Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ulu Tiram and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Ulu Tiram: $938 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Ulu Tiram
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Ulu Tiram Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Ulu Tiram

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$938

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $938 in Ulu Tiram versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Ulu Tiram $938
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,412 in Ulu Tiram versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Ulu Tiram $1,412
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,885 in Ulu Tiram versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Ulu Tiram $1,885
Phuket $3,154

Living in Ulu Tiram costs roughly 27% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ulu Tiram 31% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.58 MYR 14.59

$4.47 ฿151

-19.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.21 MYR 78.2

$32.41 ฿1,093

-40.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.97 MYR 20.24

$8.81 ฿297

-43.59%

Cappuccino

$2.92 MYR 11.90

$2.83 ฿95.4

3.18%

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

$0.85 MYR 3.44

$0.87 ฿29.40

-2.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.41 MYR 1.67

$0.49 ฿16.65

-16.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.50 MYR 18.30

$2.56 ฿86.3

75.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.40 MYR 26.03

$3.68 ฿124

73.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 MYR 7.02

$1.66 ฿55.9

4.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 MYR 4.23

$1.46 ฿49.29

-28.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MYR 6.03

$1.50 ฿50.5

-1.33%

Eggs

$1.80 MYR 7.33

$2.09 ฿70.5

-13.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.62 MYR 39.17

$19.07 ฿643

-49.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.23 MYR 17.21

$3.30 ฿111

28.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.57 MYR 38.95

$10.91 ฿368

-12.28%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 MYR 13.44

$2.93 ฿98.8

12.63%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 MYR 6.90

$1.69 ฿57.0

Oranges (1kg)

$2.76 MYR 11.25

$2.25 ฿75.7

22.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.64 MYR 6.68

$2.08 ฿70.0

-21.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 MYR 5.92

$1.51 ฿51.0

-3.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 MYR 6.78

$1.38 ฿46.51

21.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.39 MYR 5.65

$1.07 ฿35.95

29.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 MYR 2.29

$0.52 ฿17.50

7.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MYR 17.48

$4.20 ฿142

2.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.28 MYR 70.3

$18.79 ฿634

-8.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.96 MYR 12.04

$1.82 ฿61.4

62.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 MYR 12.65

$2.84 ฿95.8

9.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.80 MYR 3.25

$1.45 ฿48.97

-44.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$13.32 MYR 54.2

$56.7 ฿1,911

-76.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.94 MYR 3.84

$3.02 ฿102

-68.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 MYR 1.55

$1.02 ฿34.32

-62.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.77 MYR 35.71

$3.69 ฿124

137.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.86 MYR 3.51

$1.47 ฿49.75

-41.50%

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

$43.8K MYR 178.3K

$26.8K ฿903.2K

63.62%

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

$35.5K MYR 144.5K

$26.7K ฿900.3K

33.01%

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

$53.5 MYR 218

$96.4 ฿3,250

-44.49%

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

$8.46 MYR 34.42

$11.26 ฿380

-24.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.46 MYR 116

$16.85 ฿568

68.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.15 MYR 151

$67.2 ฿2,268

-44.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.93 MYR 28.19

$10.73 ฿362

-35.41%

Cinema Ticket

$4.80 MYR 19.53

$7.50 ฿253

-36.00%

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

$241 MYR 980

$476 ฿16.1K

-49.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,550 MYR 18.5K

$11.3K ฿379.9K

-59.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.0 MYR 224

$62.4 ฿2,103

-11.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.99 MYR 69.2

$28.41 ฿958

-40.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.7 MYR 320

$94.3 ฿3,180

-16.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.0 MYR 354

$85.8 ฿2,894

1.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$453 MYR 1,844

$716 ฿24.1K

-36.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$315 MYR 1,282

$491 ฿16.6K

-35.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$709 MYR 2,887

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-63.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$547 MYR 2,227

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-61.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,005 MYR 8,161

$4,175 ฿140.8K

-51.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,196 MYR 4,867

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-60.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$869 MYR 3,535

$502 ฿16.9K

72.92%

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 Ulu Tiram: 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

Ulu Tiram

$315 33.6%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 55.9% $176

Groceries & Markets

Ulu Tiram

$241 25.7%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 10.5% $25

Eating Out

Ulu Tiram

$119 12.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 2.3% $2.7

Clothing & Footwear

Ulu Tiram

$107 11.4%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 13.9% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ulu Tiram

$90 9.6%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 37.7% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Ulu Tiram

$47 5%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 75.9% $35

Getting Around

Ulu Tiram

$19 2.1%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 265% $51

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $453 in Ulu Tiram and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ulu Tiram pays 73% 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 Ulu Tiram vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $241 vs $266 per month, with Ulu Tiram cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Ulu Tiram

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

01:26 1:26 AM

00:26 12:26 AM

1 h behind Ulu Tiram

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

75,350

79,308

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.246 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.246 USD). 1 EUR = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.64 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ulu Tiram Phuket 920 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Ulu Tiram
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

Ulu Tiram vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ulu Tiram is about 27% cheaper overall, especially in transport, leisure, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 73% higher in Ulu Tiram, 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: $453 in Ulu Tiram versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $241 in Ulu Tiram 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 10% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Ulu Tiram is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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

Expats usually find Ulu Tiram 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.