Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Beirut and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,657 in Beirut, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Beirut
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Beirut Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Beirut

🇱🇧 Lebanon

$1,657

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,657 in Beirut versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Beirut $1,657
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,643 in Beirut versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Beirut $2,643
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,628 in Beirut versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Beirut $3,628
Phuket $3,154

Living in Beirut is roughly 30% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Beirut is 22% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.13 LBP 1.1M

$4.47 ฿151

171.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.2 LBP 6.1M

$32.41 ฿1,094

110.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.86 LBP 882.6K

$8.81 ฿297

11.92%

Cappuccino

$4.46 LBP 399.2K

$2.83 ฿95.5

57.60%

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

$2.34 LBP 209.6K

$0.87 ฿29.43

168.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 LBP 80.9K

$0.49 ฿16.67

83.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.10 LBP 456.3K

$2.56 ฿86.4

99.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.89 LBP 437.7K

$3.68 ฿124

32.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 LBP 180.5K

$1.66 ฿56.0

21.69%

White Bread (500g)

$0.91 LBP 81.4K

$1.46 ฿49.35

-37.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 LBP 196.6K

$1.50 ฿50.6

46.67%

Eggs

$3.61 LBP 323.5K

$2.09 ฿70.5

72.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.87 LBP 973.3K

$19.07 ฿644

-43.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.58 LBP 947.2K

$3.30 ฿111

220.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.12 LBP 1.4M

$10.91 ฿368

38.59%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 LBP 277.0K

$2.93 ฿99.0

5.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.67 LBP 149.2K

$1.69 ฿57.1

-1.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.70 LBP 151.9K

$2.25 ฿75.8

-24.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 LBP 137.9K

$2.08 ฿70.1

-25.96%

Potato (1kg)

$1.26 LBP 113.1K

$1.51 ฿51.0

-16.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.53 LBP 137.3K

$1.38 ฿46.56

10.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 LBP 103.9K

$1.07 ฿35.99

8.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 LBP 63.8K

$0.52 ฿17.52

36.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.96 LBP 265.2K

$4.20 ฿142

-29.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.04 LBP 988.5K

$18.79 ฿634

-41.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.32 LBP 118.0K

$1.82 ฿61.5

-27.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.60 LBP 233.0K

$2.84 ฿95.9

-8.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 LBP 136.9K

$1.45 ฿49.03

5.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.4 LBP 6.7M

$56.7 ฿1,913

33.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.04 LBP 451.2K

$3.02 ฿102

66.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.28 LBP 204.0K

$1.02 ฿34.36

123.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.53 LBP 2.0M

$3.69 ฿125

510.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.04 LBP 93.2K

$1.47 ฿49.81

-29.25%

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

$53.3K LBP 4.8B

$26.8K ฿904.3K

99.21%

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

$33.3K LBP 3.0B

$26.7K ฿901.3K

24.62%

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

$210 LBP 18.8M

$96.4 ฿3,254

117.65%

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

$23.80 LBP 2.1M

$11.26 ฿380

111.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.87 LBP 3.4M

$16.85 ฿569

124.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$95.9 LBP 8.6M

$67.2 ฿2,270

42.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$33.37 LBP 3.0M

$10.73 ฿362

211.00%

Cinema Ticket

$10.16 LBP 909.0K

$7.50 ฿253

35.47%

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

$677 LBP 60.6M

$476 ฿16.1K

42.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K LBP 940.9M

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-6.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.4 LBP 5.9M

$62.4 ฿2,106

6.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.92 LBP 4.5M

$28.41 ฿959

75.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$141 LBP 12.7M

$94.3 ฿3,184

49.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 LBP 10.8M

$85.8 ฿2,898

40.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$946 LBP 84.7M

$716 ฿24.2K

32.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$495 LBP 44.3M

$491 ฿16.6K

0.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,209 LBP 197.7M

$1,927 ฿65.1K

14.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,044 LBP 93.4M

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-27.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,473 LBP 400.3M

$4,175 ฿141.0K

7.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,892 LBP 169.3M

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-37.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$710 LBP 63.6M

$502 ฿17.0K

41.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

97.49%

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

Last update for Beirut: October 27, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Beirut

$495 29.9%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 0.9% $4.4

Groceries & Markets

Beirut

$277 16.7%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 4% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Beirut

$271 16.4%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 54.1% $147

Eating Out

Beirut

$228 13.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 46.7% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Beirut

$170 10.3%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 28.4% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Beirut

$116 7%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 29.3% $34

Getting Around

Beirut

$98 5.9%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 28% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $946 in Beirut and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Beirut pays 41% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $68 in Beirut vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $277 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇧 Beirut

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

23:19 11:19 PM

04:19 4:19 AM

5 h ahead of Beirut

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,916,100 Capital

79,308

💱 Currency

Lebanese Pound LBP ل.ل

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 LBP = 1.12 USD

100,000 LBP = 1 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to LBP – Lebanese Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇧 Lebanese Pound (ل.ل)

Lebanese Pound exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 89,500 LBP (100,000 LBP = 1.12 USD). 1 EUR = 99,632 LBP (100,000 LBP = 1 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 LBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Beirut Phuket 7,020 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Beirut
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

Beirut vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 23% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 41% higher in Beirut, 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: $946 in Beirut versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,657 per month in Beirut versus $1,278 in Phuket – Phuket is about 23% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 25% less than in Beirut. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,657 in Beirut, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Beirut. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket 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.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 23% less than in Beirut. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.