Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mecca and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Mecca: $936 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Mecca
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Mecca Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Mecca

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$936

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $936 in Mecca versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Mecca $936
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,453 in Mecca versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Mecca $1,453
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,970 in Mecca versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Mecca $1,970
Phuket $2,867

Living in Mecca costs roughly 22% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Mecca 31% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.57 SAR 17.14

$4.58 ฿153

-0.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$26.89 SAR 101

$32.48 ฿1,086

-17.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.07 SAR 26.52

$8.55 ฿286

-17.31%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.55 SAR 5.81

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 SAR 5.61

Cappuccino

$2.61 SAR 9.79

$2.72 ฿91.0

-4.04%

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

$0.67 SAR 2.51

$0.94 ฿31.25

-28.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.23 SAR 0.86

$0.49 ฿16.39

-53.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

Milk (1 liter)

$1.75 SAR 6.57

$1.74 ฿58.1

0.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.03 SAR 3.85

$1.43 ฿47.82

-27.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 SAR 7.91

$1.53 ฿51.0

37.91%

Eggs

$2.52 SAR 9.46

$2.17 ฿72.7

16.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.92 SAR 22.20

$19.15 ฿640

-69.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.08 SAR 30.33

$3.30 ฿110

144.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.95 SAR 48.59

$11.14 ฿372

16.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.09 SAR 7.84

$2.95 ฿98.5

-29.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.58 SAR 5.94

$1.68 ฿56.1

-5.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.61 SAR 6.05

$2.30 ฿76.8

-30.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 SAR 5.52

$2.13 ฿71.3

-30.99%

Potato (1kg)

$1.12 SAR 4.21

$1.53 ฿51.1

-26.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.30 SAR 4.87

$1.36 ฿45.55

-4.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.05 SAR 3.94

$1.12 ฿37.44

-6.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.50 SAR 1.86

$0.55 ฿18.24

-9.09%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$4.06 SAR 15.24

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 SAR 6.95

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.59 SAR 5.97

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.81 SAR 25.56

$4.26 ฿142

59.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿608

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.3

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.34 SAR 5.03

$2.22 ฿74.1

-39.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.43 SAR 9.11

$2.91 ฿97.3

-16.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.75 SAR 6.57

$1.01 ฿33.79

73.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.15 SAR 49.33

$3.83 ฿128

243.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.63 SAR 2.38

$1.49 ฿49.85

-57.72%

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

$47.5K SAR 178.2K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

77.98%

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

$21.1K SAR 79.3K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

-20.91%

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

$66.9 SAR 251

$99.4 ฿3,321

-32.72%

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

$35.35 SAR 133

$11.28 ฿377

213.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$63.2 SAR 237

$17.36 ฿580

264.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$80.7 SAR 303

$52.3 ฿1,747

54.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.52 SAR 160

$10.85 ฿362

291.89%

Cinema Ticket

$11.96 SAR 44.88

$7.57 ฿253

57.99%

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

$775 SAR 2,907

$558 ฿18.7K

38.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.2K SAR 60.8K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

41.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$13.57 SAR 50.9

$62.9 ฿2,102

-78.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.9 SAR 214

$28.58 ฿955

99.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$39.67 SAR 149

$96.1 ฿3,213

-58.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$53.3 SAR 200

$88.1 ฿2,943

-39.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$533 SAR 2,001

$729 ฿24.4K

-26.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$290 SAR 1,088

$460 ฿15.4K

-36.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$830 SAR 3,114

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-60.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$523 SAR 1,963

$1,222 ฿40.8K

-57.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,375 SAR 23.9K

$3,459 ฿115.6K

84.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,298 SAR 8,624

$2,489 ฿83.2K

-7.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,083 SAR 4,063

$493 ฿16.5K

119.61%

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 Mecca: October 11, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mecca

$290 31%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 58.6% $170

Groceries & Markets

Mecca

$193 20.6%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 38.5% $74

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mecca

$165 17.7%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 22.6% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Mecca

$105 11.2%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 35.6% $37

Eating Out

Mecca

$93 9.9%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 31% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Mecca

$74 7.9%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 68.6% $50

Getting Around

Mecca

$17 * 1.8%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 135% $22

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $533 in Mecca and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mecca pays 120% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $27.00 in Mecca vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $193 vs $268 per month, with Mecca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Mecca

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

06:19 6:19 AM

10:19 10:19 AM

4 h ahead of Mecca

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,675,368

79,308

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇦 Saudi Riyal (ر.س)

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to SAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mecca Phuket 6,440 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Mecca
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

Mecca vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mecca is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 29% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 120% higher in Mecca, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $533 in Mecca versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 39% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $936 per month in Mecca versus $1,207 in Phuket – a 29% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $936 in Mecca versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Mecca but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Mecca the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Mecca 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, Mecca 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 Mecca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.