Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hawalli and Phnom Penh

For one person, living is cheaper in Hawalli: $667 a month against $1,035 in Phnom Penh, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phnom Penh outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

32

Cost of Living Index in Hawalli
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Hawalli Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Phnom Penh
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Phnom Penh Living Index

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Hawalli

🇰🇼 Kuwait

$667

/mo nomad

Phnom Penh

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$1,035

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Hawalli and in Phnom Penh

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

A single person spends $667 per month in Hawalli vs $1,035 in Phnom Penh, rent included.

Hawalli $667
Phnom Penh $1,035

A couple spends around $2,779 per month in Hawalli vs $1,675 in Phnom Penh, rent included.

Hawalli $2,779
Phnom Penh $1,675

A family of three spends $4,892 per month in Hawalli vs $2,315 in Phnom Penh, rent included.

Hawalli $4,892
Phnom Penh $2,315

Hawalli is about 36% cheaper than Phnom Penh, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Hawalli and Phnom Penh are more affordable than the global median – Hawalli 51% lower, Phnom Penh 23% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.89 KWD 1.51

$4.09 ៛16.6K

19.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.8 KWD 19.97

$39.96 ៛162.3K

62.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.77 KWD 2.70

$6.93 ៛28.2K

26.55%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.16 KWD 0.97

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 KWD 0.97

Cappuccino

$4.79 KWD 1.48

$2.97 ៛12.1K

61.28%

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

$0.44 KWD 0.14

$1.78 ៛7,248

-75.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 KWD 0.09

$0.66 ៛2,695

-56.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.03 ៛4,176

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 ៛12.0K

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 KWD 0.49

$2.19 ៛8,876

-27.85%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 KWD 0.47

$1.66 ៛6,757

-7.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.96 KWD 0.60

$1.11 ៛4,518

76.58%

Eggs

$2.08 KWD 0.64

$1.70 ៛6,899

22.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.14 KWD 0.97

$15.06 ៛61.2K

-79.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.72 KWD 1.45

$4.13 ៛16.8K

14.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$3.27 KWD 1.01

$9.00 ៛36.5K

-63.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.47 KWD 0.76

$4.04 ៛16.4K

-38.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 KWD 0.58

$1.78 ៛7,228

6.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 KWD 0.54

$4.35 ៛17.7K

-59.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 KWD 0.45

$2.10 ៛8,529

-30.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.31 KWD 0.40

$1.57 ៛6,391

-16.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.42 KWD 0.44

$1.23 ៛4,990

15.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.35 KWD 0.72

$1.18 ៛4,801

99.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 KWD 0.16

$0.77 ៛3,128

-31.17%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.25 KWD 1.00

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 KWD 0.31

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.39 KWD 0.43

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.74 KWD 0.84

$1.86 ៛7,555

47.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.01 ៛44.7K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.00 ៛4,082

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ៛7,042

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.83 KWD 0.26

$0.43 ៛1,741

93.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$49.05 KWD 15.11

$9.58 ៛38.9K

412.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.73 KWD 1.46

$1.09 ៛4,428

333.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.29 KWD 1.01

$1.03 ៛4,179

219.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.74 KWD 4.85

$5.13 ៛20.9K

206.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.35 KWD 0.11

$1.30 ៛5,284

-73.08%

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

$21.0K KWD 6,484

$34.4K ៛139.7M

-38.79%

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

$20.3K KWD 6,246

$44.9K ៛182.4M

-54.85%

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

$66.5 KWD 20.49

$104 ៛424.3K

-36.34%

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

$22.61 KWD 6.97

$7.48 ៛30.4K

202.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.42 KWD 7.83

$24.51 ៛99.6K

3.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.8 KWD 19.66

$41.31 ៛167.8K

54.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.87 ៛44.2K

Cinema Ticket

$11.40 KWD 3.51

$4.86 ៛19.7K

134.57%

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

$299 KWD 92.1

$669 ៛2.7M

-55.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,529 KWD 2,936

$11.0K ៛44.7M

-13.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$31.80 KWD 9.80

$28.43 ៛115.5K

11.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.08 KWD 12.04

$23.93 ៛97.2K

63.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.7 KWD 30.09

$91.7 ៛372.5K

6.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.1 KWD 27.45

$59.8 ៛242.7K

49.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$658 ៛2.7M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$375 ៛1.5M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,145 ៛4.6M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,238 KWD 998

$818 ៛3.3M

295.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,870 ៛11.7M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,519 ៛6.2M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,865 KWD 575

$325 ៛1.3M

474.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.53

8.07

-19.08%

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

Last update for Hawalli: October 11, 2026

Last update for Phnom Penh: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Hawalli

$151 22.6%

Phnom Penh

$253 24.4% 67.9% $102

Eating Out

Hawalli

$126 18.9%

Phnom Penh

$110 10.6% 12.6% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Hawalli

$116 17.4%

Phnom Penh

$92 8.9% 20.9% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hawalli

$115 17.2%

Phnom Penh

$136 13.2% 19.1% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Hawalli

$87 13%

Phnom Penh

$51 4.9% 41.1% $36

Getting Around

Hawalli

$74 11%

Phnom Penh

$18 1.7% 76.2% $56

Accommodation & Living

Hawalli

- * 0%

Phnom Penh

$375 36.3%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Salaries run about 474% higher in Hawalli, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $65.0 in Hawalli versus $40.00 in Phnom Penh. Groceries tell a different story – $151 in Hawalli vs $253 in Phnom Penh – so Hawalli wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇰🇼 Hawalli

🇰🇭 Phnom Penh

🕒 Local time

08:01 8:01 AM

12:01 12:01 PM

4 h ahead of Hawalli

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

164,212

2,009,264 Capital

💱 Currency

Kuwaiti Dinar KWD د.ك

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

📈 Exchange rate

1 KWD = 3.25 USD

1 KWD = 2.89 EUR

10,000 KHR = 2.46 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KHR, USD, EUR to KWD – Kuwaiti Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇼 Kuwaiti Dinar (د.ك)

Kuwaiti Dinar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.308 KWD (1 KWD = 3.25 USD). 1 EUR = 0.346 KWD (1 KWD = 2.89 EUR).

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 4,062 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.46 USD). 1 EUR = 4,567 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.19 EUR).

USD to KWD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Hawalli Phnom Penh 6,180 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Hawalli
Phnom Penh

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

Hawalli vs Phnom Penh: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $667 in Hawalli, $1,035 in Phnom Penh – roughly 55% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,001 per month in Hawalli and $1,553 in Phnom Penh. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Groceries cost about 68% more in Phnom Penh, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $65.0 in Hawalli and $40.00 in Phnom Penh. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Hawalli, where all-in costs run around $667, than in Phnom Penh at $1,035. In Hawalli it covers expenses comfortably, while in Phnom Penh it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Hawalli has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $667 in Hawalli to $1,035 in Phnom Penh. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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