Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Byumba and Phuket

Name: Phuket
Address: Phuket, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in Byumba: $411 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $9,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

20

Cost of Living Index in Byumba
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Byumba Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Byumba

🇷🇼 Rwanda

$411

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $411 per month in Byumba vs $1,207 in Phuket, rent included.

Byumba $411
Phuket $1,207

A couple spends around $661 per month in Byumba vs $2,037 in Phuket, rent included.

Byumba $661
Phuket $2,037

A family of three spends $911 per month in Byumba vs $2,867 in Phuket, rent included.

Byumba $911
Phuket $2,867

Byumba is about 66% cheaper than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Byumba and Phuket are more affordable than the global median – Byumba 70% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.79 RWF 4,098

$4.58 ฿153

-39.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.03 RWF 45.6K

$32.48 ฿1,086

-4.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.92 RWF 10.2K

$8.55 ฿286

-19.06%

Cappuccino

$2.40 RWF 3,529

$2.72 ฿91.0

-11.76%

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

$0.80 RWF 1,172

$0.94 ฿31.25

-14.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.57 RWF 844

$0.49 ฿16.39

16.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.00 RWF 1,471

$2.59 ฿86.6

-61.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 RWF 3,381

$3.83 ฿128

-39.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.81 RWF 1,194

$1.74 ฿58.1

-53.45%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 RWF 1,525

$1.43 ฿47.82

-27.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.32 RWF 1,941

$1.53 ฿51.0

-13.73%

Eggs

$1.58 RWF 2,327

$2.17 ฿72.7

-27.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.25 RWF 6,253

$19.15 ฿640

-77.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.72 RWF 6,945

$3.30 ฿110

43.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.55 RWF 6,696

$11.14 ฿372

-59.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.36 RWF 3,469

$2.95 ฿98.5

-20.00%

Banana (1kg)

$0.81 RWF 1,195

$1.68 ฿56.1

-51.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.49 RWF 2,184

$2.30 ฿76.8

-35.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.03 RWF 1,516

$2.13 ฿71.3

-51.64%

Potato (1kg)

$0.48 RWF 701

$1.53 ฿51.1

-68.63%

Onion (1kg)

$0.72 RWF 1,053

$1.36 ฿45.55

-47.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.66 RWF 969

$1.12 ฿37.44

-41.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 RWF 1,214

$0.55 ฿18.24

50.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.02 RWF 2,969

$4.26 ฿142

-52.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.25 RWF 15.1K

$18.19 ฿608

-43.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 RWF 1,441

$1.74 ฿58.2

-43.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 RWF 2,254

$2.79 ฿93.3

-45.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.79 RWF 4,103

$2.91 ฿97.3

-4.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 RWF 3,044

$1.01 ฿33.79

104.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.48 RWF 5,117

$3.83 ฿128

-9.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.90 RWF 2,792

$1.49 ฿49.85

27.52%

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

$26.6K RWF 39.1M

$26.7K ฿891.6K

-0.33%

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

$30.0K RWF 44.0M

$26.7K ฿892.7K

12.16%

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

$84.7 RWF 124.6K

$99.4 ฿3,321

-14.72%

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

$7.16 RWF 10.5K

$11.28 ฿377

-36.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.68 RWF 30.4K

$17.36 ฿580

19.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,747

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$3.30 RWF 4,855

$7.57 ฿253

-56.41%

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

$113 RWF 166.3K

$558 ฿18.7K

-79.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,444 RWF 13.9M

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-17.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.53 RWF 25.8K

$62.9 ฿2,102

-72.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.63 RWF 23.0K

$28.58 ฿955

-45.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$22.27 RWF 32.7K

$96.1 ฿3,213

-76.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$34.25 RWF 50.4K

$88.1 ฿2,943

-61.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.2

5.57

190.84%

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

Last update for Byumba: October 13, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Byumba

$152 36.9%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 76.3% $116

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Byumba

$113 27.4%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 13.7% $15

Eating Out

Byumba

$87 21.1%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 39.5% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Byumba

$40 9.8%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 207% $84

Getting Around

Byumba

$13 * 3.2%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 196% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Byumba

$6.6 * 1.6%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 922% $61

Accommodation & Living

Byumba

- * 0%

Phuket

$460 38.1%

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $31.00 in Byumba versus $32.00 in Phuket. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $152 vs $268 – making Byumba the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇷🇼 Byumba

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

01:46 1:46 AM

06:46 6:46 AM

5 h ahead of Byumba

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

43,134

79,308

💱 Currency

Rwandan Franc RWF Fr

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 RWF = 6.8 USD

10,000 RWF = 6.05 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to RWF – Rwandan Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇼 Rwandan Franc (Fr)

Rwandan Franc exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1,470 RWF (10,000 RWF = 6.8 USD). 1 EUR = 1,653 RWF (10,000 RWF = 6.05 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 RWF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Byumba Phuket 7,650 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Byumba
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

Byumba vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket costs about 193% more than Byumba, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $617 per month in Byumba and $1,811 in Phuket. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $31.00 in Byumba and $32.00 in Phuket. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 76% more in Phuket, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Byumba, where all-in costs run around $411, than in Phuket at $1,207. In Byumba it covers expenses comfortably, while in Phuket it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Byumba costs $411 versus $1,207 in Phuket. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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