Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Subang Jaya and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Subang Jaya: $951 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

46

Cost of Living Index in Subang Jaya
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Subang Jaya Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

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Subang Jaya

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$951

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $951 in Subang Jaya versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Subang Jaya $951
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,448 in Subang Jaya versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Subang Jaya $1,448
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,945 in Subang Jaya versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Subang Jaya $1,945
Phuket $2,867

Living in Subang Jaya costs roughly 21% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Subang Jaya 30% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.58 MYR 14.61

$4.58 ฿153

-21.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.71 MYR 80.4

$32.48 ฿1,086

-39.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.56 MYR 18.60

$8.55 ฿286

-46.67%

Cappuccino

$3.03 MYR 12.37

$2.72 ฿91.0

11.40%

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

$0.77 MYR 3.14

$0.94 ฿31.25

-18.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.40 MYR 1.63

$0.49 ฿16.39

-18.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.11 MYR 16.76

$2.59 ฿86.6

58.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 MYR 18.47

$3.83 ฿128

18.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.85 MYR 7.55

$1.74 ฿58.1

6.32%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 MYR 4.26

$1.43 ฿47.82

-27.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 MYR 6.85

$1.53 ฿51.0

9.80%

Eggs

$2.24 MYR 9.15

$2.17 ฿72.7

3.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.42 MYR 54.7

$19.15 ฿640

-29.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.54 MYR 18.53

$3.30 ฿110

37.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.45 MYR 34.46

$11.14 ฿372

-24.15%

Apples (1kg)

$3.06 MYR 12.48

$2.95 ฿98.5

3.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 MYR 7.28

$1.68 ฿56.1

5.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.27 MYR 9.24

$2.30 ฿76.8

-1.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.40 MYR 5.70

$2.13 ฿71.3

-34.27%

Potato (1kg)

$1.11 MYR 4.52

$1.53 ฿51.1

-27.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 MYR 4.58

$1.36 ฿45.55

-17.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 MYR 4.46

$1.12 ฿37.44

-2.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 MYR 2.19

$0.55 ฿18.24

-1.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.42 MYR 18.05

$4.26 ฿142

3.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.72 MYR 76.4

$18.19 ฿608

2.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.01 MYR 12.28

$1.74 ฿58.2

72.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.90 MYR 20.00

$2.79 ฿93.3

75.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.84 MYR 3.42

$2.22 ฿74.1

-62.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.39 MYR 50.6

$22.06 ฿737

-43.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.21 MYR 4.92

$2.91 ฿97.3

-58.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 MYR 1.64

$1.01 ฿33.79

-60.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.77 MYR 19.44

$3.83 ฿128

24.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.88 MYR 3.57

$1.49 ฿49.85

-40.94%

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

$42.4K MYR 172.8K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

58.78%

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

$34.9K MYR 142.3K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

30.59%

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

$36.42 MYR 149

$99.4 ฿3,321

-63.35%

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

$9.61 MYR 39.20

$11.28 ฿377

-14.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.25 MYR 119

$17.36 ฿580

68.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$24.81 MYR 101

$52.3 ฿1,747

-52.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$2.41 MYR 9.85

$10.85 ฿362

-77.79%

Cinema Ticket

$5.04 MYR 20.56

$7.57 ฿253

-33.42%

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

$296 MYR 1,209

$558 ฿18.7K

-46.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.7K MYR 43.7K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-6.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.5 MYR 243

$62.9 ฿2,102

-5.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.85 MYR 142

$28.58 ฿955

21.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.0 MYR 351

$96.1 ฿3,213

-10.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$70.6 MYR 288

$88.1 ฿2,943

-19.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$566 MYR 2,308

$729 ฿24.4K

-22.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$342 MYR 1,394

$460 ฿15.4K

-25.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$714 MYR 2,914

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-65.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$620 MYR 2,529

$1,222 ฿40.8K

-49.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,360 MYR 9,629

$3,459 ฿115.6K

-31.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,857 MYR 7,574

$2,489 ฿83.2K

-25.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$918 MYR 3,747

$493 ฿16.5K

86.27%

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 Subang Jaya: October 13, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Subang Jaya

$342 36%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 34.6% $118

Groceries & Markets

Subang Jaya

$254 26.7%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 5.5% $14

Eating Out

Subang Jaya

$113 11.9%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 7.4% $8.3

Clothing & Footwear

Subang Jaya

$113 11.9%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 9.8% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Subang Jaya

$75 7.9%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 70% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Subang Jaya

$35 3.7%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 93.2% $33

Getting Around

Subang Jaya

$19 2%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 105% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $566 in Subang Jaya and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Subang Jaya pays 86% 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 Subang Jaya vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $254 vs $268 per month, with Subang Jaya cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Subang Jaya

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

19:29 7:29 PM

18:29 6:29 PM

1 h behind Subang Jaya

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

902,086

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 18, 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 18, 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

Subang Jaya Phuket 640 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Subang Jaya
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

Subang Jaya vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Subang Jaya is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 27% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 86% higher in Subang Jaya, 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: $566 in Subang Jaya versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $296 in Subang Jaya 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 5% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $951 in Subang Jaya versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Subang Jaya but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Subang Jaya the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Subang Jaya 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, Subang Jaya 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 Subang Jaya 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.