Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Malahide

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $3,281 in Malahide, rent and utilities included – about $24,900 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
159

Cost of Living Index in Malahide
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Malahide Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Malahide

🇮🇪 Ireland

$3,281

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Malahide

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Phuket versus $3,281 in Malahide.

Phuket $1,207
Malahide $3,281

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $4,120 in Malahide.

Phuket $2,037
Malahide $4,120

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $4,959 in Malahide.

Phuket $2,867
Malahide $4,959

Living in Phuket costs roughly 63% less than in Malahide, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Malahide is 143% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ฿153

$21.40 €19.04

-78.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.48 ฿1,086

$89.8 €79.8

-63.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿286

$12.75 €11.34

-32.94%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.0

$3.90 €3.47

-30.26%

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

$0.94 ฿31.25

$3.14 €2.79

-70.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.39

$2.06 €1.83

-76.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$7.06 €6.28

-63.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$6.50 €5.78

-41.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$1.65 €1.47

5.45%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿47.82

$2.27 €2.02

-37.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.0

$1.66 €1.48

-7.83%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$3.76 €3.34

-42.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.15 ฿640

$9.69 €8.62

97.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿110

$10.90 €9.69

-69.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿372

$15.20 €13.52

-26.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ฿98.5

$2.60 €2.32

13.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.1

$2.55 €2.27

-34.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 ฿76.8

$3.16 €2.81

-27.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ฿71.3

$5.44 €4.84

-60.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.1

$2.16 €1.92

-29.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.55

$1.31 €1.17

3.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.44

$1.21 €1.07

-7.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$1.99 €1.77

-72.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$18.66 €16.60

-77.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿608

$14.34 €12.75

26.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$3.71 €3.30

-53.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.3

$3.85 €3.43

-27.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

$2.59 €2.31

-14.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 ฿97.3

$5.06 €4.50

-42.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.79

$1.66 €1.48

-39.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

$34.82 €30.97

-89.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.85

$1.92 €1.71

-22.40%

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

$26.7K ฿891.6K

$35.2K €31.3K

-24.21%

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

$26.7K ฿892.7K

$38.0K €33.8K

-29.68%

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

$99.4 ฿3,321

$243 €216

-59.12%

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

$11.28 ฿377

$23.02 €20.48

-51.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.36 ฿580

$48.02 €42.72

-63.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,747

$62.0 €55.2

-15.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ฿253

$14.31 €12.73

-47.10%

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

$558 ฿18.7K

$1,002 €891

-44.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

$5,481 €4,876

109.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,102

$99.6 €88.6

-36.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿955

$48.33 €42.99

-40.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 ฿3,213

$115 €103

-16.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,943

$122 €109

-27.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

$1,558 €1,386

-53.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

$2,003 €1,781

-77.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

$2,541 €2,260

-17.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

$2,101 €1,869

-41.82%

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

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.14

34.54%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Last update for Malahide: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$460 38.1%

Malahide

$2K 61% 335% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.2%

Malahide

$351 10.7% 31.2% $83

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$128 10.6%

Malahide

$314 9.6% 145% $186

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Malahide

$173 5.3% 39.9% $49

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10.1%

Malahide

$325 9.9% 168% $204

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$67 5.6%

Malahide

$91 2.8% 34.5% $23

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.2%

Malahide

$24 * 0.7% 39% $15

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 $729 in Phuket and $1,558 in Malahide. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $90.0 in Malahide for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $351 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇮🇪 Malahide

🕒 Local time

00:20 12:20 AM

18:20 6:20 PM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

18,608

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD 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 = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Malahide 10,250 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Malahide

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 Malahide: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 172% lower than in Malahide. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,811 in Phuket and $4,921 in Malahide to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $729 in Phuket versus $1,558 in Malahide. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $558 in Phuket versus $1,002 in Malahide. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $90.0 in Malahide. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $3,281 in Malahide, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Malahide. 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 $1,207 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Phuket hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Malahide 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 172% less than in Malahide. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.