Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Byblos and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Byblos: $1,007 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Byblos, Lebanon
Phuket, Thailand
Byblos
🇱🇧 Lebanon
$1,007
/mo nomad
Phuket
🇹🇭 Thailand
$1,278
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,007 in Byblos versus $1,278 in Phuket.

  • Byblos $1,007
  • Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,618 in Byblos versus $2,216 in Phuket.

  • Byblos $1,618
  • Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,229 in Byblos versus $3,154 in Phuket.

  • Byblos $2,229
  • Phuket $3,154

Living in Byblos costs roughly 21% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Byblos 26% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Byblos
Phuket
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$9.05 LBP 809.9K
$4.47 ฿151
102.46%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$42.63 LBP 3.8M
$32.41 ฿1,093
31.53%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$6.97 LBP 623.5K
$8.81 ฿297
-20.89%
Cappuccino
$2.92 LBP 261.5K
$2.83 ฿95.4
3.18%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.98 LBP 87.5K
$0.87 ฿29.41
12.64%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.98 LBP 87.8K
$0.49 ฿16.65
100.00%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
-
$2.56 ฿86.3
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$3.68 ฿124
-
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Byblos
Phuket
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.21 LBP 108.1K
$1.66 ฿55.9
-27.11%
White Bread (500g)
$0.63 LBP 56.3K
$1.46 ฿49.31
-56.85%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.61 LBP 143.9K
$1.50 ฿50.5
7.33%
Eggs
$2.14 LBP 191.7K
$2.09 ฿70.5
2.39%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.96 LBP 801.6K
$19.07 ฿643
-53.02%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.26 LBP 739.4K
$3.30 ฿111
150.30%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$11.94 LBP 1.1M
$10.91 ฿368
9.44%
Apples (1kg)
$3.02 LBP 270.4K
$2.93 ฿98.9
3.07%
Banana (1kg)
$1.97 LBP 176.6K
$1.69 ฿57.0
16.57%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.02 LBP 91.5K
$2.25 ฿75.8
-54.67%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.95 LBP 174.3K
$2.08 ฿70.0
-6.25%
Potato (1kg)
$1.02 LBP 91.7K
$1.51 ฿51.0
-32.45%
Onion (1kg)
$0.99 LBP 88.3K
$1.38 ฿46.52
-28.26%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.97 LBP 87.0K
$1.07 ฿35.96
-9.35%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.97 LBP 86.9K
$0.52 ฿17.51
86.54%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
-
$4.20 ฿142
-
Wine (Bottle)
$3.91 LBP 350.3K
$18.79 ฿634
-79.19%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.55 LBP 138.5K
$1.82 ฿61.5
-14.84%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.95 LBP 174.1K
$2.84 ฿95.8
-31.34%
🚌 Getting Around
Byblos
Phuket
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.99 LBP 88.3K
$1.45 ฿48.98
-31.72%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$56.7 ฿1,912
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
-
$3.02 ฿102
-
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.02 LBP 90.9K
$1.02 ฿34.33
-
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
-
$3.69 ฿125
-
Gasoline (1 liter)
$0.92 LBP 82.5K
$1.47 ฿49.76
-37.41%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$22.1K LBP 2.0B
$26.8K ฿903.4K
-17.36%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$22.5K LBP 2.0B
$26.7K ฿900.5K
-15.62%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Byblos
Phuket
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$99.8 LBP 8.9M
$96.4 ฿3,251
3.58%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$22.87 LBP 2.0M
$11.26 ฿380
103.11%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$24.64 LBP 2.2M
$16.85 ฿568
46.23%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Byblos
Phuket
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$37.05 LBP 3.3M
$67.2 ฿2,268
-44.89%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$40.44 LBP 3.6M
$10.73 ฿362
276.89%
Cinema Ticket
$9.86 LBP 882.3K
$7.50 ฿253
31.47%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Byblos
Phuket
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$398 LBP 35.6M
$476 ฿16.1K
-16.46%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$2,941 LBP 263.2M
$11.3K ฿380.0K
-73.89%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Byblos
Phuket
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$101 LBP 9.0M
$62.4 ฿2,104
61.67%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$100 LBP 9.0M
$28.41 ฿958
253.36%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$122 LBP 10.9M
$94.3 ฿3,181
29.58%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$149 LBP 13.3M
$85.8 ฿2,895
73.50%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Byblos
Phuket
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$300 LBP 26.9M
$716 ฿24.2K
-58.07%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$227 LBP 20.3M
$491 ฿16.6K
-53.77%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$805 LBP 72.0M
$1,927 ฿65.0K
-58.23%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$406 LBP 36.4M
$1,431 ฿48.3K
-71.60%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$1,354 LBP 121.2M
$4,175 ฿140.9K
-67.57%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$827 LBP 74.0M
$3,045 ฿102.7K
-72.83%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Byblos
Phuket
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,017 LBP 91.0M
$502 ฿16.9K
102.47%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
8
5.57
43.63%

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

Last update for Byblos: 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
Byblos
$227
Phuket
$491 116% $264
Groceries & Markets
Byblos
$218
Phuket
$266 22% $48
Clothing & Footwear
Byblos
$213
Phuket
$122 42.6% $91
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Byblos
$147
Phuket
$124 15.5% $23
Eating Out
Byblos
$136 *
Phuket
$122 10.6% $14
Sport & Entertainment
Byblos
$57
Phuket
$82 44.8% $25
Getting Around
Byblos
$9 *
Phuket
$71 683% $62

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $300 in Byblos and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Byblos pays about 2 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $43 in Byblos vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $218 vs $266, with Byblos cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know
🇱🇧 Byblos
🇹🇭 Phuket
🕒 Local time
15:05 3:05 PM
20:05 8:05 PM
5 h ahead of Byblos
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
20,784
79,308
💱 Currency
Thai Baht THB ฿
Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to LBP – Lebanese Pound Converter

Lebanese Pound exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 89,500 LBP (100,000 LBP = 1.12 USD). 1 EUR = 99,933 LBP (100,000 LBP = 1 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Byblos Phuket 7,020 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Byblos
  • 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
Byblos vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Byblos cheaper than Phuket?
Byblos is about 21% cheaper overall, especially in transport, groceries, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
Where can you earn more: Byblos or Phuket?
Average pay in Byblos is about 2 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
What is the rent difference between Byblos and Phuket?
Rent for a central apartment: $300 in Byblos versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Childcare runs $398 in Byblos versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Is eating out cheaper in Byblos or in Phuket?
Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $43 in Byblos. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
Is $1,500 enough for either Byblos or Phuket?
Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Byblos gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.
Is it better to live in Byblos or in Phuket?
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.

Byblos vs other spots: cost of living compared

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