Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville

For one person, living is cheaper in Sihanoukville: $928 a month against $1,035 in Phnom Penh, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Phnom Penh
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Phnom Penh Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Sihanoukville
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Sihanoukville Living Index

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Phnom Penh

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$1,035

/mo nomad

Sihanoukville

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$928

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phnom Penh and in Sihanoukville

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

A single person spends $1,035 per month in Phnom Penh vs $928 in Sihanoukville, rent included.

Phnom Penh $1,035
Sihanoukville $928

A couple spends around $1,675 per month in Phnom Penh vs $1,395 in Sihanoukville, rent included.

Phnom Penh $1,675
Sihanoukville $1,395

A family of three spends $2,315 per month in Phnom Penh vs $1,862 in Sihanoukville, rent included.

Phnom Penh $2,315
Sihanoukville $1,862

Phnom Penh costs about 12% more than Sihanoukville, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville are more affordable than the global median – Phnom Penh 23% lower, Sihanoukville 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.09 ៛16.6K

$3.94 ៛16.0K

3.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.96 ៛162.3K

$30.25 ៛122.9K

32.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.93 ៛28.2K

$7.19 ៛29.2K

-3.62%

Cappuccino

$2.97 ៛12.1K

$2.30 ៛9,356

29.13%

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

$1.78 ៛7,248

$0.78 ៛3,175

128.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.66 ៛2,695

$0.42 ៛1,706

57.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.03 ៛4,176

$1.02 ៛4,136

0.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 ៛12.0K

$2.02 ៛8,219

46.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.19 ៛8,876

$2.11 ៛8,566

3.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.66 ៛6,757

$1.59 ៛6,471

4.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.11 ៛4,518

$0.87 ៛3,518

27.59%

Eggs

$1.70 ៛6,899

$1.71 ៛6,941

-0.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.06 ៛61.2K

$13.87 ៛56.3K

8.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.13 ៛16.8K

$4.10 ៛16.6K

0.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.00 ៛36.5K

$8.78 ៛35.7K

2.51%

Apples (1kg)

$4.04 ៛16.4K

$3.59 ៛14.6K

12.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 ៛7,228

$1.38 ៛5,598

28.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.35 ៛17.7K

$4.25 ៛17.3K

2.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.10 ៛8,529

$1.61 ៛6,549

30.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 ៛6,391

$1.35 ៛5,472

16.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.23 ៛4,990

$1.15 ៛4,653

6.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 ៛4,801

$1.19 ៛4,823

-0.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ៛3,128

$0.73 ៛2,950

5.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.86 ៛7,555

$1.46 ៛5,946

27.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.01 ៛44.7K

$11.16 ៛45.3K

-1.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.00 ៛4,082

$0.90 ៛3,674

11.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ៛7,042

$1.65 ៛6,722

4.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.43 ៛1,741

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.58 ៛38.9K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.09 ៛4,428

$1.09 ៛4,434

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ៛4,179

$1.03 ៛4,182

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.13 ៛20.9K

$5.19 ៛21.1K

-1.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 ៛5,284

$1.25 ៛5,060

4.00%

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

$34.4K ៛139.7M

$34.3K ៛139.4M

0.19%

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

$44.9K ៛182.4M

$43.5K ៛176.7M

3.20%

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

$104 ៛424.3K

$106 ៛431.6K

-1.69%

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

$7.48 ៛30.4K

$6.46 ៛26.2K

15.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.51 ៛99.6K

$18.99 ៛77.1K

29.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.31 ៛167.8K

$72.2 ៛293.1K

-42.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.87 ៛44.2K

$10.11 ៛41.1K

7.52%

Cinema Ticket

$4.86 ៛19.7K

$5.09 ៛20.7K

-4.52%

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

$669 ៛2.7M

$339 ៛1.4M

97.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K ៛44.7M

$5,096 ៛20.7M

115.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$28.43 ៛115.5K

$28.55 ៛116.0K

-0.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$23.93 ៛97.2K

$20.14 ៛81.8K

18.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.7 ៛372.5K

$89.5 ៛363.7K

2.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.8 ៛242.7K

$20.29 ៛82.4K

194.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$658 ៛2.7M

$407 ៛1.7M

61.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$375 ៛1.5M

$304 ៛1.2M

23.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,145 ៛4.6M

$643 ៛2.6M

77.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$818 ៛3.3M

$492 ៛2.0M

66.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,870 ៛11.7M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,519 ៛6.2M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$325 ៛1.3M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.07

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

Last update for Phnom Penh: October 11, 2026

Last update for Sihanoukville: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phnom Penh

$375 36.3%

Sihanoukville

$304 32.8% 18.9% $71

Groceries & Markets

Phnom Penh

$253 24.4%

Sihanoukville

$237 25.6% 6.3% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phnom Penh

$136 13.2%

Sihanoukville

$132 14.2% 3.5% $4.7

Eating Out

Phnom Penh

$110 10.6%

Sihanoukville

$95 10.2% 13.9% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Phnom Penh

$92 8.9%

Sihanoukville

$71 7.7% 22.2% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Phnom Penh

$51 4.9%

Sihanoukville

$82 8.9% 61.4% $31

Getting Around

Phnom Penh

$18 1.7%

Sihanoukville

$6.2 * 0.7% 64.4% $11

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $658 in Phnom Penh versus $407 in Sihanoukville. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $40.00 in Phnom Penh versus $30.00 in Sihanoukville. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $253 vs $237 – making Sihanoukville the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇰🇭 Phnom Penh

🇰🇭 Sihanoukville

🕒 Local time

05:46 5:46 AM

Same time as Phnom Penh

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,009,264 Capital

73,036

💱 Currency

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KHR = 2.46 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.19 EUR

10,000 KHR = 2.46 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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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

Phnom Penh vs Sihanoukville: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Phnom Penh is pricier by about 12%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,553 per month in Phnom Penh and $1,392 in Sihanoukville. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sihanoukville, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,035 in Phnom Penh and $928 in Sihanoukville. That's a gap of about 12%.

Kindergarten costs $669 per month in Phnom Penh and $339 in Sihanoukville. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Sihanoukville, where all-in costs run around $928, than in Phnom Penh at $1,035. In Sihanoukville it covers expenses comfortably, while in Phnom Penh it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Sihanoukville – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Sihanoukville. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Phnom Penh makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.