Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jeddah and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,395 in Jeddah, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

67

Cost of Living Index in Jeddah
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Jeddah Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Jeddah

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,395

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,395 per month in Jeddah vs $1,278 in Phuket, rent included.

Jeddah $1,395
Phuket $1,278

A couple spends around $2,167 per month in Jeddah vs $2,216 in Phuket, rent included.

Jeddah $2,167
Phuket $2,216

A family of three spends $2,940 per month in Jeddah vs $3,154 in Phuket, rent included.

Jeddah $2,940
Phuket $3,154

Jeddah costs about 9% more than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Jeddah sits 2% above the global median, while Phuket is 6% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.16 SAR 23.10

$4.47 ฿151

37.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.6 SAR 299

$32.41 ฿1,094

145.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.60 SAR 36.03

$8.81 ฿297

8.97%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.33 SAR 8.74

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 SAR 9.96

Cappuccino

$3.78 SAR 14.18

$2.83 ฿95.5

33.57%

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

$1.07 SAR 4.01

$0.87 ฿29.43

22.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 SAR 0.98

$0.49 ฿16.67

-46.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

Milk (1 liter)

$1.75 SAR 6.57

$1.66 ฿56.0

5.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.33 SAR 4.99

$1.46 ฿49.35

-8.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.26 SAR 8.47

$1.50 ฿50.6

50.67%

Eggs

$2.48 SAR 9.32

$2.09 ฿70.5

18.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.52 SAR 24.47

$19.07 ฿644

-65.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.02 SAR 30.09

$3.30 ฿111

143.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.98 SAR 48.70

$10.91 ฿368

18.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.10 SAR 7.88

$2.93 ฿99.0

-28.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.67 SAR 6.27

$1.69 ฿57.1

-1.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.55 SAR 5.80

$2.25 ฿75.8

-31.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.67 SAR 6.28

$2.08 ฿70.1

-19.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 SAR 4.37

$1.51 ฿51.0

-22.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 SAR 4.75

$1.38 ฿46.56

-7.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 SAR 4.17

$1.07 ฿35.99

3.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 SAR 2.04

$0.52 ฿17.52

3.85%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$4.24 SAR 15.90

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 SAR 6.86

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 SAR 9.45

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.59 SAR 24.72

$4.20 ฿142

56.90%

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)

$0.89 SAR 3.34

$1.45 ฿49.03

-38.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$55.1 SAR 207

$56.7 ฿1,913

-2.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.14 SAR 11.79

$3.02 ฿102

3.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.76 SAR 6.62

$1.02 ฿34.36

72.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.78 SAR 51.7

$3.69 ฿125

273.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.64 SAR 2.40

$1.47 ฿49.81

-56.46%

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

$38.9K SAR 145.9K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

45.20%

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

$21.7K SAR 81.3K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-18.84%

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

$91.3 SAR 342

$96.4 ฿3,254

-5.28%

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

$38.64 SAR 145

$11.26 ฿380

243.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$67.0 SAR 251

$16.85 ฿569

297.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.7 SAR 261

$67.2 ฿2,270

3.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$38.79 SAR 146

$10.73 ฿362

261.51%

Cinema Ticket

$11.88 SAR 44.58

$7.50 ฿253

58.40%

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

$786 SAR 2,951

$476 ฿16.1K

65.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K SAR 62.3K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

47.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$74.5 SAR 280

$62.4 ฿2,106

19.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.0 SAR 210

$28.41 ฿959

97.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 SAR 378

$94.3 ฿3,184

6.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.7 SAR 359

$85.8 ฿2,898

11.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$812 SAR 3,048

$716 ฿24.2K

13.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$558 SAR 2,093

$491 ฿16.6K

13.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,315 SAR 4,933

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-31.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$863 SAR 3,237

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-39.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,688 SAR 6,335

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-59.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,091 SAR 4,094

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-64.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,691 SAR 6,346

$502 ฿17.0K

236.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

5.57

-3.23%

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

Last update for Jeddah: 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

Jeddah

$558 40%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 12% $67

Groceries & Markets

Jeddah

$200 14.4%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 32.8% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jeddah

$197 14.1%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 36.8% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Jeddah

$147 10.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 17.1% $25

Eating Out

Jeddah

$129 9.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 5.4% $7

Sport & Entertainment

Jeddah

$93 6.7%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 12% $11

Getting Around

Jeddah

$71 5.1%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 0% $0

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $812 in Jeddah versus $716 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 in Jeddah are about 3.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $80 in Jeddah versus $32 in Phuket. Groceries tell a different story – $200 in Jeddah vs $266 in Phuket – so Jeddah wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Jeddah

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

01:11 1:11 AM

05:11 5:11 AM

4 h ahead of Jeddah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,430,697

79,308

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.239 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇦 Saudi Riyal (ر.س)

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.18 SAR (1 SAR = 0.239 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to SAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Jeddah Phuket 6,510 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Jeddah
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

Jeddah vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,395 in Jeddah, $1,278 in Phuket – Phuket comes out roughly 8% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in utilities.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,092 per month in Jeddah and $1,917 in Phuket. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Phuket, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $716 there versus $812 in Jeddah.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $80 in Jeddah and $32 in Phuket. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,395 in Jeddah and $1,278 in Phuket. That makes Phuket about 8% cheaper.

Families tend to lean toward Phuket – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

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