Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nakhon Si Thammarat and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Nakhon Si Thammarat: $995 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $22,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Nakhon Si Thammarat
🇹🇭 Thailand
$995
/mo nomad
Dubai
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
$2,896
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nakhon Si Thammarat and in Dubai

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Nakhon Si Thammarat and in Dubai actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $995 in Nakhon Si Thammarat versus $2,896 in Dubai.

  • Nakhon Si Thammarat $995
  • Dubai $2,896

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,636 in Nakhon Si Thammarat versus $4,384 in Dubai.

  • Nakhon Si Thammarat $1,636
  • Dubai $4,384

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,276 in Nakhon Si Thammarat versus $5,872 in Dubai.

  • Nakhon Si Thammarat $2,276
  • Dubai $5,872

Living in Nakhon Si Thammarat costs roughly 66% less than in Dubai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nakhon Si Thammarat is 26% below, Dubai is 115% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Nakhon Si Thammarat
Dubai
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$2.94 ฿98.3
$12.67 AED 46.55
-76.80%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$32.58 ฿1,089
$81.7 AED 300
-60.13%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$8.72 ฿291
$9.34 AED 34.30
-6.64%
Cappuccino
$2.71 ฿90.6
$5.89 AED 21.62
-53.99%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.95 ฿31.76
$1.69 AED 6.20
-43.79%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.46 ฿15.45
$0.78 AED 2.86
-41.03%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.55 ฿85.1
$13.66 AED 50.2
-81.33%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.82 ฿128
$13.49 AED 49.54
-71.68%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Nakhon Si Thammarat
Dubai
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.64 ฿54.8
$1.84 AED 6.78
-10.87%
White Bread (500g)
$1.39 ฿46.42
$1.50 AED 5.50
-7.33%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.57 ฿52.5
$2.57 AED 9.45
-38.91%
Eggs
$2.17 ฿72.4
$3.32 AED 12.18
-34.64%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$19.11 ฿639
$12.60 AED 46.28
51.67%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.33 ฿111
$9.66 AED 35.46
-65.53%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$11.25 ฿376
$12.78 AED 46.93
-11.97%
Apples (1kg)
$2.95 ฿98.5
$2.60 AED 9.54
13.46%
Banana (1kg)
$1.70 ฿56.7
$1.90 AED 6.99
-10.53%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.30 ฿76.9
$1.91 AED 7.02
20.42%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.13 ฿71.1
$1.37 AED 5.02
55.47%
Potato (1kg)
$1.50 ฿50.1
$1.13 AED 4.14
32.74%
Onion (1kg)
$1.39 ฿46.30
$1.01 AED 3.71
37.62%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.07 ฿35.86
$1.44 AED 5.30
-25.69%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.54 ฿18.14
$0.67 AED 2.48
-19.40%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.20 ฿140
$5.88 AED 21.59
-28.57%
Wine (Bottle)
$18.34 ฿613
$16.15 AED 59.3
13.56%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.77 ฿59.1
$2.72 AED 10.00
-34.93%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.79 ฿93.2
$3.08 AED 11.32
-9.42%
🚌 Getting Around
Nakhon Si Thammarat
Dubai
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.93 ฿31.17
$1.60 AED 5.87
-41.88%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$76.0 AED 279
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$2.96 ฿98.9
$3.24 AED 11.91
-8.64%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.05 ฿35.22
$0.71 AED 2.61
47.89%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$3.73 ฿125
$7.96 AED 29.22
-53.14%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.49 ฿49.76
$0.98 AED 3.62
52.04%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$26.6K ฿889.4K
$27.4K AED 100.6K
-2.82%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$26.9K ฿900.2K
$22.0K AED 80.9K
22.26%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Nakhon Si Thammarat
Dubai
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$99.9 ฿3,338
$249 AED 913
-59.80%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$11.29 ฿377
$54.4 AED 200
-79.26%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$17.16 ฿573
$91.5 AED 336
-81.24%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Nakhon Si Thammarat
Dubai
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$46.87 ฿1,566
$103 AED 380
-54.67%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$14.10 ฿471
$42.32 AED 155
-66.68%
Cinema Ticket
$7.44 ฿249
$16.29 AED 59.8
-54.33%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Nakhon Si Thammarat
Dubai
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$553 ฿18.5K
$844 AED 3,098
-34.40%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$11.3K ฿377.4K
$18.3K AED 67.1K
-38.17%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Nakhon Si Thammarat
Dubai
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$63.8 ฿2,132
$67.0 AED 246
-4.76%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$28.61 ฿956
$57.9 AED 213
-50.62%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$96.6 ฿3,229
$102 AED 375
-5.38%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$88.0 ฿2,940
$98.7 AED 363
-10.89%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Nakhon Si Thammarat
Dubai
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$443 ฿14.8K
$2,393 AED 8,788
-81.49%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$293 ฿9,808
$1,533 AED 5,630
-80.85%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,392 ฿46.5K
$4,594 AED 16.9K
-69.69%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$725 ฿24.2K
$2,939 AED 10.8K
-75.35%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$1,957 ฿65.4K
$7,046 AED 25.9K
-72.23%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,588 ฿53.1K
$4,222 AED 15.5K
-62.39%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Nakhon Si Thammarat
Dubai
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
-
$3,461 AED 12.7K
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
5.57
4.54
22.69%

