Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Putra Heights and Phuket

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.

45

Cost of Living Index in Putra Heights
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Putra Heights Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Putra Heights

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$927

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Putra Heights and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

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

Putra Heights $927
Phuket $1,278

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

Putra Heights $1,421
Phuket $2,216

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

Putra Heights $1,915
Phuket $3,154

Living in Putra Heights costs roughly 27% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.77 MYR 15.35

$4.47 ฿151

-15.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.15 MYR 73.9

$32.41 ฿1,093

-44.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.90 MYR 19.95

$8.81 ฿297

-44.38%

Cappuccino

$2.83 MYR 11.51

$2.83 ฿95.4

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

$0.78 MYR 3.18

$0.87 ฿29.40

-10.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.42 MYR 1.71

$0.49 ฿16.65

-14.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.51 MYR 18.34

$2.56 ฿86.3

76.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.23 MYR 25.38

$3.68 ฿124

69.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 MYR 6.78

$1.66 ฿55.9

0.60%

White Bread (500g)

$1.07 MYR 4.34

$1.46 ฿49.29

-26.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 MYR 5.84

$1.50 ฿50.5

-4.67%

Eggs

$1.75 MYR 7.12

$2.09 ฿70.5

-16.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.08 MYR 57.3

$19.07 ฿643

-26.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.56 MYR 18.56

$3.30 ฿111

38.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.18 MYR 41.44

$10.91 ฿368

-6.69%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 MYR 13.49

$2.93 ฿98.8

12.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 MYR 7.06

$1.69 ฿57.0

2.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.31 MYR 9.39

$2.25 ฿75.7

2.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 MYR 6.09

$2.08 ฿70.0

-27.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.23 MYR 5.00

$1.51 ฿51.0

-18.54%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 MYR 5.53

$1.38 ฿46.51

-1.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 MYR 4.61

$1.07 ฿35.95

5.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 MYR 2.22

$0.52 ฿17.50

5.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MYR 17.93

$4.20 ฿142

4.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.20 MYR 57.8

$18.79 ฿634

-24.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.95 MYR 12.01

$1.82 ฿61.4

62.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 MYR 12.30

$2.84 ฿95.8

6.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.74 MYR 3.02

$1.45 ฿48.97

-48.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.19 MYR 49.61

$56.7 ฿1,911

-78.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.95 MYR 3.86

$3.02 ฿102

-68.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 MYR 2.87

$1.02 ฿34.32

-30.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.99 MYR 20.33

$3.69 ฿124

35.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.87 MYR 3.54

$1.47 ฿49.75

-40.82%

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

$44.4K MYR 180.9K

$26.8K ฿903.2K

65.99%

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

$34.7K MYR 141.1K

$26.7K ฿900.3K

29.85%

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

$62.9 MYR 256

$96.4 ฿3,250

-34.72%

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

$8.99 MYR 36.61

$11.26 ฿380

-20.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.85 MYR 105

$16.85 ฿568

53.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.32 MYR 152

$67.2 ฿2,268

-44.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.72 MYR 23.29

$10.73 ฿362

-46.69%

Cinema Ticket

$5.01 MYR 20.37

$7.50 ฿253

-33.20%

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

$241 MYR 981

$476 ฿16.1K

-49.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,302 MYR 21.6K

$11.3K ฿379.9K

-52.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.1 MYR 220

$62.4 ฿2,103

-13.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.45 MYR 67.0

$28.41 ฿958

-42.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 MYR 325

$94.3 ฿3,180

-15.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 MYR 399

$85.8 ฿2,894

14.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$422 MYR 1,716

$716 ฿24.1K

-41.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$286 MYR 1,164

$491 ฿16.6K

-41.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$707 MYR 2,878

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-63.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$546 MYR 2,223

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-61.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,818 MYR 7,400

$4,175 ฿140.8K

-56.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,236 MYR 5,031

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-59.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,102 MYR 4,486

$502 ฿16.9K

119.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

5.57

-27.11%

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

Last update for Putra Heights: October 27, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Putra Heights

$286 30.8%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 71.7% $205

Groceries & Markets

Putra Heights

$246 26.5%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 8.2% $20

Eating Out

Putra Heights

$119 12.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 2.6% $3.1

Clothing & Footwear

Putra Heights

$112 12.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 9.1% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Putra Heights

$98 10.5%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 27.3% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Putra Heights

$47 5.1%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 73.7% $35

Getting Around

Putra Heights

$20 2.1%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 260% $51

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $422 in Putra Heights and $716 in Phuket. 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: $18 in Putra Heights vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $246 vs $266 per month, with Putra Heights cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Putra Heights

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

21:40 9:40 PM

20:40 8:40 PM

1 h behind Putra Heights

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

60,000

79,308

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.246 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

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).

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).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Putra Heights Phuket 650 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Putra Heights
Phuket

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

Putra Heights vs Phuket: 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.

Average pay in Putra Heights is about 2.2 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $422 in Putra Heights versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $241 in Putra Heights versus $476 in Phuket. 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, Putra Heights and Phuket 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.