Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kish and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Kish: $556 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

27

Cost of Living Index in Kish
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Kish Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Kish

🇮🇷 Iran

$556

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $556 in Kish versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Kish $556
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $874 in Kish versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Kish $874
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,193 in Kish versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Kish $1,193
Phuket $3,154

Living in Kish costs roughly 57% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Kish 59% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.57 $5.57

$4.47 ฿151

24.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.80 $15.80

$32.41 ฿1,094

-51.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.61 $4.61

$8.81 ฿297

-47.67%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.69 $0.69

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 $1.21

Cappuccino

$1.03 $1.03

$2.83 ฿95.4

-63.60%

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

$0.50 $0.50

$0.87 ฿29.42

-42.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 $0.98

$0.49 ฿16.66

100.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

Milk (1 liter)

$0.64 $0.64

$1.66 ฿56.0

-61.45%

White Bread (500g)

$0.47 $0.47

$1.46 ฿49.32

-67.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.09 $2.09

$1.50 ฿50.5

39.33%

Eggs

$1.22 $1.22

$2.09 ฿70.5

-41.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.18 $4.18

$19.07 ฿643

-78.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.41 $3.41

$3.30 ฿111

3.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.56 $11.56

$10.91 ฿368

5.96%

Apples (1kg)

$0.94 $0.94

$2.93 ฿98.9

-67.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.49 $1.49

$1.69 ฿57.0

-11.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.75 $0.75

$2.25 ฿75.8

-66.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.64 $0.64

$2.08 ฿70.1

-69.23%

Potato (1kg)

$0.59 $0.59

$1.51 ฿51.0

-60.93%

Onion (1kg)

$0.49 $0.49

$1.38 ฿46.54

-64.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.59 $0.59

$1.07 ฿35.97

-44.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 $0.21

$0.52 ฿17.51

-59.62%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$0.72 $0.72

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.48 $0.48

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.37 $1.37

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.68 $2.68

$4.20 ฿142

-36.19%

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)

$0.16 $0.16

$1.45 ฿49.00

-88.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.47 $9.47

$56.7 ฿1,912

-83.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.40 $0.40

$3.02 ฿102

-86.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.32 $0.32

$1.02 ฿34.34

-68.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.68 $2.68

$3.69 ฿125

-27.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.09 $0.09

$1.47 ฿49.78

-93.88%

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

$51.9K $51.9K

$26.8K ฿903.7K

93.82%

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

$39.6K $39.6K

$26.7K ฿900.8K

48.49%

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

$11.21 $11.21

$96.4 ฿3,252

-88.37%

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

$1.79 $1.79

$11.26 ฿380

-84.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$3.63 $3.63

$16.85 ฿569

-78.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$19.75 $19.75

$67.2 ฿2,269

-70.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.18 $13.18

$10.73 ฿362

22.83%

Cinema Ticket

$2.01 $2.01

$7.50 ฿253

-73.20%

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

$121 $121

$476 ฿16.1K

-74.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,576 $2,576

$11.3K ฿380.1K

-77.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$22.56 $22.56

$62.4 ฿2,105

-63.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.77 $28.77

$28.41 ฿959

1.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.4 $92.4

$94.3 ฿3,182

-1.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$74.9 $74.9

$85.8 ฿2,896

-12.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$289 $289

$716 ฿24.2K

-59.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$212 $212

$491 ฿16.6K

-56.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$808 $808

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-58.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$349 $349

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-75.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,302 $1,302

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-68.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$548 $548

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-82.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$411 $411

$502 ฿17.0K

-18.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

24.3

5.57

336.27%

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

Last update for Kish: 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

Kish

$212 38.2%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 132% $279

Groceries & Markets

Kish

$116 20.9%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 129% $150

Clothing & Footwear

Kish

$98 17.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 23.9% $24

Eating Out

Kish

$77 13.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 58.9% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Kish

$24 4.3%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 246% $58

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kish

$17 3%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 649% $108

Getting Around

Kish

$12 2.2%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 482% $58

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $289 in Kish and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 22% 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: $16 in Kish vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $116 vs $266 per month, with Kish cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇷 Kish

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

08:00 8:00 AM

11:30 11:30 AM

3 h 30 min ahead of Kish

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

24,819

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 = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kish Phuket 5,120 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Kish
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

Kish vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $556 in Kish and $1,278 in Phuket, so Kish is about 57% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 18% lower in Kish. 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: $289 in Kish versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 129% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Kish – 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 $556 in Kish versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Kish but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Kish 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 Kish gentler on the wallet – expenses run 57% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.