Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kalar and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Kalar: $500 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

24

Cost of Living Index in Kalar
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Kalar Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Kalar

🇮🇶 Iraq

$500

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $500 in Kalar versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Kalar $500
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $745 in Kalar versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Kalar $745
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $991 in Kalar versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Kalar $991
Phuket $3,154

Living in Kalar costs roughly 61% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Kalar 63% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.18 IQD 6,314

$4.47 ฿151

-6.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$10.53 IQD 15.9K

$32.41 ฿1,094

-67.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.07 IQD 4,646

$8.81 ฿297

-65.15%

Cappuccino

$0.85 IQD 1,283

$2.83 ฿95.5

-69.96%

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

$0.45 IQD 683

$0.87 ฿29.43

-48.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.14 IQD 215

$0.49 ฿16.67

-71.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.49 IQD 8,290

$2.56 ฿86.4

114.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.93 IQD 5,939

$3.68 ฿124

6.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 IQD 1,388

$1.66 ฿56.0

-44.58%

White Bread (500g)

$0.72 IQD 1,091

$1.46 ฿49.35

-50.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 IQD 1,946

$1.50 ฿50.6

-14.00%

Eggs

$1.12 IQD 1,698

$2.09 ฿70.5

-46.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.90 IQD 4,376

$19.07 ฿644

-84.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.00 IQD 3,020

$3.30 ฿111

-39.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.87 IQD 16.4K

$10.91 ฿368

-0.37%

Apples (1kg)

$0.81 IQD 1,219

$2.93 ฿99.0

-72.35%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 IQD 1,462

$1.69 ฿57.1

-42.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.85 IQD 1,286

$2.25 ฿75.8

-62.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.70 IQD 1,053

$2.08 ฿70.1

-66.35%

Potato (1kg)

$0.58 IQD 873

$1.51 ฿51.0

-61.59%

Onion (1kg)

$0.63 IQD 948

$1.38 ฿46.56

-54.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.60 IQD 908

$1.07 ฿35.99

-43.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.39 IQD 586

$0.52 ฿17.52

-25.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.09 IQD 3,165

$4.20 ฿142

-50.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.72 IQD 16.2K

$18.79 ฿634

-42.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 IQD 2,213

$1.82 ฿61.5

-19.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.86 IQD 2,815

$2.84 ฿95.9

-34.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.49 IQD 740

$1.45 ฿49.03

-66.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.14 IQD 39.5K

$56.7 ฿1,913

-53.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 IQD 2,526

$3.02 ฿102

-44.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.55 IQD 2,347

$1.02 ฿34.36

51.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.34 IQD 5,039

$3.69 ฿125

-9.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.54 IQD 815

$1.47 ฿49.81

-63.27%

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

$14.6K IQD 22.1M

$26.8K ฿904.3K

-45.37%

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

$16.4K IQD 24.8M

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-38.47%

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

$46.19 IQD 69.8K

$96.4 ฿3,254

-52.06%

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

$11.71 IQD 17.7K

$11.26 ฿380

4.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.88 IQD 31.6K

$16.85 ฿569

23.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.77 IQD 25.3K

$67.2 ฿2,270

-75.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$32.49 IQD 49.1K

$10.73 ฿362

202.80%

Cinema Ticket

$6.74 IQD 10.2K

$7.50 ฿253

-10.13%

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

$43.60 IQD 65.9K

$476 ฿16.1K

-90.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,306 IQD 2.0M

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-88.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$10.86 IQD 16.4K

$62.4 ฿2,106

-82.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$12.02 IQD 18.2K

$28.41 ฿959

-57.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$22.98 IQD 34.7K

$94.3 ฿3,184

-75.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$28.22 IQD 42.6K

$85.8 ฿2,898

-67.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$151 IQD 228.0K

$716 ฿24.2K

-78.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$92.5 IQD 139.8K

$491 ฿16.6K

-81.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$246 IQD 371.6K

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-87.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$126 IQD 189.7K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-91.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$874 IQD 1.3M

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-79.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$392 IQD 591.7K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-87.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$300 IQD 453.4K

$502 ฿17.0K

-40.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.53

5.57

-54.58%

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

Last update for Kalar: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kalar

$137 27.4%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 94.9% $130

Accommodation & Living

Kalar

$93 18.5%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 431% $398

Eating Out

Kalar

$91 18.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 34.5% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kalar

$79 15.8%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 58% $46

Getting Around

Kalar

$38 7.5%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 88.1% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Kalar

$33 6.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 266% $89

Sport & Entertainment

Kalar

$30 6.1%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 172% $52

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $151 in Kalar and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 67% 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: $11 in Kalar vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $137 vs $266 per month, with Kalar cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇶 Kalar

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

01:53 1:53 AM

05:53 5:53 AM

4 h ahead of Kalar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

250,000

79,308

💱 Currency

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.95 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to IQD – Iraqi Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇶 Iraqi Dinar (ع.د)

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,682 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.95 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 IQD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kalar Phuket 6,160 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Kalar
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

Kalar vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kalar is about 61% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 40% lower in Kalar. 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: $151 in Kalar versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Kalar – a meal for two runs $11 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $500 per month in Kalar versus $1,278 in Phuket – Kalar is about 61% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $500 in Kalar versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kalar but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Kalar 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.

Expats usually find Kalar gentler on the wallet – expenses run 61% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.