Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Mlava

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $1,401 in Mlava, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Mlava outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
68

Cost of Living Index in Mlava
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Mlava Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Mlava

🇵🇱 Poland

$1,401

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Mlava

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,401 in Mlava.

Phuket $1,208
Mlava $1,401

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $1,989 in Mlava.

Phuket $2,027
Mlava $1,989

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $2,577 in Mlava.

Phuket $2,845
Mlava $2,577

Living in Phuket costs roughly 14% less than in Mlava, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Mlava is 3% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$10.04 zł 39.02

-56.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$25.85 zł 100

24.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$7.68 zł 29.86

14.06%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$2.50 zł 9.70

13.20%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$1.85 zł 7.21

-51.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$1.63 zł 6.34

-71.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$2.57 zł 10.00

-0.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$3.73 zł 14.49

2.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$1.04 zł 4.06

66.35%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$1.66 zł 6.44

-11.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$0.91 zł 3.53

65.93%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$3.82 zł 14.84

-43.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$8.77 zł 34.07

124.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$7.15 zł 27.77

-53.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$11.70 zł 45.44

-4.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$1.36 zł 5.27

109.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$1.68 zł 6.52

1.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$1.60 zł 6.23

36.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$3.20 zł 12.42

-35.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$0.97 zł 3.78

49.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$1.36 zł 5.29

1.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$1.10 zł 4.27

-2.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$0.65 zł 2.53

-21.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$4.80 zł 18.66

-11.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$6.39 zł 24.82

190.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$1.05 zł 4.07

69.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$1.41 zł 5.48

102.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$1.09 zł 4.22

107.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

$30.12 zł 117

-26.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$2.13 zł 8.28

41.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$0.84 zł 3.27

26.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$9.89 zł 38.41

-60.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$1.60 zł 6.23

-9.38%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$30.9K zł 120.1K

-14.83%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$27.7K zł 107.6K

-2.72%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$278 zł 1,081

-65.36%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$6.20 zł 24.09

78.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$7.53 zł 29.27

127.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$37.75 zł 147

38.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

$22.24 zł 86.4

-49.82%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$5.06 zł 19.66

54.35%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$328 zł 1,273

69.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$5,091 zł 19.8K

127.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$81.4 zł 316

-21.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$36.08 zł 140

-20.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$89.1 zł 346

7.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$76.4 zł 297

15.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$600 zł 2,332

22.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$505 zł 1,961

-8.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$987 zł 3,833

112.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$805 zł 3,130

49.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$2,950 zł 11.5K

18.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$2,201 zł 8,550

14.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

$1,021 zł 3,967

-50.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

6.89

-19.16%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Mlava: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Mlava

$505 36% 9.2% $42

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Mlava

$221 15.8% 17.7% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Mlava

$292 20.8% 134% $167

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Mlava

$127 9.1% 2.5% $3.1

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Mlava

$168 12% 38.3% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Mlava

$48 3.4% 29.4% $20

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Mlava

$41 2.9% 3.4% $1.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $737 in Phuket and $600 in Mlava. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mlava pays 104% 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 $26.00 in Mlava for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $221 per month, with Mlava cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇵🇱 Mlava

🕒 Local time

06:29 6:29 AM

01:29 1:29 AM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

31,130

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Polish Złoty PLN zł

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 PLN = 0.257 USD

1 PLN = 0.229 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PLN, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Polish Złoty exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 3.89 PLN (1 PLN = 0.257 USD). 1 EUR = 4.37 PLN (1 PLN = 0.229 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Mlava 8,510 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Mlava

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 Mlava: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in clothing, eating out, and transport. The 16% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 104% lower in Mlava. 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 $600 in Mlava. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $556 in Phuket versus $328 in Mlava. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Mlava pay roughly 22% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,401 in Mlava, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Mlava. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Phuket and Mlava 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 16% less than in Mlava. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.