Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kandy and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Kandy: $513 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Kandy
Learn more

Kandy Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Kandy

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$513

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $513 in Kandy versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Kandy $513
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $728 in Kandy versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Kandy $728
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $943 in Kandy versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Kandy $943
Phuket $3,154

Living in Kandy costs roughly 60% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Kandy 62% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.66 LKR 885

$4.47 ฿151

-40.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.01 LKR 4,324

$32.41 ฿1,094

-59.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.00 LKR 1,996

$8.81 ฿297

-31.90%

Cappuccino

$1.90 LKR 632

$2.83 ฿95.5

-32.86%

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

$0.52 LKR 174

$0.87 ฿29.43

-40.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 LKR 87.1

$0.49 ฿16.67

-46.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.86 LKR 620

$2.56 ฿86.4

-27.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.80 LKR 931

$3.68 ฿124

-23.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 LKR 382

$1.66 ฿56.0

-30.72%

White Bread (500g)

$0.52 LKR 174

$1.46 ฿49.35

-64.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.77 LKR 255

$1.50 ฿50.6

-48.67%

Eggs

$1.71 LKR 568

$2.09 ฿70.5

-18.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.14 LKR 1,708

$19.07 ฿644

-73.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.25 LKR 1,412

$3.30 ฿111

28.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.87 LKR 2,285

$10.91 ฿368

-37.03%

Apples (1kg)

$3.14 LKR 1,043

$2.93 ฿99.0

7.17%

Banana (1kg)

$0.84 LKR 280

$1.69 ฿57.1

-50.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.73 LKR 574

$2.25 ฿75.8

-23.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.29 LKR 429

$2.08 ฿70.1

-37.98%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 LKR 339

$1.51 ฿51.0

-32.45%

Onion (1kg)

$0.83 LKR 277

$1.38 ฿46.56

-39.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.43 LKR 144

$1.07 ฿35.99

-59.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.42 LKR 140

$0.52 ฿17.52

-19.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.02 LKR 2,668

$4.20 ฿142

90.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.28 LKR 3,751

$18.79 ฿634

-39.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 LKR 643

$1.82 ฿61.5

6.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 LKR 691

$2.84 ฿95.9

-26.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.16 LKR 53.3

$1.45 ฿49.03

-88.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$4.38 LKR 1,457

$56.7 ฿1,913

-92.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.41 LKR 136

$3.02 ฿102

-86.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 LKR 116

$1.02 ฿34.36

-65.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.47 LKR 156

$3.69 ฿125

-87.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.15 LKR 383

$1.47 ฿49.81

-21.77%

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

$14.0K LKR 4.6M

$26.8K ฿904.3K

-47.81%

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

$36.7K LKR 12.2M

$26.7K ฿901.3K

37.67%

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

$59.0 LKR 19.6K

$96.4 ฿3,254

-38.75%

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

$3.86 LKR 1,282

$11.26 ฿380

-65.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.72 LKR 4,227

$16.85 ฿569

-24.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$10.85 LKR 3,606

$67.2 ฿2,270

-83.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.80 LKR 2,262

$10.73 ฿362

-36.63%

Cinema Ticket

$2.74 LKR 909

$7.50 ฿253

-63.47%

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

$21.65 LKR 7,199

$476 ฿16.1K

-95.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$304 LKR 101.0K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-97.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.28 LKR 6,078

$62.4 ฿2,106

-70.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$10.15 LKR 3,375

$28.41 ฿959

-64.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.7 LKR 22.5K

$94.3 ฿3,184

-28.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$26.56 LKR 8,831

$85.8 ฿2,898

-69.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$172 LKR 57.2K

$716 ฿24.2K

-75.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$113 LKR 37.5K

$491 ฿16.6K

-77.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$172 LKR 57.2K

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-91.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$93.6 LKR 31.1K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-93.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$397 LKR 131.9K

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-90.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$400 LKR 133.0K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-86.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$262 LKR 86.9K

$502 ฿17.0K

-47.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

115.44%

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

Last update for Kandy: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kandy

$166 32.3%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 60.5% $100

Accommodation & Living

Kandy

$113 22%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 335% $378

Eating Out

Kandy

$80 15.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 51.8% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kandy

$76 14.7%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 64.7% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Kandy

$55 10.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 121% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Kandy

$16 3.2%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 404% $66

Getting Around

Kandy

$7.2 1.4%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 884% $63

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $172 in Kandy and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 92% 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: $13 in Kandy vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $166 vs $266 per month, with Kandy cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Kandy

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

01:56 1:56 AM

03:26 3:26 AM

1 h 30 min ahead of Kandy

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

125,000

79,308

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to LKR – Sri Lankan Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 332 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 370 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.7 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 LKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kandy Phuket 1,960 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Kandy
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

Kandy vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kandy is about 60% 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 48% lower in Kandy. 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: $172 in Kandy versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $513 per month in Kandy versus $1,278 in Phuket – Kandy is about 60% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Kandy runs roughly 92% less than in Phuket. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $513 in Kandy versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kandy but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Kandy the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Kandy is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Phuket, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Kandy and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Kandy gentler on the wallet – expenses run 60% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.