Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Karaj and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Karaj: $823 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

40

Cost of Living Index in Karaj
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Karaj Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Karaj

🇮🇷 Iran

$823

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $823 in Karaj versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Karaj $823
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,058 in Karaj versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Karaj $1,058
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,293 in Karaj versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Karaj $1,293
Phuket $3,154

Living in Karaj costs roughly 36% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Karaj 40% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.54 $3.54

$4.47 ฿151

-20.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.19 $16.19

$32.41 ฿1,093

-50.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.97 $3.97

$8.81 ฿297

-54.94%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.48 $0.48

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.06 $1.06

Cappuccino

$1.06 $1.06

$2.83 ฿95.4

-62.54%

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

$0.43 $0.43

$0.87 ฿29.41

-50.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 $1.65

$0.49 ฿16.65

236.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

Milk (1 liter)

$0.70 $0.70

$1.66 ฿55.9

-57.83%

White Bread (500g)

$0.52 $0.52

$1.46 ฿49.31

-64.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.07 $2.07

$1.50 ฿50.5

38.00%

Eggs

$1.03 $1.03

$2.09 ฿70.5

-50.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.48 $4.48

$19.07 ฿643

-76.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 $3.33

$3.30 ฿111

0.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.43 $10.43

$10.91 ฿368

-4.40%

Apples (1kg)

$0.89 $0.89

$2.93 ฿98.9

-69.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 $1.70

$1.69 ฿57.0

0.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.80 $0.80

$2.25 ฿75.8

-64.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.49 $0.49

$2.08 ฿70.0

-76.44%

Potato (1kg)

$0.46 $0.46

$1.51 ฿51.0

-69.54%

Onion (1kg)

$0.47 $0.47

$1.38 ฿46.52

-65.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.54 $0.54

$1.07 ฿35.96

-49.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 $0.21

$0.52 ฿17.51

-59.62%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$0.83 $0.83

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 $0.51

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.34 $1.34

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.48 $2.48

$4.20 ฿142

-40.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.20 $0.20

$1.45 ฿48.98

-86.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$13.11 $13.11

$56.7 ฿1,912

-76.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.29 $0.29

$3.02 ฿102

-90.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.31 $0.31

$1.02 ฿34.33

-69.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.64 $2.64

$3.69 ฿125

-28.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.08 $0.08

$1.47 ฿49.76

-94.56%

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

$49.5K $49.5K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

84.68%

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

$45.6K $45.6K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

70.91%

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

$13.24 $13.24

$96.4 ฿3,251

-86.26%

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

$1.54 $1.54

$11.26 ฿380

-86.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$3.81 $3.81

$16.85 ฿568

-77.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$23.04 $23.04

$67.2 ฿2,268

-65.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.08 $10.08

$10.73 ฿362

-6.06%

Cinema Ticket

$1.06 $1.06

$7.50 ฿253

-85.87%

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

$108 $108

$476 ฿16.1K

-77.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$839 $839

$11.3K ฿380.0K

-92.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$25.32 $25.32

$62.4 ฿2,104

-59.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.83 $27.83

$28.41 ฿958

-2.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.8 $97.8

$94.3 ฿3,181

3.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.3 $73.3

$85.8 ฿2,895

-14.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$298 $298

$716 ฿24.2K

-58.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$488 $488

$491 ฿16.6K

-0.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$798 $798

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-58.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$476 $476

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-66.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,274 $1,274

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-69.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$527 $527

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-82.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$239 $239

$502 ฿16.9K

-52.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

312.93%

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

Last update for Karaj: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Karaj

$488 59.3%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 0.6% $3.1

Groceries & Markets

Karaj

$113 13.8%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 135% $153

Clothing & Footwear

Karaj

$101 12.3%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 20.8% $21

Eating Out

Karaj

$61 7.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 98.6% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Karaj

$25 3.1%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 227% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Karaj

$19 2.3%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 570% $106

Getting Around

Karaj

$16 1.9%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 347% $55

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $298 in Karaj and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays about 2.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $16 in Karaj vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $113 vs $266 per month, with Karaj cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇷 Karaj

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

05:10 5:10 AM

08:40 8:40 AM

3 h 30 min ahead of Karaj

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,712,000

79,308

💱 Currency

USD USD

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.896 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, EUR to USD – USD Converter

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

USD exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.896 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Karaj Phuket 5,710 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Karaj
Phuket

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Karaj vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $823 in Karaj and $1,278 in Phuket, so Karaj is about 36% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 52% lower in Karaj. 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: $298 in Karaj versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 135% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Karaj – a meal for two runs $16 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $823 in Karaj versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Karaj but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Karaj 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.

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

Expats usually find Karaj gentler on the wallet – expenses run 36% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.