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

🙂 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 4.8% cheaper than Phuket without rent, and 3.2% more expensive with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Cape Town is 7.5% cheaper than Phuket without rent, and 16% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Cape Town
Phuket
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.02 R 196
$4.68 ฿151
135.47%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$44.54 R 792
$46.4 ฿1,502
-4.01%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$4.96 R 88.2
$8.65 ฿280
-42.66%
Cappuccino
$1.98 R 35.25
$3.09 ฿100
-35.92%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.16 R 20.6
$0.73 ฿23.53
58.90%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.87 R 15.46
$0.37 ฿11.95
135.14%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.82 R 50.1
$2.39 ฿77.4
17.99%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.47 R 43.97
$3.62 ฿117
-31.77%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Cape Town
Phuket
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.16 R 20.62
$2.24 ฿72.5
-48.21%
White Bread (500g)
$1.1 R 19.49
$1.8 ฿58.2
-38.89%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.83 R 32.49
$2.24 ฿72.3
-18.30%
Eggs
$2.39 R 42.45
$2.23 ฿72.1
7.17%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.28 R 147
$19.31 ฿625
-57.12%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$5.22 R 92.8
$3.77 ฿122
38.46%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$7.46 R 133
$13.05 ฿422
-42.84%
Apples (1kg)
$1.55 R 27.64
$3.28 ฿106
-52.74%
Banana (1kg)
$1.41 R 25.08
$1.63 ฿52.6
-13.50%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.45 R 25.83
$2.4 ฿77.7
-39.58%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.52 R 26.99
$1.99 ฿64.3
-23.62%
Potato (1kg)
$1.08 R 19.21
$1.53 ฿49.62
-29.41%
Onion (1kg)
$1.24 R 22.05
$1.49 ฿48.11
-16.78%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.09 R 19.32
$1.02 ฿32.87
6.86%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.98 R 17.46
$0.48 ฿15.61
104.17%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.04 R 54
$4.32 ฿140
-29.63%
Wine (Bottle)
$5.68 R 101
$21.68 ฿702
-73.80%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.42 R 25.18
$1.77 ฿57.3
-19.77%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.68 R 29.94
$2.79 ฿90.4
-39.78%
🚌 Getting Around
Cape Town
Phuket
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.91 R 16.22
$1.35 ฿43.74
-32.59%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$47.53 R 845
$11.76 ฿380
304.17%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.38 R 24.59
$3.15 ฿102
-56.19%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.95 R 16.94
$1 ฿32.3
-5.00%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$4.54 R 80.8
$13.64 ฿442
-66.72%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.23 R 21.88
$1.3 ฿42.2
-5.38%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21K R 373K
$27.4K ฿885.2K
-23.33%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24.5K R 434.9K
$33.9K ฿1.1M
-27.87%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cape Town
Phuket
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$99.2 R 1,764
$123 ฿3,970
-19.14%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$33.54 R 597
$13.93 ฿451
140.78%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$40.65 R 723
$18.24 ฿590
122.86%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Cape Town
Phuket
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$42.61 R 758
$60.8 ฿1,966
-29.86%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$8.17 R 145
$17.11 ฿554
-52.25%
Cinema Ticket
$6.85 R 122
$9.07 ฿294
-24.48%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Cape Town
Phuket
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$209 R 3,720
$694 ฿22.5K
-69.87%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,202 R 92.5K
$15.9K ฿514.4K
-67.27%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Cape Town
Phuket
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$55.1 R 980
$57.5 ฿1,861
-4.16%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$33.11 R 589
$34.51 ฿1,117
-4.06%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$111 R 1,974
$115 ฿3,727
-3.59%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$85.5 R 1,520
$84.8 ฿2,743
0.81%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Cape Town
Phuket
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$766 R 13.6K
$611 ฿19.8K
25.33%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$522 R 9,280
$442 ฿14.3K
17.99%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,434 R 25.5K
$2,014 ฿65.2K
-28.83%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,029 R 18.3K
$1,460 ฿47.2K
-29.50%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,000 R 35.6K
$4,244 ฿137.3K
-52.86%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,318 R 23.4K
$2,886 ฿93.4K
-54.32%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Cape Town
Phuket
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,641 R 29.2K
$697 ฿22.5K
135.56%
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: October 29, 2025

Last update for Phuket: October 29, 2025

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