Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ar-rass and Phuket

For one person, living costs are similar in Ar-rass and in Phuket: $1,154 and $1,207 a month, rent and utilities included.

55

Cost of Living Index in Ar-rass
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Ar-rass Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Ar-rass

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,154

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,154 in Ar-rass versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Ar-rass $1,154
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,690 in Ar-rass versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Ar-rass $1,690
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,226 in Ar-rass versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Ar-rass $2,226
Phuket $2,867

Living in Ar-rass costs roughly 4% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ar-rass 15% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.16 SAR 23.12

$4.58 ฿153

34.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.47 SAR 141

$32.48 ฿1,086

15.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.90 SAR 29.65

$8.55 ฿286

-7.60%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.89 SAR 7.07

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 SAR 8.58

Cappuccino

$3.25 SAR 12.18

$2.72 ฿91.0

19.49%

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

$0.91 SAR 3.41

$0.94 ฿31.25

-3.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 SAR 0.98

$0.49 ฿16.39

-46.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 SAR 6.81

$1.74 ฿58.1

4.02%

White Bread (500g)

$0.39 SAR 1.45

$1.43 ฿47.82

-72.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 SAR 7.19

$1.53 ฿51.0

25.49%

Eggs

$3.60 SAR 13.52

$2.17 ฿72.7

65.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.00 SAR 26.28

$19.15 ฿640

-63.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.05 SAR 30.20

$3.30 ฿110

143.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 SAR 47.99

$11.14 ฿372

14.81%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 SAR 8.41

$2.95 ฿98.5

-24.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 SAR 6.60

$1.68 ฿56.1

4.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 SAR 5.91

$2.30 ฿76.8

-31.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.57 SAR 5.89

$2.13 ฿71.3

-26.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.16 SAR 4.37

$1.53 ฿51.1

-24.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 SAR 5.11

$1.36 ฿45.55

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 SAR 4.79

$1.12 ฿37.44

14.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 SAR 2.14

$0.55 ฿18.24

3.64%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.26 SAR 12.24

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.99 SAR 7.46

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 SAR 8.49

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.53 SAR 28.27

$4.26 ฿142

76.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿608

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.3

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.98 SAR 3.69

$2.22 ฿74.1

-55.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$34.39 SAR 129

$22.06 ฿737

55.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.59 SAR 9.72

$2.91 ฿97.3

-11.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.87 SAR 7.02

$1.01 ฿33.79

85.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.84 SAR 44.42

$3.83 ฿128

209.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.65 SAR 2.44

$1.49 ฿49.85

-56.38%

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

$43.1K SAR 161.7K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

61.56%

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

$20.9K SAR 78.3K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

-21.93%

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

$110 SAR 414

$99.4 ฿3,321

10.97%

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

$23.87 SAR 89.6

$11.28 ฿377

111.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$59.0 SAR 221

$17.36 ฿580

239.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.88 SAR 168

$52.3 ฿1,747

-14.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$13.43 SAR 50.4

$7.57 ฿253

77.41%

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

$425 SAR 1,595

$558 ฿18.7K

-23.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,688 SAR 32.6K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-24.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.84 SAR 161

$62.9 ฿2,102

-31.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.4 SAR 234

$28.58 ฿955

118.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 SAR 360

$96.1 ฿3,213

-0.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.6 SAR 329

$88.1 ฿2,943

-0.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$579 SAR 2,174

$729 ฿24.4K

-20.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$394 SAR 1,480

$460 ฿15.4K

-14.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$388 SAR 1,456

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-81.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$563 SAR 2,111

$1,222 ฿40.8K

-53.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,625 SAR 9,851

$3,459 ฿115.6K

-24.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,188 SAR 4,460

$2,489 ฿83.2K

-52.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,765 SAR 6,622

$493 ฿16.5K

257.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.54

5.57

-0.54%

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

Last update for Ar-rass: October 12, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ar-rass

$394 34.2%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 16.6% $66

Groceries & Markets

Ar-rass

$198 17.1%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 35.3% $70

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ar-rass

$193 16.7%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 33.7% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Ar-rass

$130 11.3%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 4.6% $5.9

Eating Out

Ar-rass

$117 10.1%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 4% $4.7

Sport & Entertainment

Ar-rass

$72 6.2%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 6% $4.3

Getting Around

Ar-rass

$50 4.4%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 22.6% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $579 in Ar-rass and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ar-rass pays 258% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37.00 in Ar-rass vs $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $198 vs $268, with Ar-rass cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Ar-rass

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

17:27 5:27 PM

21:27 9:27 PM

4 h ahead of Ar-rass

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

121,359

79,308

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇦 Saudi Riyal (ر.س)

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to SAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ar-rass Phuket 6,120 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Ar-rass
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

Ar-rass vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ar-rass and Phuket differ by about 5% in total monthly costs ($1,154 vs $1,207 including rent). Ar-rass is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 258% higher in Ar-rass, 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: $579 in Ar-rass versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $425 in Ar-rass 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 35% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,154 in Ar-rass versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Ar-rass but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Ar-rass 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, Ar-rass 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 Ar-rass gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.