Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kabwe and Phuket

Name: Phuket
Address: Phuket, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in Kabwe: $567 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

27

Cost of Living Index in Kabwe
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Kabwe Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Kabwe

🇿🇲 Zambia

$567

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $567 per month in Kabwe vs $1,278 in Phuket, rent included.

Kabwe $567
Phuket $1,278

A couple spends around $899 per month in Kabwe vs $2,216 in Phuket, rent included.

Kabwe $899
Phuket $2,216

A family of three spends $1,232 per month in Kabwe vs $3,154 in Phuket, rent included.

Kabwe $1,232
Phuket $3,154

Kabwe is about 56% cheaper than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both Kabwe and Phuket are more affordable than the global median – Kabwe 58% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.59 ZMW 112

$4.47 ฿151

25.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.24 ZMW 607

$32.41 ฿1,092

-6.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.03 ZMW 101

$8.81 ฿297

-42.91%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ZMW 54.6

$2.83 ฿95.3

-3.89%

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

$0.76 ZMW 15.35

$0.87 ฿29.37

-12.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.45 ZMW 9.08

$0.49 ฿16.64

-8.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.25 ZMW 25.12

$2.56 ฿86.2

-51.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 ZMW 45.53

$3.68 ฿124

-38.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ZMW 33.37

$1.66 ฿55.9

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 ZMW 24.37

$1.46 ฿49.25

-17.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.09 ZMW 42.02

$1.50 ฿50.4

39.33%

Eggs

$1.18 ZMW 23.76

$2.09 ฿70.4

-43.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.35 ZMW 208

$19.07 ฿642

-45.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.43 ZMW 129

$3.30 ฿111

94.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.41 ZMW 129

$10.91 ฿368

-41.25%

Apples (1kg)

$3.24 ZMW 65.1

$2.93 ฿98.7

10.58%

Banana (1kg)

$0.95 ZMW 19.15

$1.69 ฿56.9

-43.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.63 ZMW 72.8

$2.25 ฿75.7

61.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ZMW 30.84

$2.08 ฿70.0

-25.96%

Potato (1kg)

$2.57 ZMW 51.6

$1.51 ฿50.9

70.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.84 ZMW 36.95

$1.38 ฿46.47

33.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ZMW 22.71

$1.07 ฿35.91

5.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 ZMW 14.98

$0.52 ฿17.49

44.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.03 ZMW 60.7

$4.20 ฿142

-27.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.71 ZMW 195

$18.79 ฿633

-48.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.40 ZMW 28.12

$1.82 ฿61.4

-23.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 ZMW 46.47

$2.84 ฿95.7

-18.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.93

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,909

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.53 ZMW 50.8

$3.02 ฿102

-16.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 ZMW 29.61

$1.02 ฿34.29

45.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.85 ZMW 97.3

$3.69 ฿124

31.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 ZMW 27.41

$1.47 ฿49.70

-6.80%

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

$7,409 ZMW 148.7K

$26.8K ฿902.4K

-72.33%

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

$27.2K ZMW 545.6K

$26.7K ฿899.5K

1.86%

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

$78.5 ZMW 1,576

$96.4 ฿3,247

-18.51%

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

$10.37 ZMW 208

$11.26 ฿380

-7.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.2 ZMW 1,088

$16.85 ฿568

221.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,266

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿361

Cinema Ticket

$5.85 ZMW 117

$7.50 ฿253

-22.00%

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

$137 ZMW 2,744

$476 ฿16.0K

-71.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.4K ZMW 329.0K

$11.3K ฿379.6K

45.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$22.90 ZMW 460

$62.4 ฿2,102

-63.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.36 ZMW 308

$28.41 ฿957

-45.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$44.90 ZMW 901

$94.3 ฿3,178

-52.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.3 ZMW 1,432

$85.8 ฿2,892

-16.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.1K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.5K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿64.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

420.65%

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

Last update for Kabwe: October 24, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kabwe

$224 39.6%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 18.6% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kabwe

$143 25.3%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 13% $19

Eating Out

Kabwe

$108 19.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 12.5% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Kabwe

$70 12.3%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 75.3% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Kabwe

$12 * 2.1%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 602% $71

Getting Around

Kabwe

$9.9 * 1.8%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 612% $61

Accommodation & Living

Kabwe

- * 0%

Phuket

$491 38.4%

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $30 in Kabwe versus $32 in Phuket. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $224 vs $266 – making Kabwe the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇲 Kabwe

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

11:18 11:18 AM

16:18 4:18 PM

5 h ahead of Kabwe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

117,517

79,308

💱 Currency

Zambian Kwacha ZMW ZK

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZMW = 4.98 USD

100 ZMW = 4.46 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to ZMW – Zambian Kwacha Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇲 Zambian Kwacha (ZK)

Zambian Kwacha exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 20.07 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.98 USD). 1 EUR = 22.4 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.46 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.61 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to ZMW in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kabwe Phuket 8,100 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Kabwe
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

Kabwe vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket costs about 125% more than Kabwe, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from leisure. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $850 per month in Kabwe and $1,917 in Phuket. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $30 in Kabwe and $32 in Phuket. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 19% more in Phuket, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Kabwe, where all-in costs run around $567, than in Phuket at $1,278. In Kabwe 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 $567 in Kabwe to $1,278 in Phuket. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.