Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Shah Alam and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Shah Alam: $937 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Shah Alam
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Shah Alam Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Shah Alam

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$937

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $937 in Shah Alam versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Shah Alam $937
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,432 in Shah Alam versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Shah Alam $1,432
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,927 in Shah Alam versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Shah Alam $1,927
Phuket $2,845

Living in Shah Alam costs roughly 22% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Shah Alam 31% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.69 MYR 15.07

$4.40 ฿147

-16.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.56 MYR 79.8

$32.26 ฿1,078

-39.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.05 MYR 16.52

$8.76 ฿293

-53.77%

Cappuccino

$2.98 MYR 12.17

$2.83 ฿94.5

5.30%

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

$0.72 MYR 2.95

$0.90 ฿30.14

-20.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.38 MYR 1.57

$0.47 ฿15.56

-19.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 MYR 13.86

$2.55 ฿85.2

33.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.34 MYR 17.69

$3.83 ฿128

13.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.87 MYR 7.63

$1.73 ฿57.7

8.09%

White Bread (500g)

$1.09 MYR 4.43

$1.47 ฿49.11

-25.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MYR 6.05

$1.51 ฿50.6

-1.99%

Eggs

$2.24 MYR 9.12

$2.17 ฿72.7

3.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.92 MYR 56.8

$19.70 ฿658

-29.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.37 MYR 17.81

$3.34 ฿112

30.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.48 MYR 38.67

$11.16 ฿373

-15.05%

Apples (1kg)

$3.45 MYR 14.08

$2.85 ฿95.1

21.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.64 MYR 6.71

$1.70 ฿56.9

-3.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.75 MYR 11.20

$2.19 ฿73.3

25.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.82 MYR 7.40

$2.05 ฿68.4

-11.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 MYR 4.93

$1.45 ฿48.57

-16.55%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 MYR 8.26

$1.38 ฿46.16

46.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MYR 5.86

$1.07 ฿35.69

34.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 MYR 2.35

$0.51 ฿16.91

13.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.37 MYR 17.82

$4.26 ฿142

2.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.51 MYR 75.5

$18.58 ฿621

-0.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.67 MYR 10.90

$1.78 ฿59.7

50.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.45 MYR 18.15

$2.85 ฿95.2

56.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 MYR 3.07

$2.26 ฿75.6

-66.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.00 MYR 65.3

$22.10 ฿738

-27.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.24 MYR 5.05

$3.01 ฿101

-58.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.37 MYR 1.53

$1.06 ฿35.34

-65.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.23 MYR 29.51

$3.86 ฿129

87.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.80 MYR 3.26

$1.45 ฿48.45

-44.83%

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

$46.1K MYR 188.3K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

75.29%

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

$36.2K MYR 147.7K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

34.36%

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

$37.60 MYR 153

$96.4 ฿3,221

-60.99%

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

$10.01 MYR 40.84

$11.04 ฿369

-9.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.97 MYR 118

$17.14 ฿573

69.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.53 MYR 165

$52.2 ฿1,744

-22.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.02 MYR 20.48

$11.16 ฿373

-55.02%

Cinema Ticket

$6.41 MYR 26.17

$7.81 ฿261

-17.93%

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

$196 MYR 800

$556 ฿18.6K

-64.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,644 MYR 18.9K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

-59.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.4 MYR 238

$64.2 ฿2,146

-9.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.89 MYR 163

$28.69 ฿959

39.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.8 MYR 276

$95.4 ฿3,187

-28.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.5 MYR 279

$88.0 ฿2,940

-22.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$339 MYR 1,384

$737 ฿24.6K

-53.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$308 MYR 1,258

$462 ฿15.5K

-33.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$569 MYR 2,322

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-72.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$553 MYR 2,255

$1,201 ฿40.1K

-53.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,519 MYR 6,197

$3,488 ฿116.6K

-56.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,170 MYR 4,772

$2,523 ฿84.3K

-53.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,244 MYR 5,076

$501 ฿16.7K

148.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.04

5.57

-27.47%

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

Last update for Shah Alam: October 18, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Shah Alam

$308 32.9%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 50% $154

Groceries & Markets

Shah Alam

$263 28.1%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 2.1% $5.4

Eating Out

Shah Alam

$108 11.5%

Phuket

$121 10% 12.7% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Shah Alam

$106 11.3%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 17.8% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Shah Alam

$77 8.2%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 62.6% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Shah Alam

$53 5.7%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 27% $14

Getting Around

Shah Alam

$22 2.4%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 78.4% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $339 in Shah Alam and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shah Alam pays 149% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $20.00 in Shah Alam vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $263 vs $269 per month, with Shah Alam cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Shah Alam

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

18:49 6:49 PM

17:49 5:49 PM

1 h behind Shah Alam

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

812,327

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 20, 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 20, 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

Shah Alam Phuket 640 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Shah 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

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

Shah Alam is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 29% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 149% higher in Shah 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: $339 in Shah Alam versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $196 in Shah Alam versus $556 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 2% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $937 in Shah Alam versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Shah Alam but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Shah Alam the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Shah 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, Shah 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 Shah Alam gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.