Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nanyuki and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Nanyuki: $609 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

29

Cost of Living Index in Nanyuki
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Nanyuki Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Nanyuki

🇰🇪 Kenya

$609

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $609 in Nanyuki versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Nanyuki $609
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,016 in Nanyuki versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Nanyuki $1,016
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,424 in Nanyuki versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Nanyuki $1,424
Phuket $3,154

Living in Nanyuki costs roughly 52% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Nanyuki 55% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.52 KES 847

$4.47 ฿151

45.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.96 KES 4,410

$32.41 ฿1,094

4.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.44 KES 836

$8.81 ฿297

-26.90%

Cappuccino

$2.60 KES 338

$2.83 ฿95.5

-8.13%

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

$0.64 KES 83.2

$0.87 ฿29.43

-26.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 KES 86.5

$0.49 ฿16.67

36.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.33 KES 303

$2.56 ฿86.4

-8.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 KES 347

$3.68 ฿124

-27.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.90 KES 116

$1.66 ฿56.0

-45.78%

White Bread (500g)

$0.54 KES 69.9

$1.46 ฿49.35

-63.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.18 KES 153

$1.50 ฿50.6

-21.33%

Eggs

$1.74 KES 226

$2.09 ฿70.5

-16.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.79 KES 1,402

$19.07 ฿644

-43.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.73 KES 874

$3.30 ฿111

103.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.39 KES 829

$10.91 ฿368

-41.43%

Apples (1kg)

$3.39 KES 440

$2.93 ฿99.0

15.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.02 KES 133

$1.69 ฿57.1

-39.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.08 KES 270

$2.25 ฿75.8

-7.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.11 KES 144

$2.08 ฿70.1

-46.63%

Potato (1kg)

$1.12 KES 145

$1.51 ฿51.0

-25.83%

Onion (1kg)

$1.05 KES 136

$1.38 ฿46.56

-23.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 KES 97.6

$1.07 ฿35.99

-29.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 KES 98.3

$0.52 ฿17.52

46.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.44 KES 447

$4.20 ฿142

-18.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.38 KES 1,478

$18.79 ฿634

-39.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.18 KES 284

$1.82 ฿61.5

19.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 KES 350

$2.84 ฿95.9

-4.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.56 KES 203

$3.02 ฿102

-48.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.51 KES 197

$1.02 ฿34.36

48.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.85 KES 370

$3.69 ฿125

-22.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.59 KES 207

$1.47 ฿49.81

8.16%

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

$19.5K KES 2.5M

$26.8K ฿904.3K

-27.09%

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

$22.2K KES 2.9M

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-17.00%

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

$57.0 KES 7,399

$96.4 ฿3,254

-40.86%

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

$14.98 KES 1,945

$11.26 ฿380

33.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.48 KES 4,478

$16.85 ฿569

104.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.51 KES 975

$7.50 ฿253

0.13%

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

$276 KES 35.8K

$476 ฿16.1K

-42.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.4K KES 1.6M

$11.3K ฿380.4K

10.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$28.59 KES 3,712

$62.4 ฿2,106

-54.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.52 KES 3,703

$28.41 ฿959

0.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.6 KES 9,172

$94.3 ฿3,184

-25.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.0 KES 7,527

$85.8 ฿2,898

-32.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$77.9 KES 10.1K

$716 ฿24.2K

-89.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$64.9 KES 8,429

$491 ฿16.6K

-86.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$235 KES 30.5K

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-87.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$189 KES 24.5K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-86.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$117 KES 15.2K

$502 ฿17.0K

-76.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

14.71

5.57

164.09%

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

Last update for Nanyuki: October 27, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Nanyuki

$205 33.6%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 30% $61

Eating Out

Nanyuki

$125 20.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 2.6% $3.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nanyuki

$106 17.5%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 16.9% $18

Clothing & Footwear

Nanyuki

$84 13.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 45.9% $38

Accommodation & Living

Nanyuki

$65 10.7%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 656% $426

Sport & Entertainment

Nanyuki

$15 * 2.5%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 448% $67

Getting Around

Nanyuki

$9.1 * 1.5%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 673% $61

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 $78 in Nanyuki and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays about 4.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $34 in Nanyuki vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $205 vs $266, with Nanyuki cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇰🇪 Nanyuki

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

23:32 11:32 PM

03:32 3:32 AM

4 h ahead of Nanyuki

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

32,000

79,308

💱 Currency

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 KES = 7.7 USD

1,000 KES = 6.92 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to KES – Kenyan Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇪 Kenyan Shilling (Sh)

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.7 USD). 1 EUR = 145 KES (1,000 KES = 6.92 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to KES in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nanyuki Phuket 6,850 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Nanyuki
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

Nanyuki vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nanyuki wins on cost – living expenses run 52% lower than in Phuket. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Nanyuki the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 77% lower in Nanyuki. 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: $78 in Nanyuki versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $609 per month in Nanyuki versus $1,278 in Phuket – Nanyuki is about 52% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $609 in Nanyuki versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $800 budget is realistic in Nanyuki but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Nanyuki 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.

It comes down to priorities – Nanyuki wins on affordability, Phuket on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.