Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Puchong

For one person, living is cheaper in Puchong: $987 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 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
45

Cost of Living Index in Puchong
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Puchong Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Puchong

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$987

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Puchong

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $987 in Puchong.

Phuket $1,278
Puchong $987

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,477 in Puchong.

Phuket $2,216
Puchong $1,477

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $1,967 in Puchong.

Phuket $3,154
Puchong $1,967

Living in Phuket is roughly 29% more expensive than in Puchong, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Puchong 27% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$3.77 MYR 15.37

18.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$18.54 MYR 75.5

74.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$5.00 MYR 20.37

76.20%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$3.01 MYR 12.26

-5.98%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$0.83 MYR 3.40

4.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.59 MYR 2.42

-16.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$4.34 MYR 17.68

-41.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$6.30 MYR 25.66

-41.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.96 MYR 8.00

-15.31%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$1.06 MYR 4.34

37.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.45 MYR 5.90

3.45%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.54 MYR 6.28

35.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$13.73 MYR 56.0

38.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$4.44 MYR 18.11

-25.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$10.14 MYR 41.30

7.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$3.35 MYR 13.64

-12.54%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.69 MYR 6.88

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.34 MYR 9.52

-3.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$1.57 MYR 6.42

32.48%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.48 MYR 6.02

2.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$1.37 MYR 5.58

0.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$1.25 MYR 5.08

-14.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$0.56 MYR 2.27

-7.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$4.35 MYR 17.74

-3.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$14.46 MYR 58.9

29.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$2.99 MYR 12.20

-39.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$3.01 MYR 12.28

-5.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$0.71 MYR 2.89

104.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$12.31 MYR 50.2

360.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.00 MYR 4.07

202.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$0.76 MYR 3.09

34.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$4.75 MYR 19.35

-22.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$0.88 MYR 3.60

67.05%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$43.2K MYR 176.2K

-38.08%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$35.3K MYR 143.6K

-24.29%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$53.3 MYR 217

80.77%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$9.63 MYR 39.23

16.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$28.75 MYR 117

-41.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$31.24 MYR 127

115.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$6.46 MYR 26.33

66.10%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$5.01 MYR 20.42

49.70%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$236 MYR 961

101.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$12.3K MYR 50.3K

-8.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$64.1 MYR 261

-2.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$42.51 MYR 173

-33.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$84.1 MYR 343

12.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$97.1 MYR 396

-11.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$354 MYR 1,443

102.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$335 MYR 1,363

46.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$725 MYR 2,955

165.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$562 MYR 2,291

154.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$1,985 MYR 8,089

110.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$1,200 MYR 4,888

153.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$1,340 MYR 5,460

-62.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.17

33.57%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Puchong: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Puchong

$335 33.9% 31.8% $156

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Puchong

$249 25.2% 6.5% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Puchong

$92 9.3% 26.4% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Puchong

$130 13.1% 6.3% $7.6

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Puchong

$121 12.3% 0.3% $0.4

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Puchong

$41 4.2% 49.8% $41

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Puchong

$20 2% 71.7% $51

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $354 in Puchong. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Puchong pays about 2.7 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $19 in Puchong for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $249 per month, with Puchong cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇲🇾 Puchong

🕒 Local time

03:32 3:32 AM

04:32 4:32 AM

1 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

400,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Puchong 650 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Puchong

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 Puchong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Puchong is about 23% cheaper overall, especially in transport, leisure, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 63% 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 $354 in Puchong. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $236 in Puchong. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 7% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Puchong is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Puchong are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Puchong gentler on the wallet – expenses run 23% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.