Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hawalli and Phuket

Name: Phuket
Address: Phuket, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in Hawalli: $667 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

32

Cost of Living Index in Hawalli
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Hawalli Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Hawalli

🇰🇼 Kuwait

$667

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $667 per month in Hawalli vs $1,207 in Phuket, rent included.

Hawalli $667
Phuket $1,207

A couple spends around $2,779 per month in Hawalli vs $2,037 in Phuket, rent included.

Hawalli $2,779
Phuket $2,037

A family of three spends $4,892 per month in Hawalli vs $2,867 in Phuket, rent included.

Hawalli $4,892
Phuket $2,867

Hawalli is about 45% cheaper than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Hawalli and Phuket are more affordable than the global median – Hawalli 51% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.89 KWD 1.51

$4.58 ฿153

6.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.8 KWD 19.97

$32.48 ฿1,086

99.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.77 KWD 2.70

$8.55 ฿286

2.57%

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

$2.72 ฿91.0

76.10%

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

$0.44 KWD 0.14

$0.94 ฿31.25

-53.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 KWD 0.09

$0.49 ฿16.39

-40.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 KWD 0.49

$1.74 ฿58.1

-9.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 KWD 0.47

$1.43 ฿47.82

6.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.96 KWD 0.60

$1.53 ฿51.0

28.10%

Eggs

$2.08 KWD 0.64

$2.17 ฿72.7

-4.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.14 KWD 0.97

$19.15 ฿640

-83.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.72 KWD 1.45

$3.30 ฿110

43.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$3.27 KWD 1.01

$11.14 ฿372

-70.65%

Apples (1kg)

$2.47 KWD 0.76

$2.95 ฿98.5

-16.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 KWD 0.58

$1.68 ฿56.1

13.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 KWD 0.54

$2.30 ฿76.8

-23.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 KWD 0.45

$2.13 ฿71.3

-30.99%

Potato (1kg)

$1.31 KWD 0.40

$1.53 ฿51.1

-14.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.42 KWD 0.44

$1.36 ฿45.55

4.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.35 KWD 0.72

$1.12 ฿37.44

109.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 KWD 0.16

$0.55 ฿18.24

-3.64%

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

$4.26 ฿142

-35.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿608

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.3

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.83 KWD 0.26

$2.22 ฿74.1

-62.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$49.05 KWD 15.11

$22.06 ฿737

122.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.73 KWD 1.46

$2.91 ฿97.3

62.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.29 KWD 1.01

$1.01 ฿33.79

225.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.74 KWD 4.85

$3.83 ฿128

310.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.35 KWD 0.11

$1.49 ฿49.85

-76.51%

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

$21.0K KWD 6,484

$26.7K ฿891.6K

-21.11%

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

$20.3K KWD 6,246

$26.7K ฿892.7K

-24.11%

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

$66.5 KWD 20.49

$99.4 ฿3,321

-33.08%

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

$22.61 KWD 6.97

$11.28 ฿377

100.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.42 KWD 7.83

$17.36 ฿580

46.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.8 KWD 19.66

$52.3 ฿1,747

22.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$11.40 KWD 3.51

$7.57 ฿253

50.59%

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

$299 KWD 92.1

$558 ฿18.7K

-46.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,529 KWD 2,936

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-17.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$31.80 KWD 9.80

$62.9 ฿2,102

-49.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.08 KWD 12.04

$28.58 ฿955

36.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.7 KWD 30.09

$96.1 ฿3,213

1.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.1 KWD 27.45

$88.1 ฿2,943

1.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,238 KWD 998

$1,222 ฿40.8K

164.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,865 KWD 575

$493 ฿16.5K

278.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.53

5.57

17.24%

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

Last update for Hawalli: October 11, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Hawalli

$151 22.6%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 77.5% $117

Eating Out

Hawalli

$126 18.9%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 3.6% $4.5

Clothing & Footwear

Hawalli

$116 17.4%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 7% $8.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hawalli

$115 17.2%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 11.8% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Hawalli

$87 13%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 22.2% $19

Getting Around

Hawalli

$74 11%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 47.1% $35

Accommodation & Living

Hawalli

- * 0%

Phuket

$460 38.1%

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

Cost Breakdown

Salaries run about 278% 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 $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries tell a different story – $151 in Hawalli vs $268 in Phuket – so Hawalli wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇰🇼 Hawalli

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

08:41 8:41 AM

12:41 12:41 PM

4 h ahead of Hawalli

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

164,212

79,308

💱 Currency

Kuwaiti Dinar KWD د.ك

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 KWD = 3.25 USD

1 KWD = 2.89 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, 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).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to KWD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Hawalli Phuket 5,760 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Hawalli
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

Hawalli vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $667 in Hawalli, $1,207 in Phuket – roughly 81% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,001 per month in Hawalli and $1,811 in Phuket. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Groceries cost about 78% more in Phuket, 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 $32.00 in Phuket. 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 Phuket at $1,207. In Hawalli it covers expenses comfortably, while in Phuket it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Phuket has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $667 in Hawalli to $1,207 in Phuket. 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, Phuket makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.