Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ibb and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Ibb: $876 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Ibb
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Ibb Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Ibb

🇾🇪 Yemen

$876

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $876 in Ibb versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Ibb $876
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,454 in Ibb versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Ibb $1,454
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,033 in Ibb versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Ibb $2,033
Phuket $3,154

Living in Ibb costs roughly 31% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ibb 36% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.44 YER 1,519

$4.47 ฿151

44.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.83 YER 4,442

$32.41 ฿1,094

-41.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.28 YER 2,189

$8.81 ฿297

5.33%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.03 YER 480

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 YER 585

Cappuccino

$3.78 YER 891

$2.83 ฿95.4

33.57%

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

$1.12 YER 265

$0.87 ฿29.42

28.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.46 YER 108

$0.49 ฿16.66

-6.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

Milk (1 liter)

$1.96 YER 463

$1.66 ฿56.0

18.07%

White Bread (500g)

$0.98 YER 231

$1.46 ฿49.32

-32.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.06 YER 485

$1.50 ฿50.5

37.33%

Eggs

$3.69 YER 871

$2.09 ฿70.5

76.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.94 YER 3,287

$19.07 ฿643

-26.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.14 YER 1,921

$3.30 ฿111

146.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.05 YER 4,493

$10.91 ฿368

74.61%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 YER 778

$2.93 ฿98.9

12.63%

Banana (1kg)

$1.00 YER 236

$1.69 ฿57.0

-40.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.15 YER 508

$2.25 ฿75.8

-4.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.72 YER 405

$2.08 ฿70.1

-17.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.54 YER 362

$1.51 ฿51.0

1.99%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 YER 322

$1.38 ฿46.54

-0.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.88 YER 207

$1.07 ฿35.97

-17.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 YER 148

$0.52 ฿17.51

21.15%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.51 YER 591

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 YER 439

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.53 YER 596

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.93 YER 927

$4.20 ฿142

-6.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.13 YER 503

$3.02 ฿102

-29.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.69 YER 636

$1.02 ฿34.34

163.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.43 YER 1,753

$3.69 ฿125

101.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 YER 487

$1.47 ฿49.78

40.14%

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

$16.8K YER 4.0M

$26.8K ฿903.7K

-37.21%

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

$34.8K YER 8.2M

$26.7K ฿900.8K

30.30%

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

$62.4 YER 14.7K

$96.4 ฿3,252

-35.27%

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

$15.86 YER 3,741

$11.26 ฿380

40.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.91 YER 7,054

$16.85 ฿569

77.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$6.05 YER 1,426

$7.50 ฿253

-19.33%

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

$24.36 YER 5,747

$476 ฿16.1K

-94.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,204 YER 519.9K

$11.3K ฿380.1K

-80.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$29.62 YER 6,986

$62.4 ฿2,105

-52.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$121 YER 28.4K

$28.41 ฿959

324.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$48.16 YER 11.4K

$94.3 ฿3,182

-48.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.48 YER 9,549

$85.8 ฿2,896

-52.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$319 YER 75.2K

$716 ฿24.2K

-55.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$252 YER 59.4K

$491 ฿16.6K

-48.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$748 YER 176.4K

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-61.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$640 YER 150.9K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-55.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$361 YER 85.1K

$502 ฿17.0K

-28.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.25

5.57

101.97%

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

Last update for Ibb: 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

Ibb

$252 28.7%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 95.1% $239

Groceries & Markets

Ibb

$250 28.6%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 6.4% $16

Eating Out

Ibb

$131 15%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 7.1% $9.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ibb

$108 12.3%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 15.1% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Ibb

$107 12.3%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 13.4% $14

Getting Around

Ibb

$16 * 1.8%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 352% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Ibb

$12 * 1.4%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 580% $70

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $319 in Ibb and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 39% 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: $19 in Ibb vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $250 vs $266 per month, with Ibb cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇾🇪 Ibb

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

05:32 5:32 AM

09:32 9:32 AM

4 h ahead of Ibb

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

208,844

79,308

💱 Currency

Yemeni Rial YER ﷼

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 YER = 4.24 USD

1,000 YER = 3.8 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to YER – Yemeni Rial Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇾🇪 Yemeni Rial (﷼)

Yemeni Rial exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 236 YER (1,000 YER = 4.24 USD). 1 EUR = 263 YER (1,000 YER = 3.8 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to YER in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ibb Phuket 5,950 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Ibb
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

Ibb vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ibb is about 31% cheaper overall, especially in leisure, transport, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 28% lower in Ibb. 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: $319 in Ibb versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 6% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $876 per month in Ibb versus $1,278 in Phuket – Ibb is about 31% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $876 in Ibb versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ibb but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Ibb 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.

It comes down to priorities – Ibb wins on affordability, Phuket on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.