Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Gaborone and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Gaborone: $845 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Gaborone
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Gaborone Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Gaborone

🇧🇼 Botswana

$845

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $845 in Gaborone versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Gaborone $845
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,307 in Gaborone versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Gaborone $1,307
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,768 in Gaborone versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Gaborone $1,768
Phuket $3,154

Living in Gaborone costs roughly 34% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Gaborone 38% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.88 P 147

$4.47 ฿151

143.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.05 P 392

$32.41 ฿1,094

-10.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.76 P 77.8

$8.81 ฿297

-34.62%

Cappuccino

$2.35 P 31.67

$2.83 ฿95.5

-16.96%

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

$0.68 P 9.24

$0.87 ฿29.43

-21.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.40 P 5.46

$0.49 ฿16.67

-18.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.01 P 27.17

$2.56 ฿86.4

-21.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 P 33.44

$3.68 ฿124

-32.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 P 19.94

$1.66 ฿56.0

-10.84%

White Bread (500g)

$0.84 P 11.30

$1.46 ฿49.35

-42.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 P 24.04

$1.50 ฿50.6

18.67%

Eggs

$2.44 P 32.90

$2.09 ฿70.5

16.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.52 P 88.0

$19.07 ฿644

-65.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.43 P 59.8

$3.30 ฿111

34.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.99 P 67.3

$10.91 ฿368

-54.26%

Apples (1kg)

$1.59 P 21.40

$2.93 ฿99.0

-45.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 P 19.49

$1.69 ฿57.1

-14.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 P 26.74

$2.25 ฿75.8

-12.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.67 P 22.47

$2.08 ฿70.1

-19.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.30 P 17.47

$1.51 ฿51.0

-13.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.21 P 16.29

$1.38 ฿46.56

-12.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 P 17.27

$1.07 ฿35.99

19.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 P 13.10

$0.52 ฿17.52

86.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 P 48.56

$4.20 ฿142

-14.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.25 P 57.3

$18.79 ฿634

-77.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 P 18.68

$1.82 ฿61.5

-24.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 P 24.04

$2.84 ฿95.9

-37.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.62 P 8.40

$1.45 ฿49.03

-57.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.95 P 404

$56.7 ฿1,913

-47.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 P 8.14

$3.02 ฿102

-80.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.46 P 33.24

$1.02 ฿34.36

141.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.93 P 39.52

$3.69 ฿125

-20.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 P 17.84

$1.47 ฿49.81

-10.20%

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

$30.0K P 404.8K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

12.07%

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

$20.1K P 271.2K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-24.67%

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

$61.0 P 823

$96.4 ฿3,254

-36.72%

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

$18.34 P 247

$11.26 ฿380

62.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.67 P 589

$16.85 ฿569

159.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.07 P 460

$67.2 ฿2,270

-49.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.29 P 220

$10.73 ฿362

51.82%

Cinema Ticket

$6.23 P 84.1

$7.50 ฿253

-16.93%

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

$129 P 1,744

$476 ฿16.1K

-72.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,545 P 34.3K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-77.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.15 P 650

$62.4 ฿2,106

-22.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.72 P 226

$28.41 ฿959

-41.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.1 P 972

$94.3 ฿3,184

-23.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.6 P 1,060

$85.8 ฿2,898

-8.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$353 P 4,763

$716 ฿24.2K

-50.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$209 P 2,824

$491 ฿16.6K

-57.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$534 P 7,198

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-72.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$356 P 4,802

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-75.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,034 P 27.4K

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-51.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,260 P 17.0K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-58.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$451 P 6,087

$502 ฿17.0K

-10.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.33

5.57

103.41%

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

Last update for Gaborone: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Gaborone

$209 24.8%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 135% $282

Groceries & Markets

Gaborone

$172 20.3%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 55.1% $95

Eating Out

Gaborone

$152 18%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 19.9% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Gaborone

$123 14.6%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 1.2% $1.5

Clothing & Footwear

Gaborone

$97 11.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 25.7% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Gaborone

$47 5.5%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 76.7% $36

Getting Around

Gaborone

$45 5.4%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 55.6% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $353 in Gaborone and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 11% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $29 in Gaborone vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $172 vs $266 per month, with Gaborone cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇼 Gaborone

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

00:06 12:06 AM

05:06 5:06 AM

5 h ahead of Gaborone

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

231,626 Capital

79,308

💱 Currency

Botswana Pula BWP P

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 BWP = 7.41 USD

100 BWP = 6.66 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to BWP – Botswana Pula Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇼 Botswana Pula (P)

Botswana Pula exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 13.49 BWP (100 BWP = 7.41 USD). 1 EUR = 15.02 BWP (100 BWP = 6.66 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to BWP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Gaborone Phuket 8,640 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Gaborone
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

Gaborone vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Gaborone is about 34% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 10% lower in Gaborone. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $353 in Gaborone versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 55% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Gaborone – a meal for two runs $29 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $845 in Gaborone versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Gaborone but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Gaborone the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Gaborone and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Gaborone gentler on the wallet – expenses run 34% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.