Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Putra Heights

For one person, living is cheaper in Putra Heights: $927 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 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 Putra Heights
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Putra Heights Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Putra Heights

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$927

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Putra Heights

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $927 in Putra Heights.

Phuket $1,278
Putra Heights $927

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,421 in Putra Heights.

Phuket $2,216
Putra Heights $1,421

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $1,915 in Putra Heights.

Phuket $3,154
Putra Heights $1,915

Living in Phuket is roughly 38% more expensive than in Putra Heights, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Putra Heights 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$3.77 MYR 15.35

18.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$18.15 MYR 73.9

78.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$4.90 MYR 19.95

79.80%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$2.83 MYR 11.51

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

$0.87 ฿29.40

$0.78 MYR 3.18

11.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$0.42 MYR 1.71

16.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$4.51 MYR 18.34

-43.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$6.23 MYR 25.38

-40.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.67 MYR 6.78

-0.60%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.29

$1.07 MYR 4.34

36.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.43 MYR 5.84

4.90%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.75 MYR 7.12

19.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$14.08 MYR 57.3

35.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$4.56 MYR 18.56

-27.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$10.18 MYR 41.44

7.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.8

$3.31 MYR 13.49

-11.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$1.73 MYR 7.06

-2.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.7

$2.31 MYR 9.39

-2.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$1.50 MYR 6.09

38.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.23 MYR 5.00

22.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.51

$1.36 MYR 5.53

1.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.95

$1.13 MYR 4.61

-5.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.50

$0.55 MYR 2.22

-5.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$4.40 MYR 17.93

-4.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$14.20 MYR 57.8

32.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.4

$2.95 MYR 12.01

-38.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$3.02 MYR 12.30

-5.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.97

$0.74 MYR 3.02

95.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,911

$12.19 MYR 49.61

364.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$0.95 MYR 3.86

217.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.32

$0.71 MYR 2.87

43.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿124

$4.99 MYR 20.33

-26.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.75

$0.87 MYR 3.54

68.97%

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

$26.8K ฿903.2K

$44.4K MYR 180.9K

-39.75%

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

$26.7K ฿900.3K

$34.7K MYR 141.1K

-22.99%

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

$96.4 ฿3,250

$62.9 MYR 256

53.18%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$8.99 MYR 36.61

25.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$25.85 MYR 105

-34.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$37.32 MYR 152

80.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$5.72 MYR 23.29

87.59%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$5.01 MYR 20.37

49.70%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$241 MYR 981

97.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿379.9K

$5,302 MYR 21.6K

112.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,103

$54.1 MYR 220

15.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$16.45 MYR 67.0

72.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,180

$79.9 MYR 325

18.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,894

$97.9 MYR 399

-12.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.1K

$422 MYR 1,716

69.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$286 MYR 1,164

71.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$707 MYR 2,878

172.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$546 MYR 2,223

161.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.8K

$1,818 MYR 7,400

129.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$1,236 MYR 5,031

146.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$1,102 MYR 4,486

-54.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.06

37.19%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Putra Heights: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Putra Heights

$286 30.8% 41.8% $205

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Putra Heights

$246 26.5% 7.6% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Putra Heights

$98 10.5% 21.5% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Putra Heights

$112 12.1% 8.3% $10

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Putra Heights

$119 12.8% 2.5% $3.1

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Putra Heights

$47 5.1% 42.4% $35

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Putra Heights

$20 2.1% 72.2% $51

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $422 in Putra Heights. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Putra Heights pays about 2.2 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 $18 in Putra Heights for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $246 per month, with Putra Heights cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇲🇾 Putra Heights

🕒 Local time

21:15 9:15 PM

22:15 10:15 PM

1 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

60,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 MYR = 0.246 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.64 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.246 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 Putra Heights 650 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Putra Heights

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 Putra Heights: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Putra Heights is about 27% 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 54% 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 $422 in Putra Heights. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $241 in Putra Heights. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 8% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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

Expats usually find Putra Heights gentler on the wallet – expenses run 27% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.