Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buea and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Buea: $739 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Buea
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Buea Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Buea

🇨🇲 Cameroon

$739

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $739 in Buea versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Buea $739
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,340 in Buea versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Buea $1,340
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,941 in Buea versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Buea $1,941
Phuket $3,154

Living in Buea costs roughly 42% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Buea 46% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.69 FCFA 986

$4.47 ฿151

-62.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$117 FCFA 68.5K

$32.41 ฿1,093

261.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.06 FCFA 3,545

$8.81 ฿297

-31.21%

Cappuccino

$2.04 FCFA 1,194

$2.83 ฿95.4

-27.92%

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

$1.25 FCFA 732

$0.87 ฿29.40

43.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.46 FCFA 269

$0.49 ฿16.65

-6.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.99 FCFA 579

$2.56 ฿86.3

-61.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.50 FCFA 875

$3.68 ฿124

-59.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.78 FCFA 1,628

$1.66 ฿55.9

67.47%

White Bread (500g)

$0.40 FCFA 232

$1.46 ฿49.29

-72.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 FCFA 897

$1.50 ฿50.5

2.00%

Eggs

$1.87 FCFA 1,093

$2.09 ฿70.5

-10.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.74 FCFA 12.7K

$19.07 ฿643

14.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.58 FCFA 4,431

$3.30 ฿111

129.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.36 FCFA 2,550

$10.91 ฿368

-60.04%

Apples (1kg)

$3.43 FCFA 2,006

$2.93 ฿98.8

17.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 FCFA 804

$1.69 ฿57.0

-18.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.88 FCFA 514

$2.25 ฿75.7

-60.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.31 FCFA 769

$2.08 ฿70.0

-37.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.72 FCFA 1,008

$1.51 ฿51.0

13.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.39 FCFA 812

$1.38 ฿46.51

0.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.73 FCFA 425

$1.07 ฿35.95

-31.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 FCFA 359

$0.52 ฿17.50

17.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.64 FCFA 1,542

$4.20 ฿142

-37.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.70 FCFA 5,086

$18.79 ฿634

-53.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 FCFA 676

$1.82 ฿61.4

-36.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 FCFA 1,013

$2.84 ฿95.8

-39.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.97

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,911

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.27 FCFA 158

$3.02 ฿102

-91.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 FCFA 308

$1.02 ฿34.32

-48.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.99 FCFA 2,919

$3.69 ฿124

35.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.20 FCFA 699

$1.47 ฿49.75

-18.37%

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

$18.7K FCFA 10.9M

$26.8K ฿903.2K

-30.19%

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

$15.6K FCFA 9.1M

$26.7K ฿900.3K

-41.70%

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

$59.1 FCFA 34.6K

$96.4 ฿3,250

-38.64%

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

$16.88 FCFA 9,875

$11.26 ฿380

49.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$167 FCFA 97.8K

$16.85 ฿568

892.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.69 FCFA 15.0K

$67.2 ฿2,268

-61.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.25 FCFA 2,484

$10.73 ฿362

-60.39%

Cinema Ticket

$8.54 FCFA 4,993

$7.50 ฿253

13.87%

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

$506 FCFA 296.0K

$476 ฿16.1K

6.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,349 FCFA 2.0M

$11.3K ฿379.9K

-70.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$34.09 FCFA 19.9K

$62.4 ฿2,103

-45.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$65.7 FCFA 38.4K

$28.41 ฿958

131.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$137 FCFA 80.0K

$94.3 ฿3,180

44.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$67.9 FCFA 39.7K

$85.8 ฿2,894

-20.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.1K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$130 FCFA 76.2K

$502 ฿16.9K

-74.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

19.04

5.57

241.83%

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

Last update for Buea: October 24, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buea

$243 32.9%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 48.8% $119

Groceries & Markets

Buea

$242 32.8%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 10.1% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Buea

$137 18.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 11% $15

Eating Out

Buea

$71 9.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 71.5% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Buea

$43 5.8%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 92.3% $39

Getting Around

Buea

$2.9 * 0.4%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 2325% $68

Accommodation & Living

Buea

- * 0%

Phuket

$491 38.4%

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

Cost Breakdown

Phuket pays about 3.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $117 in Buea vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $242 vs $266, with Buea cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇲 Buea

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

13:28 1:28 PM

19:28 7:28 PM

6 h ahead of Buea

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,325,000

79,308

💱 Currency

Central African CFA Franc XAF Fr

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 XAF = 1.71 USD

1,000 XAF = 1.53 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to XAF – Central African CFA Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🌐 Central African CFA Franc (Fr)

Central African CFA Franc exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 585 XAF (1,000 XAF = 1.71 USD). 1 EUR = 653 XAF (1,000 XAF = 1.53 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.64 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to XAF in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Buea Phuket 9,850 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Buea
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

Buea vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $739 in Buea and $1,278 in Phuket, so Buea is about 42% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 74% lower in Buea. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Childcare runs $506 in Buea versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $117 in Buea. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $739 in Buea versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Buea but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Buea 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.

It comes down to priorities – Buea wins on affordability, Phuket on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.