Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between George Town and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $4,936 in George Town, rent and utilities included – about $44,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

238

Cost of Living Index in George Town
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George Town Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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George Town

🇰🇾 Cayman Islands

$4,936

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,936 in George Town versus $1,207 in Phuket.

George Town $4,936
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $7,405 in George Town versus $2,037 in Phuket.

George Town $7,405
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $9,875 in George Town versus $2,867 in Phuket.

George Town $9,875
Phuket $2,867

Living in George Town is roughly 309% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: George Town is 266% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$30.24 KYD 24.80

$4.58 ฿153

560.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$115 KYD 94.0

$32.48 ฿1,086

252.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$16.97 KYD 13.91

$8.55 ฿286

98.48%

Cappuccino

$7.16 KYD 5.87

$2.72 ฿91.0

163.24%

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

$2.99 KYD 2.45

$0.94 ฿31.25

218.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.86 KYD 2.35

$0.49 ฿16.39

483.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.10 KYD 5.82

$2.59 ฿86.6

174.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.42 KYD 7.73

$3.83 ฿128

145.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.67 KYD 3.83

$1.74 ฿58.1

168.39%

White Bread (500g)

$4.23 KYD 3.47

$1.43 ฿47.82

195.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.40 KYD 3.61

$1.53 ฿51.0

187.58%

Eggs

$7.29 KYD 5.98

$2.17 ฿72.7

235.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$55.9 KYD 45.87

$19.15 ฿640

192.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$18.98 KYD 15.56

$3.30 ฿110

475.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.38 KYD 15.89

$11.14 ฿372

73.97%

Apples (1kg)

$7.47 KYD 6.12

$2.95 ฿98.5

153.22%

Banana (1kg)

$3.62 KYD 2.96

$1.68 ฿56.1

115.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.01 KYD 4.93

$2.30 ฿76.8

161.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$7.95 KYD 6.52

$2.13 ฿71.3

273.24%

Potato (1kg)

$4.03 KYD 3.31

$1.53 ฿51.1

163.40%

Onion (1kg)

$3.96 KYD 3.24

$1.36 ฿45.55

191.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.18 KYD 2.61

$1.12 ฿37.44

183.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.25 KYD 1.85

$0.55 ฿18.24

309.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.50 KYD 11.89

$4.26 ฿142

240.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$25.15 KYD 20.62

$18.19 ฿608

38.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.14 KYD 3.40

$1.74 ฿58.2

137.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.37 KYD 4.40

$2.79 ฿93.3

92.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.34 KYD 1.92

$2.22 ฿74.1

5.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$79.7 KYD 65.4

$22.06 ฿737

261.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$19.10 KYD 15.66

$2.91 ฿97.3

556.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.86 KYD 3.16

$1.01 ฿33.79

282.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$45.76 KYD 37.52

$3.83 ฿128

1094.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 KYD 1.35

$1.49 ฿49.85

10.74%

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

$42.3K KYD 34.7K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

58.44%

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

$43.1K KYD 35.3K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

61.29%

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

$459 KYD 377

$99.4 ฿3,321

362.30%

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

$118 KYD 96.4

$11.28 ฿377

942.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$112 KYD 91.9

$17.36 ฿580

545.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$213 KYD 174

$52.3 ฿1,747

306.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.02 KYD 28.71

$10.85 ฿362

222.76%

Cinema Ticket

$18.78 KYD 15.40

$7.57 ฿253

148.08%

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

$1,840 KYD 1,509

$558 ฿18.7K

229.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$26.2K KYD 21.5K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

128.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.9 KYD 70.4

$62.9 ฿2,102

36.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$74.8 KYD 61.3

$28.58 ฿955

161.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 KYD 113

$96.1 ฿3,213

43.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$147 KYD 121

$88.1 ฿2,943

67.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,943 KYD 2,413

$729 ฿24.4K

303.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,491 KYD 2,042

$460 ฿15.4K

441.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,699 KYD 4,674

$2,096 ฿70.0K

171.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,661 KYD 3,822

$1,222 ฿40.8K

281.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,627 KYD 7,074

$3,459 ฿115.6K

149.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,246 KYD 1,842

$2,489 ฿83.2K

-9.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$7,354 KYD 6,030

$493 ฿16.5K

1391.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

43.63%

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

Last update for George Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

George Town

$2.5K 50.5%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 81.5% $2K

Groceries & Markets

George Town

$721 14.6%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 62.9% $453

Monthly Utilities & Internet

George Town

$689 14%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 81.4% $561

Eating Out

George Town

$457 9.3%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 73.4% $335

Sport & Entertainment

George Town

$250 5.1%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 73.1% $183

Clothing & Footwear

George Town

$201 4.1%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 38.2% $77

Getting Around

George Town

$127 2.6%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 69.5% $89

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,943 in George Town and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

George Town pays 1392% 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: $115 in George Town vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $721 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇾 George Town

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

16:58 4:58 PM

04:58 4:58 AM

12 h ahead of George Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

28,089 Capital

79,308

💱 Currency

Cayman Islands Dollar KYD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 KYD = 1.22 USD

1 KYD = 1.08 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to KYD – Cayman Islands Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇾 Cayman Islands Dollar ($)

Cayman Islands Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.82 KYD (1 KYD = 1.22 USD). 1 EUR = 0.922 KYD (1 KYD = 1.08 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 KYD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

George Town Phuket 16,990 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

George Town
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

George Town vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

George Town and Phuket differ by about 309% in total monthly costs ($4,936 vs $1,207 including rent). Phuket is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 1392% higher in George Town, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,943 in George Town versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $4,936 per month in George Town versus $1,207 in Phuket – a 309% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 261% less than in George Town. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $4,936 in George Town, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in George Town. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket 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, George Town and Phuket 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 Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 309% less than in George Town. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.