Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ashkelon and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $2,394 in Ashkelon, rent and utilities included – about $14,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Ashkelon
Learn more

Ashkelon Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Ashkelon

🇮🇱 Israel

$2,394

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,394 in Ashkelon versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Ashkelon $2,394
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,551 in Ashkelon versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Ashkelon $3,551
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,708 in Ashkelon versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Ashkelon $4,708
Phuket $2,867

Living in Ashkelon is roughly 98% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ashkelon is 77% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.07 ₪71.8

$4.58 ฿153

403.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.0 ₪252

$32.48 ฿1,086

149.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$17.60 ₪54.8

$8.55 ฿286

105.85%

Cappuccino

$4.58 ₪14.25

$2.72 ฿91.0

68.38%

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

$3.26 ₪10.15

$0.94 ฿31.25

246.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.80 ₪8.71

$0.49 ฿16.39

471.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$12.10 ₪37.63

$2.59 ฿86.6

367.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.69 ₪23.93

$3.83 ฿128

100.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.35 ₪7.32

$1.74 ฿58.1

35.06%

White Bread (500g)

$2.68 ₪8.34

$1.43 ฿47.82

87.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.01 ₪9.35

$1.53 ฿51.0

96.73%

Eggs

$4.57 ₪14.21

$2.17 ฿72.7

110.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.56 ₪67.1

$19.15 ฿640

12.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.94 ₪40.26

$3.30 ฿110

292.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.38 ₪79.0

$11.14 ฿372

127.83%

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 ₪12.86

$2.95 ฿98.5

40.00%

Banana (1kg)

$3.18 ₪9.91

$1.68 ฿56.1

89.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.27 ₪7.05

$2.30 ฿76.8

-1.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.22 ₪10.03

$2.13 ฿71.3

51.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.60 ₪4.99

$1.53 ฿51.1

4.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 ₪6.20

$1.36 ฿45.55

46.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.66 ₪8.27

$1.12 ฿37.44

137.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 ₪2.93

$0.55 ฿18.24

70.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.77 ₪42.84

$4.26 ฿142

223.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.65 ₪36.23

$18.19 ฿608

-35.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.58 ₪8.02

$1.74 ฿58.2

48.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 ₪6.12

$2.79 ฿93.3

-29.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.53 ₪7.88

$2.22 ฿74.1

13.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.33 ₪138

$22.06 ฿737

100.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$11.17 ₪34.76

$2.91 ฿97.3

283.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.67 ₪5.20

$1.01 ฿33.79

65.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.23 ₪122

$3.83 ฿128

924.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.64 ₪8.20

$1.49 ฿49.85

77.18%

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

$57.8K ₪179.8K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

116.57%

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

$56.8K ₪176.7K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

112.68%

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

$214 ₪667

$99.4 ฿3,321

115.61%

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

$11.73 ₪36.49

$11.28 ฿377

3.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.41 ₪129

$17.36 ฿580

138.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.93 ₪143

$52.3 ฿1,747

-12.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$32.25 ₪100

$10.85 ฿362

197.24%

Cinema Ticket

$16.56 ₪51.5

$7.57 ฿253

118.76%

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

$1,220 ₪3,797

$558 ฿18.7K

118.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$107 ₪334

$62.9 ฿2,102

70.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$75.6 ₪235

$28.58 ฿955

164.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 ₪352

$96.1 ฿3,213

17.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$146 ₪453

$88.1 ฿2,943

65.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,144 ₪3,560

$729 ฿24.4K

56.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$961 ₪2,989

$460 ฿15.4K

108.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,798 ₪5,595

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-14.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,470 ₪4,575

$1,222 ฿40.8K

20.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,741 ₪17.9K

$3,459 ฿115.6K

65.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,602 ₪17.4K

$2,489 ฿83.2K

125.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,977 ₪9,263

$493 ฿16.5K

503.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.98

5.57

-10.59%

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

Last update for Ashkelon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ashkelon

$961 40.1%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 52.1% $501

Groceries & Markets

Ashkelon

$422 17.6%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 36.6% $154

Eating Out

Ashkelon

$392 16.4%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 69.1% $271

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ashkelon

$267 11.2%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 52.1% $139

Clothing & Footwear

Ashkelon

$199 8.3%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 37.5% $75

Sport & Entertainment

Ashkelon

$79 3.3%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 14.7% $12

Getting Around

Ashkelon

$74 3.1%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 47.4% $35

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,144 in Ashkelon and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ashkelon pays 504% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $81.0 in Ashkelon vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $422 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇱 Ashkelon

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

07:15 7:15 AM

11:15 11:15 AM

4 h ahead of Ashkelon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

152,439

79,308

💱 Currency

Israeli New Shekel ILS ₪

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 ILS = 0.321 USD

1 ILS = 0.286 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to ILS – Israeli New Shekel Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇱 Israeli New Shekel (₪)

Israeli New Shekel exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.11 ILS (1 ILS = 0.321 USD). 1 EUR = 3.5 ILS (1 ILS = 0.286 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 ILS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ashkelon Phuket 7,080 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Ashkelon
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

Ashkelon vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 98% lower than in Ashkelon. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 504% higher in Ashkelon, 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: $1,144 in Ashkelon versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $81.0 in Ashkelon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,394 per month in Ashkelon versus $1,207 in Phuket – a 98% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,394 in Ashkelon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Ashkelon. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Phuket delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,207 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Phuket hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ashkelon 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 Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 98% less than in Ashkelon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.