Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Swieqi and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,082 in Swieqi, rent and utilities included – about $9,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

100

Cost of Living Index in Swieqi
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Swieqi Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Swieqi

🇲🇹 Malta

$2,082

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,082 in Swieqi versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Swieqi $2,082
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,327 in Swieqi versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Swieqi $3,327
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,571 in Swieqi versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Swieqi $4,571
Phuket $3,154

Living in Swieqi is roughly 63% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Swieqi is 53% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.71 €14.97

$4.47 ฿151

273.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €61.0

$32.41 ฿1,093

110.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.94 €9.79

$8.81 ฿297

24.18%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.83 ฿95.4

12.72%

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

$2.33 €2.09

$0.87 ฿29.41

167.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.82 €1.63

$0.49 ฿16.65

271.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.64 €3.26

$2.56 ฿86.3

42.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.44 €3.98

$3.68 ฿124

20.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.66 ฿55.9

-18.07%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.46 ฿49.31

-0.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.59 €3.21

$1.50 ฿50.5

139.33%

Eggs

$3.19 €2.86

$2.09 ฿70.5

52.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.53 €7.64

$19.07 ฿643

-55.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.92 €8.89

$3.30 ฿111

200.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.11 €16.22

$10.91 ฿368

65.99%

Apples (1kg)

$3.86 €3.46

$2.93 ฿98.9

31.74%

Banana (1kg)

$2.26 €2.03

$1.69 ฿57.0

33.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 €2.57

$2.25 ฿75.8

27.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.74 €3.35

$2.08 ฿70.0

79.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 €1.74

$1.51 ฿51.0

29.14%

Onion (1kg)

$2.45 €2.20

$1.38 ฿46.52

77.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.81 €1.62

$1.07 ฿35.96

69.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.80

$0.52 ฿17.51

71.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.35 €5.68

$4.20 ฿142

51.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.04 €5.41

$18.79 ฿634

-67.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.47 €2.21

$1.82 ฿61.5

35.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 €2.08

$2.84 ฿95.8

-18.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 €1.99

$1.45 ฿48.98

53.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$14.72 €13.19

$56.7 ฿1,912

-74.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.58

$3.02 ฿102

32.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.77 €1.58

$1.02 ฿34.33

73.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.28 €29.80

$3.69 ฿125

801.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.47 ฿49.76

-0.68%

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

$28.5K €25.5K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

6.34%

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

$39.0K €34.9K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

46.08%

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

$121 €108

$96.4 ฿3,251

25.67%

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

$22.20 €19.88

$11.26 ฿380

97.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.85 €26.73

$16.85 ฿568

77.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.6 €59.6

$67.2 ฿2,268

-0.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.07 €14.39

$10.73 ฿362

49.77%

Cinema Ticket

$8.98 €8.04

$7.50 ฿253

19.73%

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

$221 €198

$476 ฿16.1K

-53.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K €11.1K

$11.3K ฿380.0K

9.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.7 €50.8

$62.4 ฿2,104

-9.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.1 €49.36

$28.41 ฿958

94.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 €100

$94.3 ฿3,181

18.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$128 €114

$85.8 ฿2,895

48.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,259 €1,128

$716 ฿24.2K

75.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,076 €964

$491 ฿16.6K

119.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,105 €2,781

$1,927 ฿65.0K

61.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,199 €1,970

$1,431 ฿48.3K

53.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,969 €3,554

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-4.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,882 €2,581

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-5.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,397 €1,251

$502 ฿16.9K

178.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.01

5.57

-28.01%

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

Last update for Swieqi: 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

Swieqi

$1.1K 51.7%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 54.4% $585

Groceries & Markets

Swieqi

$305 14.7%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 12.8% $39

Eating Out

Swieqi

$249 11.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 51% $127

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Swieqi

$173 8.3%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 28.1% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Swieqi

$158 7.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 22.9% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Swieqi

$85 4.1%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 2.7% $2.3

Getting Around

Swieqi

$36 1.8%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 93.6% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,259 in Swieqi and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Swieqi pays about 2.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $68 in Swieqi vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $305 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇹 Swieqi

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

19:20 7:20 PM

01:20 1:20 AM

6 h ahead of Swieqi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

14,000

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Swieqi Phuket 8,950 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Swieqi
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

Swieqi vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 39% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Swieqi is about 2.8 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: $1,259 in Swieqi versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $221 in Swieqi 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 15% higher in Swieqi. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,082 in Swieqi, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Swieqi. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket 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, Swieqi and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Swieqi on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.