Medan vs Phuket - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Medan	Phuket
🚶 Cost of living one person	$481	$940
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$1335	$3111
🏠 One person rent	$187	$519
🏘️ Family rent	$394	$1664
🍽️ Food expenses	$189	$300
🚐 Transport expenses	$35.6	$29.5
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$262	$718
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	12 km	27 km
🎓 Higher education	53	7
😀 Quality of life	44	53
🏙️ Population	2.11M	77.6K

The cost of living in Medan is 49% less expensive than in Phuket. Cities ranked 8745th and 5827th ($481 vs $940) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 47th and 2nd in Indonesia and Thailand, respectively. Check Indonesia vs Thailand comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.5 months in Medan compared to 0.8 months in Phuket. Medan ranked 14th best city to live in Indonesia vs Phuket ranked 7th in Thailand, while ranked 6633rd and 6063rd among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Medan vs Phuket infographic

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Prices in Medan vs Phuket

Prices for goods and services in Medan and Phuket are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Medan	Phuket
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$1.97	$5.23
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$12.8	$36
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$3.31	$7.38
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.39	$2.68
☕ Cappuccino	$2.24	$2.39
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.45	$0.73
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$174	$504
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$107	$403
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$469	$1891
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$265	$1436
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$40.4	$79.6
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$62.2	$120
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$26.1	$16.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	9.24%	6.17%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1337	$4059
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$614	$2821
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.31	$1.34
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$8.02	$10.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$2.8	$11.3
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.79	$1.25
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.37	$1.87
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.14	$1.77
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.98	$1.5
🥚 Eggs, x12	$1.55	$2.19
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$8.21	$20.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.56	$3.15
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.98	$11.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.38	$3.05
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.01	$1.33
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.5	$2.06
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.84	$1.76
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.75	$1.44
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.29	$1.31
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.31	$0.33
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.13	$1.25
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$15.6	$18
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.68	$1.71
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.26	$4.02
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$2.01	$3.23
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$2.41	$2.36
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$0.83	$1.28
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$0.77	$1.4
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$23	$56.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$3.48	$8.94
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$15.1	$28.2
💇 Haircut, simple	$2.73	$5.56
👖 Brand Jeans	$55.3	$45.4
👟 Brand Sneakers	$105	$98.1
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$124	$723
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$10763	$13013

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Medan

Distance	City	Cost of living
21 km or 13 mi	Binjai	$470
67 km or 41 mi	Tebing Tinggi	$474
90 km or 56 mi	Pematangsiantar	$486
119 km or 74 mi	Langsa	$461
148 km or 92 mi	Tanjungbalai	$503
238 km or 148 mi	Lhokseumawe	$435
264 km or 164 mi	Teluk Intan	$631
264 km or 164 mi	Taiping	$695
264 km or 164 mi	Padangsidempuan	$582
268 km or 166 mi	George Town	$620
269 km or 167 mi	Butterworth	$619
286 km or 178 mi	Ipoh	$628
298 km or 185 mi	Sungai Petani	$605
307 km or 191 mi	Gunungsitoli	$571
317 km or 197 mi	Klang	$670
322 km or 200 mi	Ko Lipe	$719
324 km or 201 mi	Langkawi	$560
325 km or 202 mi	Shah Alam	$645
331 km or 206 mi	Alor Setar	$490
332 km or 206 mi	Subang Jaya	$714
332 km or 206 mi	Petaling Jaya	$701
341 km or 212 mi	Kuala Lumpur	$810
342 km or 212 mi	Cyberjaya	$585
345 km or 215 mi	Putrajaya	$532
352 km or 219 mi	Kangar	$536
378 km or 235 mi	Seremban	$604
381 km or 237 mi	Dumai	$543
422 km or 262 mi	Hat Yai	$570
426 km or 265 mi	Banda Aceh	$398
431 km or 268 mi	Malacca	$669
445 km or 277 mi	Ko Lanta	$772
466 km or 289 mi	Pekanbaru	$542
468 km or 291 mi	Muar	$682
470 km or 292 mi	Phuket	$940
483 km or 300 mi	Kota Bharu	$485
487 km or 303 mi	Ao Nang	$792
489 km or 304 mi	Krabi	$782
515 km or 320 mi	Batu Pahat	$703
518 km or 322 mi	Kuantan	$529
529 km or 329 mi	Kuala Terengganu	$501

Cities near Phuket

Distance	City	Cost of living
48 km or 30 mi	Ao Nang	$792
60 km or 38 mi	Krabi	$782
76 km or 47 mi	Ko Lanta	$772
173 km or 107 mi	Surat Thani	$563
183 km or 114 mi	Nakhon Si Thammarat	$763
185 km or 115 mi	Ko Lipe	$719
231 km or 143 mi	Langkawi	$560
248 km or 154 mi	Hat Yai	$570
248 km or 154 mi	Ko Samui	$705
256 km or 159 mi	Kangar	$536
269 km or 167 mi	Ko Pha-ngan	$730
289 km or 180 mi	Ko Tao	$777
293 km or 182 mi	Alor Setar	$490
331 km or 206 mi	Lhokseumawe	$435
339 km or 211 mi	Sungai Petani	$605
348 km or 216 mi	George Town	$620
352 km or 219 mi	Butterworth	$619
384 km or 238 mi	Langsa	$461
425 km or 264 mi	Taiping	$695
428 km or 266 mi	Banda Aceh	$398
468 km or 291 mi	Kota Bharu	$485
470 km or 292 mi	Ipoh	$628
470 km or 292 mi	Medan	$481
477 km or 296 mi	Binjai	$470
507 km or 315 mi	Myeik	$576
514 km or 319 mi	Tebing Tinggi	$474
517 km or 321 mi	Teluk Intan	$631
548 km or 340 mi	Hua Hin	$656
553 km or 344 mi	Pematangsiantar	$486
569 km or 353 mi	Tanjungbalai	$503
596 km or 370 mi	Kuala Terengganu	$501
625 km or 388 mi	Nong Prue	$752
625 km or 389 mi	Pattaya	$781
637 km or 396 mi	Klang	$670
637 km or 396 mi	Shah Alam	$645
638 km or 396 mi	Sihanoukville	$755
638 km or 396 mi	Ko Chang	$677
639 km or 397 mi	Petaling Jaya	$701
641 km or 398 mi	Laem Chabang	$743
641 km or 398 mi	Kuala Lumpur	$810