Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Setia Alam and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Setia Alam: $913 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Setia Alam
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Setia Alam Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Setia Alam

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$913

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $913 in Setia Alam versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Setia Alam $913
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,358 in Setia Alam versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Setia Alam $1,358
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,803 in Setia Alam versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Setia Alam $1,803
Phuket $2,867

Living in Setia Alam costs roughly 24% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Setia Alam 32% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.81 MYR 19.61

$4.58 ฿153

5.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.57 MYR 100

$32.48 ฿1,086

-24.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.96 MYR 20.22

$8.55 ฿286

-41.99%

Cappuccino

$2.76 MYR 11.27

$2.72 ฿91.0

1.47%

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

$0.79 MYR 3.23

$0.94 ฿31.25

-15.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 MYR 1.93

$0.49 ฿16.39

-4.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.32 MYR 17.63

$2.59 ฿86.6

66.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.01 MYR 24.50

$3.83 ฿128

56.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 MYR 6.09

$1.74 ฿58.1

-14.37%

White Bread (500g)

$0.72 MYR 2.92

$1.43 ฿47.82

-49.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.59 MYR 2.42

$1.53 ฿51.0

-61.44%

Eggs

$1.20 MYR 4.91

$2.17 ฿72.7

-44.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.82 MYR 56.4

$19.15 ฿640

-27.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.41 MYR 9.83

$3.30 ฿110

-26.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$2.41 MYR 9.83

$11.14 ฿372

-78.37%

Apples (1kg)

$1.24 MYR 5.04

$2.95 ฿98.5

-57.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.83 MYR 7.47

$1.68 ฿56.1

8.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.25 MYR 5.11

$2.30 ฿76.8

-45.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.20 MYR 4.91

$2.13 ฿71.3

-43.66%

Potato (1kg)

$0.71 MYR 2.89

$1.53 ฿51.1

-53.59%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 MYR 3.03

$1.36 ฿45.55

-45.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.70 MYR 2.87

$1.12 ฿37.44

-37.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 MYR 2.95

$0.55 ฿18.24

30.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.32 MYR 17.64

$4.26 ฿142

1.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.60 MYR 80.0

$18.19 ฿608

7.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.59 MYR 14.64

$1.74 ฿58.2

106.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.86 MYR 19.84

$2.79 ฿93.3

74.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.76 MYR 3.08

$2.22 ฿74.1

-65.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.31 MYR 50.2

$22.06 ฿737

-44.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.24 MYR 5.06

$2.91 ฿97.3

-57.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.20 MYR 4.88

$1.01 ฿33.79

18.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.78 MYR 19.49

$3.83 ฿128

24.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.48 MYR 1.95

$1.49 ฿49.85

-67.79%

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

$39.2K MYR 159.9K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

46.87%

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

$33.0K MYR 134.7K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

23.65%

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

$61.2 MYR 250

$99.4 ฿3,321

-38.44%

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

$8.52 MYR 34.77

$11.28 ฿377

-24.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.04 MYR 106

$17.36 ฿580

50.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.73 MYR 203

$52.3 ฿1,747

-4.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.97 MYR 28.44

$10.85 ฿362

-35.76%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MYR 20.82

$7.57 ฿253

-32.63%

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

$135 MYR 551

$558 ฿18.7K

-75.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,885 MYR 32.2K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-31.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.7 MYR 296

$62.9 ฿2,102

15.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.31 MYR 111

$28.58 ฿955

-4.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$53.8 MYR 220

$96.1 ฿3,213

-44.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.56 MYR 149

$88.1 ฿2,943

-58.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$529 MYR 2,160

$729 ฿24.4K

-27.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$323 MYR 1,319

$460 ฿15.4K

-29.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$873 MYR 3,562

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-58.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$549 MYR 2,238

$1,222 ฿40.8K

-55.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,992 MYR 8,128

$3,459 ฿115.6K

-42.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,102 MYR 4,498

$2,489 ฿83.2K

-55.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,143 MYR 4,663

$493 ฿16.5K

131.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

-28.19%

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

Last update for Setia Alam: October 10, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Setia Alam

$323 35.4%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 42.3% $137

Groceries & Markets

Setia Alam

$200 21.9%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 33.6% $67

Eating Out

Setia Alam

$125 13.7%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 3.1% $3.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Setia Alam

$96 10.5%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 33.7% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Setia Alam

$86 9.4%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 44.8% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Setia Alam

$60 6.6%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 12.5% $7.5

Getting Around

Setia Alam

$23 2.5%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 72.5% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $529 in Setia Alam and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Setia Alam pays 132% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $25.00 in Setia Alam vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $200 vs $268 per month, with Setia Alam cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Setia Alam

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

23:51 11:51 PM

22:51 10:51 PM

1 h behind Setia Alam

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

150,000

79,308

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Setia Alam Phuket 630 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Setia Alam
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

Setia Alam vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Setia Alam is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and leisure. The 32% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 132% higher in Setia Alam, 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: $529 in Setia Alam versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $135 in Setia Alam versus $558 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 34% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $913 in Setia Alam versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Setia Alam but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Setia Alam the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Setia Alam is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Phuket, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Setia Alam 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 Setia Alam gentler on the wallet – expenses run 32% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.