Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hurghada and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Hurghada: $473 a month against $1,190 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $8,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Hurghada
🇪🇬 Egypt
$473
/mo nomad
Phuket
🇹🇭 Thailand
$1,190
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $473 per month in Hurghada vs $1,190 in Phuket, rent included.

  • Hurghada $473
  • Phuket $1,190

A couple spends around $963 per month in Hurghada vs $2,006 in Phuket, rent included.

  • Hurghada $963
  • Phuket $2,006

A family of three spends $1,453 per month in Hurghada vs $2,822 in Phuket, rent included.

  • Hurghada $1,453
  • Phuket $2,822

Hurghada is about 60% cheaper than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Hurghada and Phuket are more affordable than the global median – Hurghada 65% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Hurghada
Phuket
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$3.88 E£203
$4.35 ฿146
-10.80%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$39.97 E£2,091
$32.45 ฿1,087
23.17%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$5.82 E£304
$8.42 ฿282
-30.88%
Cappuccino
$1.94 E£102
$2.81 ฿94.0
-30.96%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.48 E£25.05
$0.87 ฿29.29
-44.83%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.20 E£10.35
$0.46 ฿15.39
-56.52%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.92 E£101
$2.59 ฿86.6
-25.87%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.12 E£163
$3.64 ฿122
-14.29%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Hurghada
Phuket
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$0.94 E£49.30
$1.71 ฿57.2
-45.03%
White Bread (500g)
$0.78 E£40.66
$1.45 ฿48.42
-46.21%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$0.60 E£31.59
$1.56 ฿52.3
-61.54%
Eggs
$1.92 E£101
$2.10 ฿70.3
-8.57%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$3.25 E£170
$19.53 ฿654
-83.36%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$5.87 E£307
$3.40 ฿114
72.65%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$9.62 E£503
$11.14 ฿373
-13.64%
Apples (1kg)
$1.42 E£74.4
$2.83 ฿94.8
-49.82%
Banana (1kg)
$0.48 E£24.94
$1.62 ฿54.3
-70.37%
Oranges (1kg)
$0.41 E£21.47
$2.22 ฿74.5
-81.53%
Tomato (1kg)
$0.43 E£22.52
$2.15 ฿71.9
-80.00%
Potato (1kg)
$0.34 E£17.81
$1.49 ฿49.95
-77.18%
Onion (1kg)
$0.41 E£21.42
$1.33 ฿44.40
-69.17%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.27 E£13.97
$1.07 ฿35.72
-74.77%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.18 E£9.52
$0.51 ฿17.01
-64.71%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$2.14 E£112
$4.38 ฿147
-51.14%
Wine (Bottle)
$7.43 E£389
$18.77 ฿629
-60.42%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.21 E£63.3
$1.74 ฿58.3
-30.46%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.74 E£91.2
$2.78 ฿92.9
-37.41%
🚌 Getting Around
Hurghada
Phuket
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.20 E£10.27
$2.17 ฿72.6
-90.78%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$5.72 E£299
$22.28 ฿746
-74.33%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.98 E£51.4
$3.02 ฿101
-67.55%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.20 E£10.37
$1.06 ฿35.43
-81.13%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$1.93 E£101
$3.71 ฿124
-47.98%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$0.45 E£23.69
$1.43 ฿47.88
-68.53%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$31.8K E£1.7M
$26.3K ฿882.1K
20.63%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$22.3K E£1.2M
$26.2K ฿877.3K
-14.74%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Hurghada
Phuket
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$24.80 E£1,298
$96.7 ฿3,236
-74.34%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$7.72 E£404
$11.41 ฿382
-32.34%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$9.60 E£502
$17.11 ฿573
-43.89%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Hurghada
Phuket
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$27.21 E£1,424
$52.8 ฿1,768
-48.47%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$5.99 E£313
$11.07 ฿371
-45.89%
Cinema Ticket
$3.36 E£176
$7.65 ฿256
-56.08%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Hurghada
Phuket
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$99.9 E£5,229
$555 ฿18.6K
-81.98%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$604 E£31.6K
$11.3K ฿377.7K
-94.65%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Hurghada
Phuket
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$20.13 E£1,053
$63.4 ฿2,123
-68.26%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$32.96 E£1,724
$28.61 ฿958
15.20%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
-
$96.7 ฿3,238
-
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$28.43 E£1,487
$88.6 ฿2,967
-67.92%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Hurghada
Phuket
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$213 E£11.2K
$735 ฿24.6K
-70.97%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$119 E£6,245
$458 ฿15.3K
-73.94%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$216 E£11.3K
$2,102 ฿70.4K
-89.71%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$555 E£29.0K
$1,187 ฿39.7K
-53.25%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$553 E£28.9K
$3,493 ฿116.9K
-84.18%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$602 E£31.5K
$2,491 ฿83.4K
-75.84%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Hurghada
Phuket
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$154 E£8,082
$501 ฿16.8K
-69.16%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
0
5.57
-

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

Last update for Hurghada: October 3, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Groceries & Markets
Hurghada
$139
Phuket
$268 93.5% $129
Accommodation & Living
Hurghada
$119
Phuket
$458 284% $339
Eating Out
Hurghada
$90
Phuket
$119 32% $29
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Hurghada
$42
Phuket
$125 197% $83
Clothing & Footwear
Hurghada
$37 *
Phuket
$125 240% $88
Sport & Entertainment
Hurghada
$34
Phuket
$68 101% $34
Getting Around
Hurghada
$8.5
Phuket
$39 363% $31

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $213 in Hurghada versus $735 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 run about 224% higher in Phuket, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $40.00 in Hurghada versus $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries tell a different story – $139 in Hurghada vs $268 in Phuket – so Hurghada wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know
🇪🇬 Hurghada
🇹🇭 Phuket
🕒 Local time
13:06 1:06 PM
17:06 5:06 PM
4 h ahead of Hurghada
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
160,901
79,308
💱 Currency
Thai Baht THB ฿
Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 52.32 EGP (100 EGP = 1.91 USD). 1 EUR = 58.63 EGP (100 EGP = 1.71 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Hurghada Phuket 7,100 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Hurghada
  • 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
Hurghada vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Phuket cheaper than Hurghada?
Yes – Phuket is pricier by about 152%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.
What income do you need for each city?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $709 per month in Hurghada and $1,785 in Phuket. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Which city has lower housing costs?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Hurghada, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.
What are total monthly expenses in Hurghada and in Phuket?
Monthly expenses with rent come to $473 in Hurghada and $1,190 in Phuket. That's a gap of about 152%.
Which city has cheaper public transport?
Public transport costs about 290% less in Hurghada. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Hurghada or in Phuket?
A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Hurghada, where all-in costs run around $473, than in Phuket at $1,190. In Hurghada it covers expenses comfortably, while in Phuket it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Is Hurghada or Phuket more family-friendly?
Families tend to lean toward Hurghada – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.
Which city is safer, Hurghada or Phuket?
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.
Which city is the better choice to relocate to?
If budget matters most, go with Hurghada. 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.

Hurghada vs other spots: cost of living compared

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