Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Mdina

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,949 in Mdina, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
94

Cost of Living Index in Mdina
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Mdina Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Mdina

🇲🇹 Malta

$1,949

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Mdina

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,949 in Mdina.

Phuket $1,278
Mdina $1,949

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $3,085 in Mdina.

Phuket $2,216
Mdina $3,085

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $4,222 in Mdina.

Phuket $3,154
Mdina $4,222

Living in Phuket costs roughly 34% less than in Mdina, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Mdina is 43% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$19.36 €17.28

-76.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$87.2 €77.8

-62.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$13.40 €11.95

-34.25%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$2.75 €2.45

2.91%

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

$0.87 ฿29.40

$3.05 €2.72

-71.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$2.20 €1.96

-77.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$4.67 €4.16

-45.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$5.09 €4.54

-27.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.39 €1.24

19.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.29

$1.36 €1.21

7.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$4.44 €3.96

-66.22%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$4.23 €3.78

-50.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$8.04 €7.18

137.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$10.39 €9.27

-68.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$18.10 €16.14

-39.72%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.8

$4.13 €3.69

-29.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.75 €2.45

-38.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.7

$3.69 €3.29

-39.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$3.34 €2.98

-37.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.25 €2.01

-32.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.51

$1.90 €1.70

-27.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.95

$2.39 €2.13

-55.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.50

$1.34 €1.19

-61.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$6.66 €5.94

-36.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$8.08 €7.21

132.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.4

$1.72 €1.53

5.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$2.33 €2.08

21.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.97

$1.91 €1.70

-24.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,911

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$5.64 €5.04

-46.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.32

$2.27 €2.02

-55.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿124

$26.39 €23.55

-86.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.75

$1.54 €1.38

-4.55%

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

$26.8K ฿903.2K

$37.8K €33.7K

-29.07%

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

$26.7K ฿900.3K

$38.9K €34.7K

-31.45%

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

$96.4 ฿3,250

$104 €93.0

-7.54%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$25.71 €22.94

-56.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$43.38 €38.70

-61.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$65.3 €58.2

3.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$9.93 €8.86

-24.47%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$369 €330

28.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿379.9K

$11.0K €9,771

2.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,103

$86.6 €77.3

-27.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$41.09 €36.66

-30.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,180

$101 €89.8

-6.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,894

$78.3 €69.9

9.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.1K

$1,240 €1,106

-42.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$919 €820

-46.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,605 €1,432

20.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,720 €1,535

-16.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.8K

$4,482 €3,999

-6.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$2,585 €2,306

17.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$1,497 €1,335

-66.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

2.9

92.07%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Mdina: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Mdina

$919 47.1% 87.2% $428

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Mdina

$327 16.8% 22.7% $60

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Mdina

$173 8.9% 39.2% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Mdina

$138 7.1% 13.2% $16

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Mdina

$283 14.5% 132% $161

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Mdina

$85 4.4% 3.5% $2.9

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Mdina

$25 * 1.3% 65.1% $46

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 $716 in Phuket and $1,240 in Mdina. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mdina pays about 3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $87 in Mdina for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $327 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇲🇹 Mdina

🕒 Local time

01:59 1:59 AM

19:59 7:59 PM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

193

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.64 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Mdina 8,950 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Mdina

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 Mdina: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,278 in Phuket and $1,949 in Mdina, so Phuket is about 34% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 66% lower in Phuket. 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: $716 in Phuket versus $1,240 in Mdina. 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 $1,278 per month in Phuket versus $1,949 in Mdina – Phuket is about 34% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,949 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, Phuket and Mdina are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Mdina on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.