Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Pawl Il-bahar and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $1,697 in San Pawl Il-bahar, rent and utilities included – about $5,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

83

Cost of Living Index in San Pawl Il-bahar
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San Pawl Il-bahar Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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San Pawl Il-bahar

🇲🇹 Malta

$1,697

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in San Pawl Il-bahar 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 San Pawl Il-bahar and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,697 in San Pawl Il-bahar versus $1,207 in Phuket.

San Pawl Il-bahar $1,697
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,593 in San Pawl Il-bahar versus $2,037 in Phuket.

San Pawl Il-bahar $2,593
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,489 in San Pawl Il-bahar versus $2,867 in Phuket.

San Pawl Il-bahar $3,489
Phuket $2,867

Living in San Pawl Il-bahar is roughly 41% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: San Pawl Il-bahar is 26% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.75 €17.57

$4.58 ฿153

331.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$82.2 €73.1

$32.48 ฿1,086

153.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.28 €10.03

$8.55 ฿286

31.93%

Cappuccino

$2.58 €2.30

$2.72 ฿91.0

-5.15%

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

$2.47 €2.20

$0.94 ฿31.25

162.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 €1.74

$0.49 ฿16.39

297.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.50 €4.00

$2.59 ฿86.6

73.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.18 €4.60

$3.83 ฿128

35.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.74 ฿58.1

-24.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.16 €1.03

$1.43 ฿47.82

-18.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.82 €3.40

$1.53 ฿51.0

149.67%

Eggs

$3.62 €3.22

$2.17 ฿72.7

66.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.44 €7.50

$19.15 ฿640

-55.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.75 €6.89

$3.30 ฿110

134.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.41 €8.37

$11.14 ฿372

-15.53%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$2.95 ฿98.5

1.02%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 €1.82

$1.68 ฿56.1

22.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.93 €2.60

$2.30 ฿76.8

27.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.86 €2.54

$2.13 ฿71.3

34.27%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 €1.40

$1.53 ฿51.1

2.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.84 €1.64

$1.36 ฿45.55

35.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 €1.06

$1.12 ฿37.44

6.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 €1.07

$0.55 ฿18.24

118.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.33 €5.63

$4.26 ฿142

48.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.30 €7.38

$18.19 ฿608

-54.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 €1.32

$1.74 ฿58.2

-14.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 €1.78

$2.79 ฿93.3

-28.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.76 €2.46

$2.22 ฿74.1

24.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.72 €5.09

$2.91 ฿97.3

96.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.17 €1.93

$1.01 ฿33.79

114.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.51 €23.58

$3.83 ฿128

592.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 €1.30

$1.49 ฿49.85

-1.34%

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

$38.3K €34.1K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

43.56%

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

$39.6K €35.2K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

48.15%

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

$58.9 €52.4

$99.4 ฿3,321

-40.77%

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

$20.63 €18.35

$11.28 ฿377

82.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.96 €35.54

$17.36 ฿580

130.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.65 €44.17

$52.3 ฿1,747

-5.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.51 €12.02

$10.85 ฿362

24.52%

Cinema Ticket

$9.96 €8.86

$7.57 ฿253

31.57%

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

$371 €330

$558 ฿18.7K

-33.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K €9,915

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-2.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$22.55 €20.06

$62.9 ฿2,102

-64.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.53 €29.83

$28.58 ฿955

17.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.5 €85.8

$96.1 ฿3,213

0.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$75.4 €67.1

$88.1 ฿2,943

-14.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$981 €872

$729 ฿24.4K

34.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$848 €755

$460 ฿15.4K

84.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,640 €1,459

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-21.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,348 €1,199

$1,222 ฿40.8K

10.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,441 €3,061

$3,459 ฿115.6K

-0.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,867 €2,550

$2,489 ฿83.2K

15.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,670 €1,485

$493 ฿16.5K

238.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.9

5.57

-47.94%

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

Last update for San Pawl Il-bahar: October 12, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Pawl Il-bahar

$848 50%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 45.8% $388

Eating Out

San Pawl Il-bahar

$273 16.1%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 55.6% $152

Groceries & Markets

San Pawl Il-bahar

$256 15.1%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 4.7% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Pawl Il-bahar

$119 7%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 7.2% $8.6

Clothing & Footwear

San Pawl Il-bahar

$103 6.1%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 20.9% $21

Sport & Entertainment

San Pawl Il-bahar

$70 4.1%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 3.1% $2.1

Getting Around

San Pawl Il-bahar

$28 * 1.6%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 40.8% $11

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $981 in San Pawl Il-bahar and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Pawl Il-bahar pays 239% 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: $82.0 in San Pawl Il-bahar vs $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $256 vs $268, with San Pawl Il-bahar cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇹 San Pawl Il-bahar

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

17:52 5:52 PM

22:52 10:52 PM

5 h ahead of San Pawl Il-bahar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,046

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

San Pawl Il-bahar Phuket 8,950 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

San Pawl Il-bahar
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

San Pawl Il-bahar vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, leisure, and utilities. The 41% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 239% higher in San Pawl Il-bahar, 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: $981 in San Pawl Il-bahar versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $371 in San Pawl Il-bahar versus $558 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $82.0 in San Pawl Il-bahar. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,697 in San Pawl Il-bahar, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in San Pawl Il-bahar. 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 San Pawl Il-bahar, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, San Pawl Il-bahar and Phuket 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 41% less than in San Pawl Il-bahar. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.