Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Al-Buraimi and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Al-Buraimi: $916 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

45

Cost of Living Index in Al-Buraimi
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Al-Buraimi Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Al-Buraimi

🇴🇲 Oman

$916

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $916 in Al-Buraimi versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Al-Buraimi $916
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,357 in Al-Buraimi versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Al-Buraimi $1,357
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,797 in Al-Buraimi versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Al-Buraimi $1,797
Phuket $2,867

Living in Al-Buraimi costs roughly 24% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Al-Buraimi 32% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.27 OMR 2.03

$4.58 ฿153

15.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.14 OMR 5.06

$32.48 ฿1,086

-59.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.82 OMR 3.01

$8.55 ฿286

-8.54%

Cappuccino

$5.02 OMR 1.93

$2.72 ฿91.0

84.56%

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

$0.91 OMR 0.35

$0.94 ฿31.25

-3.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 OMR 0.10

$0.49 ฿16.39

-44.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$12.89 OMR 4.96

$2.59 ฿86.6

397.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.20 OMR 5.08

$3.83 ฿128

244.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.26 OMR 0.87

$1.74 ฿58.1

29.89%

White Bread (500g)

$1.20 OMR 0.46

$1.43 ฿47.82

-16.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 OMR 0.61

$1.53 ฿51.0

3.27%

Eggs

$2.99 OMR 1.15

$2.17 ฿72.7

37.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.33 OMR 2.44

$19.15 ฿640

-66.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.79 OMR 2.23

$3.30 ฿110

75.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 OMR 3.58

$11.14 ฿372

-16.43%

Apples (1kg)

$2.07 OMR 0.80

$2.95 ฿98.5

-29.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.83 OMR 0.70

$1.68 ฿56.1

8.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.06 OMR 0.79

$2.30 ฿76.8

-10.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.32 OMR 0.51

$2.13 ฿71.3

-38.03%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 OMR 0.46

$1.53 ฿51.1

-21.57%

Onion (1kg)

$0.98 OMR 0.38

$1.36 ฿45.55

-27.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.91 OMR 0.35

$1.12 ฿37.44

-18.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 OMR 0.27

$0.55 ฿18.24

27.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.23 OMR 2.01

$4.26 ฿142

22.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.32 OMR 5.90

$18.19 ฿608

-15.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.82 OMR 2.24

$1.74 ฿58.2

234.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.15 OMR 3.91

$2.79 ฿93.3

263.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.94 OMR 14.99

$22.06 ฿737

76.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 OMR 1.26

$2.91 ฿97.3

12.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.33 OMR 0.51

$1.01 ฿33.79

31.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.57 OMR 2.92

$3.83 ฿128

97.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.60 OMR 0.23

$1.49 ฿49.85

-59.73%

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

$25.2K OMR 9,711

$26.7K ฿891.6K

-5.45%

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

$22.7K OMR 8,734

$26.7K ฿892.7K

-15.07%

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

$77.5 OMR 29.84

$99.4 ฿3,321

-22.01%

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

$30.24 OMR 11.64

$11.28 ฿377

168.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$70.7 OMR 27.23

$17.36 ฿580

307.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.9 OMR 24.62

$52.3 ฿1,747

22.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.67 OMR 2.95

$7.57 ฿253

1.32%

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

$260 OMR 100

$558 ฿18.7K

-53.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K OMR 4,036

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-8.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.8 OMR 21.86

$62.9 ฿2,102

-9.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.55 OMR 16.77

$28.58 ฿955

52.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.9 OMR 35.01

$96.1 ฿3,213

-5.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.7 OMR 34.13

$88.1 ฿2,943

0.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,620 OMR 1,394

$493 ฿16.5K

634.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.25

5.57

-5.75%

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

Last update for Al-Buraimi: October 13, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Al-Buraimi

$262 28.7%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 1.9% $5.1

Eating Out

Al-Buraimi

$221 24.2%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 45.2% $100

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Al-Buraimi

$178 19.5%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 28.3% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Al-Buraimi

$126 13.7%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 1.5% $1.9

Sport & Entertainment

Al-Buraimi

$79 8.7%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 15% $12

Getting Around

Al-Buraimi

$49 * 5.3%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 20.4% $10

Accommodation & Living

Al-Buraimi

- * 0%

Phuket

$460 38.1%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Al-Buraimi pays 634% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $13.00 in Al-Buraimi vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $262 vs $268 per month, with Al-Buraimi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇴🇲 Al-Buraimi

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

07:43 7:43 AM

10:43 10:43 AM

3 h ahead of Al-Buraimi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

73,670

79,308

💱 Currency

Omani Rial OMR ر.ع.

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 OMR = 2.6 USD

1 OMR = 2.31 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to OMR – Omani Rial Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇴🇲 Omani Rial (ر.ع.)

Omani Rial exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.385 OMR (1 OMR = 2.6 USD). 1 EUR = 0.433 OMR (1 OMR = 2.31 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 OMR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Al-Buraimi Phuket 4,880 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Al-Buraimi
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

Al-Buraimi vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Al-Buraimi is cheaper overall, especially in groceries. The 32% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 634% higher in Al-Buraimi, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

A monthly transit pass in Al-Buraimi runs roughly 77% less than in Phuket. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $260 in Al-Buraimi versus $558 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $916 in Al-Buraimi versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Al-Buraimi but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Al-Buraimi the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Al-Buraimi 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, Al-Buraimi 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 Al-Buraimi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 32% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.