Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Al Kufah

For one person, living is cheaper in Al Kufah: $703 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
34

Cost of Living Index in Al Kufah
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Al Kufah Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Al Kufah

🇮🇶 Iraq

$703

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Al Kufah

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $703 in Al Kufah.

Phuket $1,278
Al Kufah $703

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,050 in Al Kufah.

Phuket $2,216
Al Kufah $1,050

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $1,397 in Al Kufah.

Phuket $3,154
Al Kufah $1,397

Living in Phuket is roughly 82% more expensive than in Al Kufah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Al Kufah 48% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$4.74 IQD 7,162

-5.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$25.90 IQD 39.1K

25.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$6.63 IQD 10.0K

32.88%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$2.82 IQD 4,258

0.35%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$0.38 IQD 579

128.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.20 IQD 302

145.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$3.21 IQD 4,844

-20.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$3.24 IQD 4,897

13.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$0.96 IQD 1,451

72.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$0.69 IQD 1,041

111.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.32 IQD 1,989

13.64%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.70 IQD 2,574

22.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$2.02 IQD 3,046

844.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$3.99 IQD 6,032

-17.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$7.85 IQD 11.9K

38.98%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$0.63 IQD 954

365.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$0.96 IQD 1,449

76.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$0.56 IQD 848

301.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$0.49 IQD 736

324.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.43 IQD 650

251.16%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$0.33 IQD 499

318.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$0.19 IQD 284

463.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$0.51 IQD 776

1.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$1.53 IQD 2,319

174.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$11.59 IQD 17.5K

62.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$2.00 IQD 3,017

-9.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$1.97 IQD 2,972

44.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$0.32 IQD 480

353.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.95 IQD 2,954

54.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$1.34 IQD 2,031

-23.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$6.52 IQD 9,849

-43.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$0.49 IQD 733

200.00%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$16.6K IQD 25.0M

61.74%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$16.8K IQD 25.4M

58.90%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$188 IQD 283.3K

-48.62%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$19.15 IQD 28.9K

-41.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$19.76 IQD 29.9K

-14.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$15.05 IQD 22.7K

346.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$9.64 IQD 14.6K

-22.20%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$69.3 IQD 104.8K

586.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$2,161 IQD 3.3M

421.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$10.13 IQD 15.3K

515.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$29.46 IQD 44.5K

-3.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$20.07 IQD 30.3K

369.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$34.57 IQD 52.2K

148.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$208 IQD 313.5K

244.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$135 IQD 204.6K

262.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$371 IQD 561.3K

418.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$309 IQD 466.6K

363.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$1,244 IQD 1.9M

235.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$495 IQD 748.2K

514.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$902 IQD 1.4M

-44.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.12

35.19%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Al Kufah: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Al Kufah

$135 19.3% 72.4% $355

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Al Kufah

$138 19.6% 48.3% $129

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Al Kufah

$226 32.2% 81.9% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Al Kufah

$42 6% 65.2% $79

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Al Kufah

$116 16.6% 4.3% $5.3

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Al Kufah

$34 4.9% 58.3% $48

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Al Kufah

$10 * 1.4% 85.9% $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 $716 in Phuket and $208 in Al Kufah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Al Kufah pays 80% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $26 in Al Kufah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $138 per month, with Al Kufah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇮🇶 Al Kufah

🕒 Local time

02:02 2:02 AM

22:02 10:02 PM

4 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

230,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.95 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IQD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

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).

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,682 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.95 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Al Kufah 6,170 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Al Kufah

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

Phuket vs Al Kufah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Al Kufah is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and transport. The 82% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 44% lower in Phuket. 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: $716 in Phuket versus $208 in Al Kufah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 93% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,278 per month in Phuket versus $703 in Al Kufah – a 82% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $703 in Al Kufah versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Al Kufah but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Al Kufah 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.