Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sandakan, Sabah and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Sandakan, Sabah: $968 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Sandakan, Sabah
Learn more

Sandakan, Sabah Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Sandakan, Sabah

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$968

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sandakan, Sabah 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 Sandakan, Sabah and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $968 in Sandakan, Sabah versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Sandakan, Sabah $968
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,470 in Sandakan, Sabah versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Sandakan, Sabah $1,470
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,971 in Sandakan, Sabah versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Sandakan, Sabah $1,971
Phuket $3,154

Living in Sandakan, Sabah costs roughly 24% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Sandakan, Sabah 29% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.65 MYR 14.86

$4.47 ฿151

-18.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.26 MYR 78.5

$32.41 ฿1,094

-40.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.56 MYR 18.57

$8.81 ฿297

-48.24%

Cappuccino

$3.07 MYR 12.53

$2.83 ฿95.5

8.48%

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

$0.73 MYR 2.97

$0.87 ฿29.43

-16.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.43 MYR 1.75

$0.49 ฿16.67

-12.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.24 MYR 17.29

$2.56 ฿86.4

65.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.93 MYR 16.01

$3.68 ฿124

6.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.99 MYR 8.11

$1.66 ฿56.0

19.88%

White Bread (500g)

$1.18 MYR 4.80

$1.46 ฿49.35

-19.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.49 MYR 6.08

$1.50 ฿50.6

-0.67%

Eggs

$2.24 MYR 9.13

$2.09 ฿70.5

7.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.79 MYR 48.06

$19.07 ฿644

-38.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.00 MYR 16.31

$3.30 ฿111

21.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.55 MYR 38.90

$10.91 ฿368

-12.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.84 MYR 11.55

$2.93 ฿99.0

-3.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 MYR 6.63

$1.69 ฿57.1

-3.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.53 MYR 10.30

$2.25 ฿75.8

12.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 MYR 6.37

$2.08 ฿70.1

-25.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.39 MYR 5.66

$1.51 ฿51.0

-7.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 MYR 5.63

$1.38 ฿46.56

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 MYR 5.15

$1.07 ฿35.99

18.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.48 MYR 1.94

$0.52 ฿17.52

-7.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.04 MYR 16.47

$4.20 ฿142

-3.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.89 MYR 89.2

$18.79 ฿634

16.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.12 MYR 12.73

$1.82 ฿61.5

71.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.29 MYR 17.46

$2.84 ฿95.9

51.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.79 MYR 3.21

$1.45 ฿49.03

-45.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.67 MYR 43.47

$56.7 ฿1,913

-81.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 MYR 5.39

$3.02 ฿102

-56.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.63 MYR 2.58

$1.02 ฿34.36

-38.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.09 MYR 32.98

$3.69 ฿125

119.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 MYR 3.32

$1.47 ฿49.81

-44.22%

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

$46.8K MYR 190.5K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

74.59%

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

$39.7K MYR 161.6K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

48.64%

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

$48.86 MYR 199

$96.4 ฿3,254

-49.29%

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

$10.09 MYR 41.11

$11.26 ฿380

-10.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.65 MYR 117

$16.85 ฿569

70.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.98 MYR 151

$67.2 ฿2,270

-44.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.38 MYR 30.07

$10.73 ฿362

-31.22%

Cinema Ticket

$5.08 MYR 20.70

$7.50 ฿253

-32.27%

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

$242 MYR 987

$476 ฿16.1K

-49.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,062 MYR 28.8K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-37.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.1 MYR 257

$62.4 ฿2,106

1.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.35 MYR 124

$28.41 ฿959

6.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 MYR 373

$94.3 ฿3,184

-2.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.2 MYR 315

$85.8 ฿2,898

-9.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$379 MYR 1,545

$716 ฿24.2K

-47.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$326 MYR 1,327

$491 ฿16.6K

-33.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$631 MYR 2,569

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-67.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$589 MYR 2,399

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-58.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,010 MYR 8,190

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-51.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,149 MYR 4,682

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-62.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,210 MYR 4,931

$502 ฿17.0K

140.94%

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 Sandakan, Sabah: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sandakan, Sabah

$326 33.6%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 50.7% $165

Groceries & Markets

Sandakan, Sabah

$258 26.7%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 3.1% $8.1

Clothing & Footwear

Sandakan, Sabah

$118 12.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 3.3% $3.9

Eating Out

Sandakan, Sabah

$113 11.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 7.3% $8.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sandakan, Sabah

$88 9.1%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 42.1% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Sandakan, Sabah

$47 4.9%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 74.4% $35

Getting Around

Sandakan, Sabah

$18 1.9%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 286% $52

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $379 in Sandakan, Sabah and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sandakan, Sabah pays about 2.4 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $19 in Sandakan, Sabah vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $266 per month, with Sandakan, Sabah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Sandakan, Sabah

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

07:00 7:00 AM

06:00 6:00 AM

1 h behind Sandakan, Sabah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

439,050

79,308

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

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).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sandakan, Sabah Phuket 2,190 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Sandakan, Sabah
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

Sandakan, Sabah vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sandakan, Sabah is about 24% cheaper overall, especially in transport, leisure, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Sandakan, Sabah is about 2.4 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: $379 in Sandakan, Sabah versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $242 in Sandakan, Sabah 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 3% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $968 in Sandakan, Sabah versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Sandakan, Sabah but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Sandakan, Sabah the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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, Sandakan, Sabah and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Sandakan, Sabah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 24% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.