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

Last update for Nakhon Si Thammarat: October 11, 2026

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Nakhon Si Thammarat
$293
Dubai
$1.5K 422% $1.2K
Groceries & Markets
Nakhon Si Thammarat
$267
Dubai
$292 9.2% $25
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Nakhon Si Thammarat
$128
Dubai
$394 207% $266
Clothing & Footwear
Nakhon Si Thammarat
$125
Dubai
$147 17.6% $22
Eating Out
Nakhon Si Thammarat
$108
Dubai
$305 182% $197
Sport & Entertainment
Nakhon Si Thammarat
$62
Dubai
$136 120% $74
Getting Around
Nakhon Si Thammarat
$12 *
Dubai
$89 645% $77

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 $443 in Nakhon Si Thammarat and $2,393 in Dubai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $33.00 in Nakhon Si Thammarat vs $82.0 in Dubai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $292 per month, with Nakhon Si Thammarat cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇹🇭 Nakhon Si Thammarat
🇦🇪 Dubai
🕒 Local time
01:40 1:40 AM
22:40 10:40 PM
3 h behind Nakhon Si Thammarat
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
102,152
3,790,000
💱 Currency
Thai Baht THB ฿
UAE Dirham AED د.إ
Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Nakhon Si Thammarat Dubai 5,080 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Nakhon Si Thammarat
  • Dubai

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
Nakhon Si Thammarat vs Dubai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dubai cheaper than Nakhon Si Thammarat?
Nakhon Si Thammarat is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 191% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
What income do you need for each city?
You'd need roughly $1,493 in Nakhon Si Thammarat and $4,344 in Dubai 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.
What is the rent difference between Nakhon Si Thammarat and Dubai?
Rent for a central apartment: $443 in Nakhon Si Thammarat versus $2,393 in Dubai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
How do food prices compare in Nakhon Si Thammarat and in Dubai?
Supermarket bills run roughly 9% higher in Dubai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
What are total monthly expenses in Nakhon Si Thammarat and in Dubai?
All in, you'll spend $995 per month in Nakhon Si Thammarat versus $2,896 in Dubai – a 191% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
Is $2,000 a realistic budget for living in Nakhon Si Thammarat or in Dubai?
At $995 in Nakhon Si Thammarat versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Nakhon Si Thammarat but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Nakhon Si Thammarat the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Is Nakhon Si Thammarat or Dubai more family-friendly?
For families, Nakhon Si Thammarat is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Dubai, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.
Which city is safer, Nakhon Si Thammarat or Dubai?
Safety-wise, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Dubai are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.
Which city is easier to live in as a foreigner?
Expats usually find Nakhon Si Thammarat gentler on the wallet – expenses run 191% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

Nakhon Si Thammarat vs other spots: cost of living compared

Similar cities

Show times on the 12-hour clock, temperatures in °F and distances in miles?