฿2,269

-56.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.25 MYR 25.35

$10.73 ฿362

-41.75%

Cinema Ticket

$4.33 MYR 17.57

$7.50 ฿253

-42.27%

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

$99.5 MYR 403

$476 ฿16.1K

-79.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,535 MYR 26.5K

$11.3K ฿380.1K

-41.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.80 MYR 182

$62.4 ฿2,105

-28.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$23.11 MYR 93.7

$28.41 ฿959

-18.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$55.3 MYR 224

$94.3 ฿3,182

-41.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$43.17 MYR 175

$85.8 ฿2,896

-49.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$348 MYR 1,409

$716 ฿24.2K

-51.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$289 MYR 1,173

$491 ฿16.6K

-41.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$589 MYR 2,388

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-69.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$578 MYR 2,343

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-59.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,201 MYR 4,868

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-71.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$680 MYR 2,756

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-77.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$688 MYR 2,789

$502 ฿17.0K

36.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.12

5.57

-26.03%

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

Last update for Miri: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Miri

$289 36%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 69.6% $201

Groceries & Markets

Miri

$195 * 24.2%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 36.8% $72

Eating Out

Miri

$95 11.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 27.6% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Miri

$93 11.5%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 34.5% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Miri

$75 9.3%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 62.8% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Miri

$38 4.7%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 117% $44

Getting Around

Miri

$20 2.5%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 252% $51

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 $348 in Miri and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Miri pays 37% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $12 in Miri vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $195 vs $266 per month, with Miri cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Miri

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

19:36 7:36 PM

18:36 6:36 PM

1 h behind Miri

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

248,877

79,308

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.247 USD

1 MYR = 0.221 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.05 MYR (1 MYR = 0.247 USD). 1 EUR = 4.52 MYR (1 MYR = 0.221 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Miri Phuket 1,770 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Miri
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

Miri vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Miri is about 37% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 37% higher in Miri, 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: $348 in Miri versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Miri – a meal for two runs $12 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $805 per month in Miri versus $1,278 in Phuket – Miri is about 37% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $805 in Miri versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Miri but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Miri 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, Miri and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Miri gentler on the wallet – expenses run 37% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.