Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Phuket Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Phuket

🙂 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 2.7% cheaper than Phuket without rent, and 1.9% more expensive with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Cape Town is 6.3% cheaper than Phuket without rent, and 18.3% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Cape Town
Phuket
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.12 R 185
$4.65 ฿148
139.14%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$44.86 R 746
$46.11 ฿1,463
-2.71%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$5.00 R 83.1
$8.74 ฿277
-42.79%
Cappuccino
$2.05 R 34.12
$3.04 ฿96.4
-32.57%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.12 R 18.60
$0.72 ฿22.85
55.56%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.81 R 13.48
$0.39 ฿12.41
107.69%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.85 R 47.40
$2.44 ฿77.4
16.80%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.58 R 42.80
$3.79 ฿120
-31.93%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Cape Town
Phuket
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.15 R 19.17
$2.14 ฿68.0
-46.26%
White Bread (500g)
$1.04 R 17.32
$1.86 ฿59.0
-44.09%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.85 R 30.68
$2.19 ฿69.4
-15.53%
Eggs
$2.43 R 40.32
$2.25 ฿71.2
8.00%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.49 R 141
$19.73 ฿626
-56.97%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$5.17 R 85.9
$3.79 ฿120
36.41%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$7.49 R 124
$13.55 ฿430
-44.72%
Apples (1kg)
$1.51 R 25.17
$3.25 ฿103
-53.54%
Banana (1kg)
$1.44 R 23.93
$1.67 ฿53.0
-13.77%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.45 R 24.12
$2.39 ฿75.9
-39.33%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.58 R 26.25
$2.09 ฿66.4
-24.40%
Potato (1kg)
$1.12 R 18.53
$1.53 ฿48.50
-26.80%
Onion (1kg)
$1.23 R 20.37
$1.51 ฿47.89
-18.54%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.08 R 18.03
$0.99 ฿31.37
9.09%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.00 R 16.60
$0.51 ฿16.33
96.08%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.10 R 51.5
$4.27 ฿136
-27.40%
Wine (Bottle)
$6.46 R 107
$20.31 ฿644
-68.19%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.39 R 23.14
$1.79 ฿56.8
-22.35%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.74 R 28.84
$2.77 ฿87.8
-37.18%
🚌 Getting Around
Cape Town
Phuket
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.93 R 15.49
$1.40 ฿44.54
-33.57%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$47.00 R 781
$11.70 ฿371
301.71%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.43 R 23.69
$3.11 ฿98.7
-54.02%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.98 R 16.35
$0.99 ฿31.55
-1.01%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$4.35 R 72.3
$13.73 ฿436
-68.32%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.25 R 20.78
$1.32 ฿41.84
-5.30%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.5K R 357.7K
$27.2K ฿863.9K
-20.97%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24.0K R 398.6K
$34.1K ฿1.1M
-29.69%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cape Town
Phuket
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$101 R 1,672
$120 ฿3,819
-16.45%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$32.78 R 545
$13.93 ฿442
135.32%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$41.87 R 696
$18.31 ฿581
128.67%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Cape Town
Phuket
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$41.03 R 682
$60.9 ฿1,933
-32.66%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$8.21 R 136
$17.23 ฿547
-52.35%
Cinema Ticket
$6.91 R 115
$8.71 ฿276
-20.67%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Cape Town
Phuket
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$213 R 3,547
$698 ฿22.1K
-69.42%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,248 R 87.2K
$15.7K ฿499.1K
-66.64%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Cape Town
Phuket
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$54.6 R 908
$57.6 ฿1,828
-5.20%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$33.30 R 553
$34.24 ฿1,086
-2.75%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$111 R 1,849
$113 ฿3,590
-1.67%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$83.4 R 1,386
$84.8 ฿2,690
-1.71%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Cape Town
Phuket
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$749 R 12.5K
$604 ฿19.2K
24.08%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$517 R 8,586
$436 ฿13.8K
18.46%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,460 R 24.3K
$2,057 ฿65.2K
-29.04%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,008 R 16.8K
$1,498 ฿47.5K
-32.70%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,156 R 35.8K
$4,252 ฿134.9K
-49.30%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,484 R 24.7K
$2,988 ฿94.8K
-50.32%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Cape Town
Phuket
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,625 R 27.0K
$529 ฿16.8K
206.96%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.77
5.33
120.83%

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

Last update for Cape Town: March 2, 2026

Last update for Phuket: February 28, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.
Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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