Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Selangor

For one person, living is cheaper in Selangor: $1,145 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Selangor
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Selangor Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Selangor

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$1,145

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Selangor

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,145 in Selangor.

Phuket $1,278
Selangor $1,145

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,656 in Selangor.

Phuket $2,216
Selangor $1,656

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,168 in Selangor.

Phuket $3,154
Selangor $2,168

Living in Phuket is roughly 12% more expensive than in Selangor, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Selangor 16% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$4.23 MYR 17.14

5.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$19.90 MYR 80.7

62.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$3.87 MYR 15.67

127.65%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$2.20 MYR 8.91

28.64%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$0.88 MYR 3.58

-1.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$0.47 MYR 1.91

4.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$4.51 MYR 18.29

-43.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$5.12 MYR 20.75

-28.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.83 MYR 7.43

-9.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$1.05 MYR 4.25

39.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.48 MYR 6.02

1.35%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.88 MYR 7.64

11.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$23.03 MYR 93.4

-17.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$4.96 MYR 20.11

-33.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$10.94 MYR 44.35

-0.27%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$4.13 MYR 16.73

-29.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$1.77 MYR 7.16

-4.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$3.45 MYR 14.01

-34.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$2.68 MYR 10.86

-22.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.75 MYR 7.09

-13.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$1.07 MYR 4.34

28.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$1.11 MYR 4.50

-3.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$0.57 MYR 2.33

-8.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$4.28 MYR 17.36

-1.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$31.12 MYR 126

-39.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$4.60 MYR 18.64

-60.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$5.64 MYR 22.86

-49.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

$0.76 MYR 3.09

90.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$12.37 MYR 50.2

358.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.19 MYR 4.84

153.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

$1.25 MYR 5.06

-18.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$4.37 MYR 17.70

-15.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$0.75 MYR 3.03

96.00%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$46.2K MYR 187.4K

-42.09%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$36.0K MYR 145.9K

-25.85%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$76.2 MYR 309

26.46%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$10.68 MYR 43.31

5.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$30.89 MYR 125

-45.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$39.74 MYR 161

69.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$7.00 MYR 28.39

53.29%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$5.92 MYR 24.00

26.69%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$121 MYR 489

294.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

$7,093 MYR 28.8K

58.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$116 MYR 469

-46.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$65.8 MYR 267

-56.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$78.7 MYR 319

19.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$82.0 MYR 332

4.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$510 MYR 2,067

40.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$346 MYR 1,402

41.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$894 MYR 3,625

115.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$485 MYR 1,966

195.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$1,787 MYR 7,245

133.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$1,015 MYR 4,113

200.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$1,048 MYR 4,250

-52.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.96

40.66%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Selangor: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Selangor

$346 30.2% 29.6% $145

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Selangor

$343 29.9% 28.7% $76

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Selangor

$118 10.3% 5.4% $6.7

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Selangor

$154 13.5% 26.3% $32

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Selangor

$110 9.6% 9.6% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Selangor

$52 4.5% 37.3% $31

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Selangor

$23 2% 67.6% $48

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $510 in Selangor. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Selangor pays about 2.1 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 $20 in Selangor. Groceries flip the comparison at $266 vs $343, with Phuket cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇲🇾 Selangor

🕒 Local time

08:45 8:45 AM

09:45 9:45 AM

1 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

281,717

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 MYR = 0.247 USD

1 MYR = 0.221 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 = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.05 MYR (1 MYR = 0.247 USD). 1 EUR = 4.53 MYR (1 MYR = 0.221 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Selangor 600 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Selangor

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 Selangor: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Selangor is about 10% cheaper overall, especially in transport, leisure, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 52% 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 $510 in Selangor. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $121 in Selangor. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Selangor gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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