Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Ar-rawdah

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,418 in Ar-rawdah, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
66

Cost of Living Index in Ar-rawdah
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Ar-rawdah Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Ar-rawdah

🇰🇼 Kuwait

$1,418

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Ar-rawdah

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 Ar-rawdah actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,418 in Ar-rawdah.

Phuket $1,278
Ar-rawdah $1,418

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,339 in Ar-rawdah.

Phuket $2,216
Ar-rawdah $2,339

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $3,260 in Ar-rawdah.

Phuket $3,154
Ar-rawdah $3,260

Living in Phuket costs roughly 10% less than in Ar-rawdah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Ar-rawdah is 4% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$12.71 KWD 3.92

-64.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$64.8 KWD 19.98

-49.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$9.04 KWD 2.78

-2.54%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 KWD 0.98

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.92 KWD 1.52

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$5.06 KWD 1.56

-44.07%

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

$0.87 ฿29.40

$0.74 KWD 0.23

17.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$0.31 KWD 0.10

58.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.57 KWD 0.48

5.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.29

$1.47 KWD 0.45

-0.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.99 KWD 0.61

-24.62%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.11 KWD 0.65

-0.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$4.38 KWD 1.35

335.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$6.72 KWD 2.07

-50.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$10.38 KWD 3.20

5.11%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.8

$2.48 KWD 0.76

18.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$1.92 KWD 0.59

-11.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.7

$1.87 KWD 0.58

20.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$1.55 KWD 0.48

34.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.32 KWD 0.41

14.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.51

$1.44 KWD 0.44

-4.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.95

$2.29 KWD 0.71

-53.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.50

$0.57 KWD 0.18

-8.77%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.26 KWD 1.00

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.00 KWD 0.31

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.39 KWD 0.43

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$2.70 KWD 0.83

55.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.97

$0.71 KWD 0.22

104.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,911

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$4.85 KWD 1.49

-37.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.32

$3.18 KWD 0.98

-67.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿124

$16.40 KWD 5.05

-77.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.75

$0.35 KWD 0.11

320.00%

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

$26.8K ฿903.2K

$23.6K KWD 7,284

13.29%

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

$26.7K ฿900.3K

$19.8K KWD 6,088

35.13%

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

$96.4 ฿3,250

$66.6 KWD 20.52

44.71%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$22.11 KWD 6.81

-49.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$29.76 KWD 9.17

-43.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$108 KWD 33.25

-37.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$12.82 KWD 3.95

-41.50%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$505 KWD 156

-5.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿379.9K

$9,226 KWD 2,843

22.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,103

$38.22 KWD 11.78

63.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$39.68 KWD 12.23

-28.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,180

$96.8 KWD 29.84

-2.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,894

$89.4 KWD 27.55

-4.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.1K

$795 KWD 245

-9.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$643 KWD 198

-23.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,611 KWD 496

19.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,361 KWD 419

5.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$1,605 KWD 495

89.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

6.53

-14.70%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Ar-rawdah: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Ar-rawdah

$643 45.4% 31% $152

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Ar-rawdah

$187 13.2% 29.9% $80

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Ar-rawdah

$118 8.4% 4.8% $6

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Ar-rawdah

$119 8.4% 2.5% $3

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Ar-rawdah

$194 13.7% 59.2% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Ar-rawdah

$134 9.4% 62.4% $51

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Ar-rawdah

$24 * 1.7% 66.6% $47

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 $795 in Ar-rawdah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $65 in Ar-rawdah. Groceries flip the comparison at $266 vs $187, with Ar-rawdah cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇰🇼 Ar-rawdah

🕒 Local time

21:15 9:15 PM

17:15 5:15 PM

4 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Kuwaiti Dinar KWD د.ك

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 KWD = 3.24 USD

1 KWD = 2.91 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KWD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.64 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Kuwaiti Dinar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.308 KWD (1 KWD = 3.24 USD). 1 EUR = 0.344 KWD (1 KWD = 2.91 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Ar-rawdah 5,760 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Ar-rawdah

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 Ar-rawdah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 10% lower than in Ar-rawdah. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,917 in Phuket and $2,127 in Ar-rawdah 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $716 in Phuket versus $795 in Ar-rawdah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Ar-rawdah pay roughly 30% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,278 per month in Phuket versus $1,418 in Ar-rawdah – Phuket is about 10% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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.