Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Madinat As Sultan Qaboos and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos: $953 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

46

Cost of Living Index in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos
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Madinat As Sultan Qaboos Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

🇴🇲 Oman

$953

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $953 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos $953
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,433 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos $1,433
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,914 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos $1,914
Phuket $2,867

Living in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos costs roughly 21% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Madinat As Sultan Qaboos 29% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.29 OMR 2.04

$4.58 ฿153

15.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.70 OMR 15.29

$32.48 ฿1,086

22.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.76 OMR 2.99

$8.55 ฿286

-9.24%

Cappuccino

$4.94 OMR 1.90

$2.72 ฿91.0

81.62%

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

$0.84 OMR 0.32

$0.94 ฿31.25

-10.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 OMR 0.11

$0.49 ฿16.39

-40.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$12.92 OMR 4.97

$2.59 ฿86.6

398.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$12.93 OMR 4.98

$3.83 ฿128

237.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.31 OMR 0.89

$1.74 ฿58.1

32.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.20 OMR 0.46

$1.43 ฿47.82

-16.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.82 OMR 0.70

$1.53 ฿51.0

18.95%

Eggs

$3.03 OMR 1.17

$2.17 ฿72.7

39.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.11 OMR 2.74

$19.15 ฿640

-62.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.00 OMR 2.70

$3.30 ฿110

112.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.58 OMR 4.07

$11.14 ฿372

-5.03%

Apples (1kg)

$3.59 OMR 1.38

$2.95 ฿98.5

21.69%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 OMR 0.78

$1.68 ฿56.1

20.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 OMR 0.90

$2.30 ฿76.8

1.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.31 OMR 0.50

$2.13 ฿71.3

-38.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.16 OMR 0.45

$1.53 ฿51.1

-24.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.28 OMR 0.49

$1.36 ฿45.55

-5.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.85 OMR 0.71

$1.12 ฿37.44

65.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 OMR 0.27

$0.55 ฿18.24

29.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.65 OMR 2.56

$4.26 ฿142

56.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.76 OMR 6.07

$18.19 ฿608

-13.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$6.08 OMR 2.34

$1.74 ฿58.2

249.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.22 OMR 3.93

$2.79 ฿93.3

266.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.32 OMR 1.28

$2.91 ฿97.3

14.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.56 OMR 0.98

$1.01 ฿33.79

153.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.74 OMR 2.98

$3.83 ฿128

102.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.64 OMR 0.25

$1.49 ฿49.85

-57.05%

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

$25.3K OMR 9,736

$26.7K ฿891.6K

-5.21%

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

$22.3K OMR 8,570

$26.7K ฿892.7K

-16.67%

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

$176 OMR 67.9

$99.4 ฿3,321

77.42%

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

$31.16 OMR 12.00

$11.28 ฿377

176.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$71.5 OMR 27.51

$17.36 ฿580

311.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,747

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$10.43 OMR 4.01

$7.57 ฿253

37.78%

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

$292 OMR 112

$558 ฿18.7K

-47.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K OMR 4,033

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-8.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 OMR 21.33

$62.9 ฿2,102

-11.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.86 OMR 16.89

$28.58 ฿955

53.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.6 OMR 34.12

$96.1 ฿3,213

-7.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 OMR 34.02

$88.1 ฿2,943

0.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.25

5.57

-5.75%

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

Last update for Madinat As Sultan Qaboos: October 13, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$293 30.7%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 8.7% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$279 29.3%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 54.1% $151

Eating Out

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$220 23.1%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 44.8% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$124 13%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 0.2% $0.3

Sport & Entertainment

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$21 * 2.2%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 223% $47

Getting Around

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$16 * 1.7%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 141% $23

Accommodation & Living

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

- * 0%

Phuket

$460 38.1%

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $40.00 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $293 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇴🇲 Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

07:42 7:42 AM

10:42 10:42 AM

3 h ahead of Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

💱 Currency

Omani Rial OMR ر.ع.

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 OMR = 2.6 USD

1 OMR = 2.31 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to OMR – Omani Rial Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇴🇲 Omani Rial (ر.ع.)

Omani Rial exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.385 OMR (1 OMR = 2.6 USD). 1 EUR = 0.433 OMR (1 OMR = 2.31 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to OMR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos Phuket 4,590 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos
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

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos wins on cost – living expenses run 27% lower than in Phuket. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Madinat As Sultan Qaboos the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,430 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos and $1,811 in Phuket to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Shoppers in Phuket pay roughly 9% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $953 per month in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos versus $1,207 in Phuket – a 27% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $953 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Madinat As Sultan Qaboos the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Madinat As Sultan Qaboos delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $953 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Madinat As Sultan Qaboos hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Madinat As Sultan Qaboos and Phuket are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Madinat As Sultan Qaboos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 27% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.