Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Phuket

Name: Phuket
Address: Phuket, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $611 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

29

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$611

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $611 per month in Cairo vs $1,278 in Phuket, rent included.

Cairo $611
Phuket $1,278

A couple spends around $970 per month in Cairo vs $2,216 in Phuket, rent included.

Cairo $970
Phuket $2,216

A family of three spends $1,329 per month in Cairo vs $3,154 in Phuket, rent included.

Cairo $1,329
Phuket $3,154

Cairo is about 52% cheaper than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cairo and Phuket are more affordable than the global median – Cairo 55% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.51 E£252

$4.47 ฿151

0.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.00 E£1,511

$32.41 ฿1,094

-16.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.34 E£299

$8.81 ฿297

-39.39%

Cappuccino

$1.72 E£96.0

$2.83 ฿95.5

-39.22%

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

$0.34 E£19.07

$0.87 ฿29.43

-60.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.14 E£8.09

$0.49 ฿16.67

-71.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.39 E£77.9

$2.56 ฿86.4

-45.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 E£120

$3.68 ฿124

-41.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.87 E£48.58

$1.66 ฿56.0

-47.59%

White Bread (500g)

$0.76 E£42.47

$1.46 ฿49.35

-47.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.63 E£35.12

$1.50 ฿50.6

-58.00%

Eggs

$1.09 E£60.9

$2.09 ฿70.5

-47.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.74 E£209

$19.07 ฿644

-80.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.61 E£258

$3.30 ฿111

39.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.42 E£471

$10.91 ฿368

-22.82%

Apples (1kg)

$1.69 E£94.4

$2.93 ฿99.0

-42.32%

Banana (1kg)

$0.68 E£38.20

$1.69 ฿57.1

-59.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.56 E£31.13

$2.25 ฿75.8

-75.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.47 E£26.18

$2.08 ฿70.1

-77.40%

Potato (1kg)

$0.38 E£21.53

$1.51 ฿51.0

-74.83%

Onion (1kg)

$0.39 E£21.82

$1.38 ฿46.56

-71.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.33 E£18.74

$1.07 ฿35.99

-69.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.22 E£12.33

$0.52 ฿17.52

-57.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.85 E£104

$4.20 ฿142

-55.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.24 E£405

$18.79 ฿634

-61.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 E£79.3

$1.82 ฿61.5

-21.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 E£111

$2.84 ฿95.9

-30.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 E£17.32

$1.45 ฿49.03

-78.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.17 E£401

$56.7 ฿1,913

-87.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.35 E£19.47

$3.02 ฿102

-88.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.19 E£10.87

$1.02 ฿34.36

-81.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.46 E£81.5

$3.69 ฿125

-60.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.40 E£22.36

$1.47 ฿49.81

-72.79%

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

$32.3K E£1.8M

$26.8K ฿904.3K

20.69%

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

$24.9K E£1.4M

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-6.89%

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

$26.70 E£1,495

$96.4 ฿3,254

-72.29%

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

$7.51 E£420

$11.26 ฿380

-33.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.02 E£785

$16.85 ฿569

-16.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.01 E£1,512

$67.2 ฿2,270

-59.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.15 E£400

$10.73 ฿362

-33.36%

Cinema Ticket

$4.41 E£247

$7.50 ฿253

-41.20%

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

$117 E£6,527

$476 ฿16.1K

-75.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,269 E£182.9K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-70.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.71 E£2,111

$62.4 ฿2,106

-39.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.61 E£2,665

$28.41 ฿959

67.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 E£6,110

$94.3 ฿3,184

15.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$55.6 E£3,114

$85.8 ฿2,898

-35.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$203 E£11.4K

$716 ฿24.2K

-71.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$188 E£10.5K

$491 ฿16.6K

-61.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$524 E£29.3K

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-72.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$318 E£17.8K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-77.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$793 E£44.4K

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-81.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$484 E£27.1K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-84.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$185 E£10.3K

$502 ฿17.0K

-63.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

5.57

191.02%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 24, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$188 30.7%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 161% $303

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$131 21.5%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 103% $135

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$113 18.4%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 8.3% $9.3

Eating Out

Cairo

$86 14.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 41.7% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$48 7.9%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 158% $76

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$36 5.9%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 130% $46

Getting Around

Cairo

$9.7 1.6%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 625% $61

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $203 in Cairo versus $716 in Phuket. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Phuket are about 2.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $27 in Cairo versus $32 in Phuket. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $131 vs $266 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

12:11 12:11 PM

16:11 4:11 PM

4 h ahead of Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

79,308

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.79 USD

100 EGP = 1.61 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 55.97 EGP (100 EGP = 1.79 USD). 1 EUR = 62.29 EGP (100 EGP = 1.61 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cairo Phuket 7,370 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
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

Cairo vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Phuket is pricier by about 109%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $917 per month in Cairo and $1,917 in Phuket. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cairo, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $203 there versus $716 in Phuket.

Groceries cost about 103% 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 mid-range dinner for two costs $27 in Cairo and $32 in Phuket. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Cairo, where all-in costs run around $611, than in Phuket at $1,278. In Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Phuket it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Cairo – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Cairo. 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.