Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Mahé

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $1,773 in Mahé, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 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
91

Cost of Living Index in Mahé
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Mahé Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Mahé

🇸🇨 Seychelles

$1,773

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Mahé

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 Mahé actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,773 in Mahé.

Phuket $1,208
Mahé $1,773

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $2,601 in Mahé.

Phuket $2,027
Mahé $2,601

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $3,429 in Mahé.

Phuket $2,845
Mahé $3,429

Living in Phuket costs roughly 32% less than in Mahé, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Mahé is 31% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$17.59 SCR 255

-74.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$106 SCR 1,546

-69.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$5.73 SCR 83.2

52.88%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$6.59 SCR 95.7

-57.06%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$1.65 SCR 24.00

-45.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$13.03 SCR 189

-80.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$9.09 SCR 132

-57.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$1.56 SCR 22.72

10.90%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$1.13 SCR 16.46

30.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$1.86 SCR 27.04

-18.82%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$4.11 SCR 59.7

-47.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$15.85 SCR 230

24.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$8.18 SCR 119

-59.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$12.63 SCR 183

-11.64%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$2.11 SCR 30.59

35.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$2.29 SCR 33.30

-4.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$6.54 SCR 95.0

-68.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$1.09 SCR 15.82

33.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$1.09 SCR 15.84

26.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$1.04 SCR 15.14

2.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$14.54 SCR 211

-70.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$2.20 SCR 31.96

29.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$0.75 SCR 10.83

201.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

$35.49 SCR 515

-37.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$14.42 SCR 210

-73.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$1.53 SCR 22.17

-5.23%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$50.0 SCR 727

92.68%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$21.17 SCR 307

-47.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$108 SCR 1,574

-84.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$53.1 SCR 772

-1.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$6.50 SCR 94.5

20.15%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$30.20 SCR 439

112.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$12.25 SCR 178

134.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$48.21 SCR 700

97.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$61.2 SCR 889

43.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$853 SCR 12.4K

-13.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$850 SCR 12.3K

-45.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$1,757 SCR 25.5K

19.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$1,083 SCR 15.7K

10.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

$857 SCR 12.4K

-41.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Mahé: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Mahé

$850 47.9% 83.8% $388

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Mahé

$244 * 13.7% 9.3% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Mahé

$180 10.1% 44.2% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Mahé

$68 3.9% 45% $56

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Mahé

$327 * 18.4% 170% $206

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Mahé

$66 3.7% 2.4% $1.6

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Mahé

$38 * 2.2% 2.5% $1

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 $737 in Phuket and $853 in Mahé. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mahé pays 71% 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: $32.00 in Phuket vs $106 in Mahé. Groceries flip the comparison at $269 vs $244, with Mahé cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇸🇨 Mahé

🕒 Local time

11:13 11:13 AM

08:13 8:13 AM

3 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

78,539

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Seychellois Rupee SCR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 SCR = 6.88 USD

100 SCR = 6.12 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SCR, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Seychellois Rupee exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 14.52 SCR (100 SCR = 6.88 USD). 1 EUR = 16.33 SCR (100 SCR = 6.12 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Mahé 4,960 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Mahé

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 Mahé: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 47% lower than in Mahé. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 71% lower in Mahé. 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: $737 in Phuket versus $853 in Mahé. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Mahé pay roughly 10% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,208 per month in Phuket versus $1,773 in Mahé – a 47% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,773 in Mahé, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Mahé. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Phuket delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,208 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Phuket hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Mahé 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 47% less than in Mahé. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.