Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between As-salimiyah and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,328 in As-salimiyah, rent and utilities included – about $600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in As-salimiyah outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

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Cost of Living Index in As-salimiyah
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As-salimiyah Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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As-salimiyah

🇰🇼 Kuwait

$1,328

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,328 per month in As-salimiyah vs $1,278 in Phuket, rent included.

As-salimiyah $1,328
Phuket $1,278

A couple spends around $2,190 per month in As-salimiyah vs $2,216 in Phuket, rent included.

As-salimiyah $2,190
Phuket $2,216

A family of three spends $3,051 per month in As-salimiyah vs $3,154 in Phuket, rent included.

As-salimiyah $3,051
Phuket $3,154

As-salimiyah costs about 4% more than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both As-salimiyah and Phuket are more affordable than the global median – As-salimiyah 2% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.23 KWD 2.54

$4.47 ฿151

84.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.19 KWD 11.77

$32.41 ฿1,094

17.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.10 KWD 2.80

$8.81 ฿297

3.29%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 KWD 1.01

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 KWD 0.50

Cappuccino

$4.48 KWD 1.38

$2.83 ฿95.5

58.30%

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

$0.75 KWD 0.23

$0.87 ฿29.43

-13.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 KWD 0.09

$0.49 ฿16.67

-40.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 KWD 0.40

$1.66 ฿56.0

-21.08%

White Bread (500g)

$0.75 KWD 0.23

$1.46 ฿49.35

-48.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 KWD 0.61

$1.50 ฿50.6

31.33%

Eggs

$2.13 KWD 0.66

$2.09 ฿70.5

1.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.43 KWD 1.36

$19.07 ฿644

-76.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.31 KWD 1.64

$3.30 ฿111

60.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.46 KWD 2.92

$10.91 ฿368

-13.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.14 KWD 0.66

$2.93 ฿99.0

-26.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 KWD 0.50

$1.69 ฿57.1

-4.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.25 KWD 0.39

$2.25 ฿75.8

-44.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 KWD 0.45

$2.08 ฿70.1

-29.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.36 KWD 0.42

$1.51 ฿51.0

-9.93%

Onion (1kg)

$0.82 KWD 0.25

$1.38 ฿46.56

-40.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.57 KWD 0.48

$1.07 ฿35.99

46.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.50 KWD 0.15

$0.52 ฿17.52

-3.85%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.23 KWD 1.00

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 KWD 0.31

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.43 KWD 0.44

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.71 KWD 0.84

$4.20 ฿142

-35.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.84 KWD 0.26

$1.45 ฿49.03

-42.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.79 KWD 15.03

$56.7 ฿1,913

-13.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 KWD 1.02

$3.02 ฿102

9.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.31 KWD 1.02

$1.02 ฿34.36

224.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.94 KWD 4.91

$3.69 ฿125

331.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.36 KWD 0.11

$1.47 ฿49.81

-75.51%

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

$23.4K KWD 7,220

$26.8K ฿904.3K

-12.48%

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

$20.1K KWD 6,200

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-24.61%

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

$32.30 KWD 9.95

$96.4 ฿3,254

-66.48%

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

$21.28 KWD 6.56

$11.26 ฿380

88.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.14 KWD 9.29

$16.85 ฿569

78.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$97.8 KWD 30.14

$67.2 ฿2,270

45.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$64.0 KWD 19.70

$10.73 ฿362

495.99%

Cinema Ticket

$11.14 KWD 3.43

$7.50 ฿253

48.53%

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

$275 KWD 84.8

$476 ฿16.1K

-42.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,338 KWD 1,953

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-43.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$36.80 KWD 11.34

$62.4 ฿2,106

-40.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.01 KWD 12.02

$28.41 ฿959

37.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.2 KWD 27.49

$94.3 ฿3,184

-5.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$64.7 KWD 19.93

$85.8 ฿2,898

-24.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$896 KWD 276

$716 ฿24.2K

25.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 KWD 198

$491 ฿16.6K

30.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,771 KWD 546

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-8.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 KWD 428

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-2.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,815 KWD 867

$502 ฿17.0K

460.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.53

5.57

17.24%

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

Last update for As-salimiyah: 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

As-salimiyah

$642 48.4%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 23.5% $151

Groceries & Markets

As-salimiyah

$156 11.7%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 70.7% $110

Eating Out

As-salimiyah

$151 11.4%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 19.4% $29

Sport & Entertainment

As-salimiyah

$120 9%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 31.5% $38

Clothing & Footwear

As-salimiyah

$103 7.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 17.9% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

As-salimiyah

$84 6.3%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 48.7% $41

Getting Around

As-salimiyah

$72 5.4%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 2% $1.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $896 in As-salimiyah versus $716 in Phuket. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in As-salimiyah are about 5.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $38 in As-salimiyah versus $32 in Phuket. Groceries tell a different story – $156 in As-salimiyah vs $266 in Phuket – so As-salimiyah wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇰🇼 As-salimiyah

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

23:34 11:34 PM

03:34 3:34 AM

4 h ahead of As-salimiyah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

147,649

79,308

💱 Currency

Kuwaiti Dinar KWD د.ك

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 KWD = 3.25 USD

1 KWD = 2.92 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to KWD – Kuwaiti Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇼 Kuwaiti Dinar (د.ك)

Kuwaiti Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.308 KWD (1 KWD = 3.25 USD). 1 EUR = 0.343 KWD (1 KWD = 2.92 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to KWD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

As-salimiyah Phuket 5,760 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

As-salimiyah
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

As-salimiyah vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – As-salimiyah is pricier by about 4%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,992 per month in As-salimiyah and $1,917 in Phuket. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Phuket, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $716 there versus $896 in As-salimiyah.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,328 in As-salimiyah and $1,278 in Phuket. That makes Phuket about 4% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 14% less in As-salimiyah. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,328 in As-salimiyah and $1,278 in Phuket, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Phuket has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,278 in Phuket to $1,328 in As-salimiyah. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with Phuket. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, As-salimiyah makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.