Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Mgarr

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,084 in Mgarr, rent and utilities included – about $9,700 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
100

Cost of Living Index in Mgarr
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Mgarr Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Mgarr

🇲🇹 Malta

$2,084

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Mgarr

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,084 in Mgarr.

Phuket $1,278
Mgarr $2,084

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $3,145 in Mgarr.

Phuket $2,216
Mgarr $3,145

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $4,206 in Mgarr.

Phuket $3,154
Mgarr $4,206

Living in Phuket costs roughly 39% less than in Mgarr, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Mgarr is 53% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$22.25 €19.93

-79.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$88.9 €79.6

-63.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$13.32 €11.93

-33.86%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$3.18 €2.85

-11.01%

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

$0.87 ฿29.41

$2.30 €2.06

-62.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$2.01 €1.80

-75.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$5.49 €4.91

-53.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$6.86 €6.14

-46.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.36 €1.22

22.06%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.31

$1.46 €1.31

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$3.53 €3.16

-57.51%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$4.45 €3.98

-53.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$10.31 €9.24

84.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$12.07 €10.81

-72.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$18.42 €16.50

-40.77%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$3.82 €3.42

-23.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.67 €2.39

-36.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$3.93 €3.52

-42.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$3.67 €3.29

-43.32%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.94 €1.74

-22.16%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.52

$3.27 €2.93

-57.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.96

$2.28 €2.04

-53.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$1.48 €1.32

-64.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$6.19 €5.55

-32.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$5.88 €5.27

219.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$2.51 €2.25

-27.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$2.32 €2.08

22.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

$2.43 €2.18

-40.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.84 €3.44

-21.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.33

$1.83 €1.64

-44.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$32.22 €28.86

-88.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.76

$1.54 €1.38

-4.55%

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

$26.8K ฿903.4K

$27.9K €25.0K

-4.02%

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

$26.7K ฿900.5K

$39.5K €35.4K

-32.43%

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

$96.4 ฿3,251

$155 €139

-37.89%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$30.62 €27.43

-63.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$29.10 €26.06

-42.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$62.7 €56.2

7.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$11.43 €10.23

-34.38%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$273 €245

74.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

$12.3K €11.0K

-8.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,104

$56.4 €50.5

10.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$69.6 €62.3

-59.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,181

$112 €101

-16.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,895

$131 €118

-34.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$1,140 €1,021

-37.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$935 €838

-47.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,778 €1,593

8.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,472 €1,319

-2.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$3,767 €3,374

10.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$2,935 €2,629

3.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.05

37.53%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Mgarr: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Mgarr

$935 44.9% 90.5% $444

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Mgarr

$344 16.5% 29.2% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Mgarr

$215 10.3% 72.6% $90

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Mgarr

$166 8% 36.5% $44

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Mgarr

$315 15.1% 159% $193

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Mgarr

$86 4.1% 4.1% $3.3

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Mgarr

$23 * 1.1% 67.8% $48

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 $1,140 in Mgarr. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $89 in Mgarr for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $344 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇲🇹 Mgarr

🕒 Local time

15:55 3:55 PM

09:55 9:55 AM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

3,600

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 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 31, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Mgarr 8,960 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Mgarr

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 Mgarr: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 39% lower than in Mgarr. 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 $1,917 in Phuket and $3,125 in Mgarr 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: $716 in Phuket versus $1,140 in Mgarr. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $273 in Mgarr. 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 versus $89 in Mgarr. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,084 in Mgarr, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Mgarr. 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.