Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ismailia and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Ismailia: $330 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $10,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

16

Cost of Living Index in Ismailia
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Ismailia Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Ismailia

🇪🇬 Egypt

$330

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $330 in Ismailia versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Ismailia $330
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $561 in Ismailia versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Ismailia $561
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $792 in Ismailia versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Ismailia $792
Phuket $2,845

Living in Ismailia costs roughly 73% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ismailia 76% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.30 E£176

$4.40 ฿147

-25.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$14.58 E£778

$32.26 ฿1,078

-54.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.76 E£201

$8.76 ฿293

-57.08%

Cappuccino

$1.04 E£55.5

$2.83 ฿94.5

-63.25%

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

$0.30 E£15.91

$0.90 ฿30.14

-66.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.13 E£6.85

$0.47 ฿15.56

-72.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.32 E£70.6

$2.55 ฿85.2

-48.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 E£96.0

$3.83 ฿128

-53.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.79 E£42.30

$1.73 ฿57.7

-54.34%

White Bread (500g)

$0.36 E£19.07

$1.47 ฿49.11

-75.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.60 E£32.12

$1.51 ฿50.6

-60.26%

Eggs

$1.15 E£61.5

$2.17 ฿72.7

-47.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.49 E£186

$19.70 ฿658

-82.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.98 E£213

$3.34 ฿112

19.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.95 E£371

$11.16 ฿373

-37.72%

Apples (1kg)

$1.45 E£77.3

$2.85 ฿95.1

-49.12%

Banana (1kg)

$0.54 E£29.05

$1.70 ฿56.9

-68.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.41 E£22.01

$2.19 ฿73.3

-81.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.31 E£16.79

$2.05 ฿68.4

-84.88%

Potato (1kg)

$0.26 E£13.89

$1.45 ฿48.57

-82.07%

Onion (1kg)

$0.32 E£17.12

$1.38 ฿46.16

-76.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.23 E£12.31

$1.07 ฿35.69

-78.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.20 E£10.67

$0.51 ฿16.91

-60.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.86 E£99.5

$4.26 ฿142

-56.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.48 E£293

$18.58 ฿621

-70.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 E£55.4

$1.78 ฿59.7

-41.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 E£101

$2.85 ฿95.2

-33.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 E£12.26

$2.26 ฿75.6

-89.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$3.77 E£201

$22.10 ฿738

-82.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.39 E£20.60

$3.01 ฿101

-87.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.48 E£25.72

$1.06 ฿35.34

-54.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.13 E£60.2

$3.86 ฿129

-70.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.42 E£22.18

$1.45 ฿48.45

-71.03%

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

$27.6K E£1.5M

$26.3K ฿879.9K

4.99%

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

$14.6K E£780.2K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

-45.77%

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

$13.94 E£744

$96.4 ฿3,221

-85.54%

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

$6.66 E£355

$11.04 ฿369

-39.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.33 E£391

$17.14 ฿573

-57.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$9.65 E£515

$52.2 ฿1,744

-81.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.42 E£984

$11.16 ฿373

65.05%

Cinema Ticket

$1.82 E£97.4

$7.81 ฿261

-76.70%

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

$65.6 E£3,502

$556 ฿18.6K

-88.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,171 E£62.5K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

-89.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$12.92 E£690

$64.2 ฿2,146

-79.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$9.19 E£491

$28.69 ฿959

-67.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 E£6,764

$95.4 ฿3,187

32.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$27.53 E£1,470

$88.0 ฿2,940

-68.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$78.3 E£4,181

$737 ฿24.6K

-89.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$31.44 E£1,679

$462 ฿15.5K

-93.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$120 E£6,414

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-94.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$75.2 E£4,017

$1,201 ฿40.1K

-93.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$458 E£24.5K

$3,488 ฿116.6K

-86.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$131 E£6,984

$2,523 ฿84.3K

-94.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$101 E£5,387

$501 ฿16.7K

-79.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

21.33

5.57

282.94%

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

Last update for Ismailia: October 19, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Ismailia

$108 32.8%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 149% $161

Clothing & Footwear

Ismailia

$79 24.1%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 56.7% $45

Eating Out

Ismailia

$62 18.8%

Phuket

$121 10% 95.5% $59

Accommodation & Living

Ismailia

$31 9.5%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 1371% $431

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ismailia

$28 8.5%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 346% $97

Sport & Entertainment

Ismailia

$13 4%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 410% $54

Getting Around

Ismailia

$7.5 2.3%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 427% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $78.3 in Ismailia and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 396% 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: $15.00 in Ismailia vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $108 vs $269 per month, with Ismailia cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Ismailia

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

23:16 11:16 PM

03:16 3:16 AM

4 h ahead of Ismailia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

352,000

79,308

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ismailia Phuket 7,280 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Ismailia
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

Ismailia vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ismailia wins on cost – living expenses run 267% lower than in Phuket. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Ismailia the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 396% lower in Phuket. 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: $78.3 in Ismailia versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $65.6 in Ismailia versus $556 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 149% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $330 in Ismailia versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ismailia but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Ismailia the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Ismailia delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $330 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Ismailia hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ismailia 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 Ismailia gentler on the wallet – expenses run 267% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.