Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Nakhon Si Thammarat

For one person, living is cheaper in Nakhon Si Thammarat: $995 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $22,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

140

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index
48

Cost of Living Index in Nakhon Si Thammarat
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Nakhon Si Thammarat Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Nakhon Si Thammarat

🇹🇭 Thailand

$995

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Nakhon Si Thammarat

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Dubai and in Nakhon Si Thammarat actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,896 in Dubai versus $995 in Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Dubai $2,896
Nakhon Si Thammarat $995

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,384 in Dubai versus $1,636 in Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Dubai $4,384
Nakhon Si Thammarat $1,636

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,872 in Dubai versus $2,276 in Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Dubai $5,872
Nakhon Si Thammarat $2,276

Living in Dubai is roughly 191% more expensive than in Nakhon Si Thammarat, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 115% above, Nakhon Si Thammarat is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$2.94 ฿98.3

330.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$32.58 ฿1,089

150.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$8.72 ฿291

7.11%

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$2.71 ฿90.6

117.34%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$0.95 ฿31.76

77.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$0.46 ฿15.45

69.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

$2.55 ฿85.1

435.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

$3.82 ฿128

253.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$1.64 ฿54.8

12.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$1.39 ฿46.42

7.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$1.57 ฿52.5

63.69%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$2.17 ฿72.4

53.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

$19.11 ฿639

-34.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

$3.33 ฿111

190.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

$11.25 ฿376

13.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$2.95 ฿98.5

-11.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$1.70 ฿56.7

11.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$2.30 ฿76.9

-16.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$2.13 ฿71.1

-35.68%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$1.50 ฿50.1

-24.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.39 ฿46.30

-27.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$1.07 ฿35.86

34.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$0.54 ฿18.14

24.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$4.20 ฿140

40.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

$18.34 ฿613

-11.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

$1.77 ฿59.1

53.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$2.79 ฿93.2

10.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

$0.93 ฿31.17

72.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 AED 11.91

$2.96 ฿98.9

9.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$1.05 ฿35.22

-32.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$3.73 ฿125

113.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$1.49 ฿49.76

-34.23%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$26.6K ฿889.4K

2.90%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$26.9K ฿900.2K

-18.21%

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

$249 AED 913

$99.9 ฿3,338

148.77%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$11.29 ฿377

382.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$17.16 ฿573

433.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

$46.87 ฿1,566

120.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

$14.10 ฿471

200.14%

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$7.44 ฿249

118.95%

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

$844 AED 3,098

$553 ฿18.5K

52.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$11.3K ฿377.4K

61.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$63.8 ฿2,132

5.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$28.61 ฿956

102.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$96.6 ฿3,229

5.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$88.0 ฿2,940

12.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

$443 ฿14.8K

440.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$293 ฿9,808

422.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$1,392 ฿46.5K

229.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

$725 ฿24.2K

305.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

$1,957 ฿65.4K

260.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

$1,588 ฿53.1K

165.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

5.57

-18.49%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Nakhon Si Thammarat: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Nakhon Si Thammarat

$293 29.5% 80.9% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Nakhon Si Thammarat

$128 12.9% 67.5% $266

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Nakhon Si Thammarat

$108 10.9% 64.5% $197

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Nakhon Si Thammarat

$267 26.8% 8.5% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Nakhon Si Thammarat

$125 12.5% 15% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Nakhon Si Thammarat

$62 6.2% 54.6% $74

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Nakhon Si Thammarat

$12 * 1.2% 86.6% $77

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 $2,393 in Dubai and $443 in Nakhon Si Thammarat. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $82.0 in Dubai vs $33.00 in Nakhon Si Thammarat for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $267 per month, with Nakhon Si Thammarat cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇹🇭 Nakhon Si Thammarat

🕒 Local time

18:12 6:12 PM

21:12 9:12 PM

3 h ahead of Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

102,152

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dubai Nakhon Si Thammarat 5,080 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Nakhon Si Thammarat

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

Dubai vs Nakhon Si Thammarat: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nakhon Si Thammarat is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 191% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $4,344 in Dubai and $1,493 in Nakhon Si Thammarat to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,393 in Dubai versus $443 in Nakhon Si Thammarat. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 9% higher in Dubai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,896 per month in Dubai versus $995 in Nakhon Si Thammarat – a 191% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $995 in Nakhon Si Thammarat versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Nakhon Si Thammarat but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Nakhon Si Thammarat the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Nakhon Si Thammarat is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Dubai, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Dubai and Nakhon Si Thammarat are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Nakhon Si Thammarat gentler on the wallet – expenses run 191% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.