Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Fujairah and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,437 in Fujairah, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

69

Cost of Living Index in Fujairah
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Fujairah Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Fujairah

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$1,437

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,437 per month in Fujairah vs $1,278 in Phuket, rent included.

Fujairah $1,437
Phuket $1,278

A couple spends around $3,976 per month in Fujairah vs $2,216 in Phuket, rent included.

Fujairah $3,976
Phuket $2,216

A family of three spends $6,516 per month in Fujairah vs $3,154 in Phuket, rent included.

Fujairah $6,516
Phuket $3,154

Fujairah costs about 12% more than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Fujairah sits 6% above the global median, while Phuket is 6% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.55 AED 27.73

$4.47 ฿151

68.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.26 AED 152

$32.41 ฿1,093

27.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.70 AED 28.28

$8.81 ฿297

-12.60%

Cappuccino

$5.70 AED 20.94

$2.83 ฿95.4

101.41%

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

$1.09 AED 4.00

$0.87 ฿29.41

25.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.42 AED 1.56

$0.49 ฿16.65

-14.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.64 AED 31.73

$2.56 ฿86.3

237.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.41 AED 34.58

$3.68 ฿124

155.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 AED 6.00

$1.66 ฿55.9

-1.81%

White Bread (500g)

$1.33 AED 4.88

$1.46 ฿49.31

-8.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.96 AED 7.19

$1.50 ฿50.5

30.67%

Eggs

$2.29 AED 8.42

$2.09 ฿70.5

9.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.75 AED 46.83

$19.07 ฿643

-33.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 AED 35.43

$3.30 ฿111

192.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.07 AED 29.65

$10.91 ฿368

-26.03%

Apples (1kg)

$1.82 AED 6.69

$2.93 ฿98.9

-37.88%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 AED 5.89

$1.69 ฿57.0

-5.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.49 AED 5.47

$2.25 ฿75.8

-33.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.92 AED 3.38

$2.08 ฿70.0

-55.77%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 AED 2.91

$1.51 ฿51.0

-47.68%

Onion (1kg)

$0.87 AED 3.20

$1.38 ฿46.52

-36.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.84 AED 3.09

$1.07 ฿35.96

-21.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 AED 1.58

$0.52 ฿17.51

-17.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.53 AED 20.32

$4.20 ฿142

31.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.59 AED 49.93

$18.79 ฿634

-27.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.23 AED 8.20

$1.82 ฿61.5

22.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 AED 9.22

$2.84 ฿95.8

-11.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.35 AED 12.32

$1.45 ฿48.98

131.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.02 AED 151

$56.7 ฿1,912

-27.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.80 AED 10.27

$3.02 ฿102

-7.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 AED 1.90

$1.02 ฿34.33

-49.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.39 AED 30.81

$3.69 ฿125

127.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.87 AED 3.18

$1.47 ฿49.76

-40.82%

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

$25.6K AED 94.2K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

-4.21%

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

$19.8K AED 72.8K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

-25.69%

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

$122 AED 448

$96.4 ฿3,251

26.59%

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

$39.31 AED 144

$11.26 ฿380

249.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$79.6 AED 293

$16.85 ฿568

372.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.45 AED 178

$67.2 ฿2,268

-27.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.59 AED 49.90

$10.73 ฿362

26.65%

Cinema Ticket

$10.74 AED 39.43

$7.50 ฿253

43.20%

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

$252 AED 926

$476 ฿16.1K

-47.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,571 AED 16.8K

$11.3K ฿380.0K

-59.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$22.13 AED 81.3

$62.4 ฿2,104

-64.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$13.48 AED 49.52

$28.41 ฿958

-52.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.6 AED 274

$94.3 ฿3,181

-20.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$62.0 AED 228

$85.8 ฿2,895

-27.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$588 AED 2,158

$716 ฿24.2K

-17.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$526 AED 1,932

$491 ฿16.6K

7.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,279 AED 19.4K

$1,927 ฿65.0K

173.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,603 AED 16.9K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

221.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,727 AED 13.7K

$502 ฿16.9K

641.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.5

5.57

-55.12%

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

Last update for Fujairah: October 27, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Fujairah

$526 36.6%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 6.7% $35

Groceries & Markets

Fujairah

$243 16.9%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 9.7% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Fujairah

$241 16.8%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 48.3% $116

Eating Out

Fujairah

$220 15.3%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 44.7% $98

Clothing & Footwear

Fujairah

$77 5.4%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 57.4% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Fujairah

$70 4.9%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 17.6% $12

Getting Around

Fujairah

$60 4.2%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 18% $11

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $588 in Fujairah 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 Fujairah are about 7.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $41 in Fujairah versus $32 in Phuket. Groceries tell a different story – $243 in Fujairah vs $266 in Phuket – so Fujairah wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Fujairah

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

03:59 3:59 AM

06:59 6:59 AM

3 h ahead of Fujairah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

93,673

79,308

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.244 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 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 November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.1 AED (1 AED = 0.244 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Fujairah Phuket 4,850 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Fujairah
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

Fujairah vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,437 in Fujairah, $1,278 in Phuket – Phuket comes out roughly 11% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,155 per month in Fujairah 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 Fujairah, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $588 there versus $716 in Phuket.

Kindergarten costs $252 per month in Fujairah and $476 in Phuket. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 9% cheaper in Fujairah – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

It depends on your priorities. Phuket has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,278 in Phuket to $1,437 in Fujairah. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

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