Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and George Town

For one person, living is cheaper in George Town: $956 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in George Town
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George Town Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

George Town

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$956

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in George Town

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Phuket and in George Town actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Phuket versus $956 in George Town.

Phuket $1,207
George Town $956

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $1,599 in George Town.

Phuket $2,037
George Town $1,599

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $2,243 in George Town.

Phuket $2,867
George Town $2,243

Living in Phuket is roughly 26% more expensive than in George Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, George Town 29% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ฿153

$3.41 MYR 13.92

34.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.48 ฿1,086

$15.33 MYR 62.5

111.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿286

$4.55 MYR 18.58

87.91%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.0

$2.61 MYR 10.66

4.21%

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

$0.94 ฿31.25

$0.78 MYR 3.16

20.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.39

$0.35 MYR 1.43

40.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$2.42 MYR 9.88

7.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$4.46 MYR 18.21

-14.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$1.85 MYR 7.56

-5.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿47.82

$1.05 MYR 4.28

36.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.0

$1.68 MYR 6.85

-8.93%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$2.21 MYR 9.03

-1.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.15 ฿640

$13.65 MYR 55.7

40.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿110

$4.51 MYR 18.38

-26.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿372

$8.49 MYR 34.62

31.21%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ฿98.5

$2.43 MYR 9.89

21.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.1

$1.43 MYR 5.84

17.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 ฿76.8

$2.23 MYR 9.12

3.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ฿71.3

$1.19 MYR 4.86

78.99%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.1

$0.93 MYR 3.77

64.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.55

$0.85 MYR 3.45

60.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.44

$0.70 MYR 2.87

60.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$0.57 MYR 2.31

-3.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$4.42 MYR 18.03

-3.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿608

$18.74 MYR 76.5

-2.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$2.42 MYR 9.89

-28.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.3

$3.59 MYR 14.65

-22.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

$0.47 MYR 1.91

372.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

$10.84 MYR 44.24

103.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 ฿97.3

$1.24 MYR 5.08

134.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.79

$0.51 MYR 2.09

98.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

$6.87 MYR 28.03

-44.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.85

$0.84 MYR 3.43

77.38%

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

$26.7K ฿891.6K

$42.3K MYR 172.6K

-36.96%

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

$26.7K ฿892.7K

$28.7K MYR 117.0K

-6.89%

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

$99.4 ฿3,321

$36.87 MYR 150

169.51%

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

$11.28 ฿377

$8.21 MYR 33.51

37.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.36 ฿580

$28.51 MYR 116

-39.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,747

$40.21 MYR 164

30.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

$5.04 MYR 20.55

115.28%

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ฿253

$4.76 MYR 19.43

59.03%

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

$558 ฿18.7K

$173 MYR 705

223.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

$4,848 MYR 19.8K

136.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,102

$53.1 MYR 216

18.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿955

$34.45 MYR 141

-17.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 ฿3,213

$74.5 MYR 304

29.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,943

$69.8 MYR 285

26.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

$505 MYR 2,059

44.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

$374 MYR 1,524

23.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

$932 MYR 3,804

124.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

$992 MYR 4,046

23.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

$1,094 MYR 4,462

-54.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.04

37.87%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Last update for George Town: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$460 38.1%

George Town

$374 39.1% 18.8% $86

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.2%

George Town

$240 25.1% 10.3% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$128 10.6%

George Town

$74 7.7% 42.5% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

George Town

$104 10.9% 15.9% $20

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10.1%

George Town

$98 10.2% 19.3% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$67 5.6%

George Town

$50 5.2% 26.2% $18

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.2%

George Town

$17 1.7% 57.5% $22

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $729 in Phuket and $505 in George Town. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

George Town pays 122% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $15.00 in George Town for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $240 per month, with George Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇲🇾 George Town

🕒 Local time

06:34 6:34 AM

07:34 7:34 AM

1 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

794,313

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

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Phuket George Town 350 km

From you

Phuket
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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

Phuket vs George Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

George Town is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 26% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 122% lower in George Town. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $729 in Phuket versus $505 in George Town. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in George Town runs roughly 104% less than in Phuket. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $558 in Phuket versus $173 in George Town. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $956 in George Town versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $1,500 budget is realistic in George Town but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes George Town the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, George Town is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Phuket, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Phuket and George Town 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 George Town gentler on the wallet – expenses run 26% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.