Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Busembatya

For one person, living is cheaper in Busembatya: $391 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $10,800 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
19

Cost of Living Index in Busembatya
Learn more

Busembatya Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Busembatya

🇺🇬 Uganda

$391

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Busembatya

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 Busembatya actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $391 in Busembatya.

Phuket $1,294
Busembatya $391

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $618 in Busembatya.

Phuket $2,204
Busembatya $618

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $845 in Busembatya.

Phuket $3,115
Busembatya $845

Living in Phuket is roughly 230% more expensive than in Busembatya, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 4% lower, Busembatya 71% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿147

$2.39 UGX 10.1K

83.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,085

$23.66 UGX 99.8K

36.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿292

$6.96 UGX 29.3K

25.00%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.5

$2.37 UGX 9,995

14.77%

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

$0.93 ฿31.25

$0.33 UGX 1,407

181.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.78

$0.26 UGX 1,100

92.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿85.0

$1.15 UGX 4,833

120.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿122

$1.71 UGX 7,227

112.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.4

$0.76 UGX 3,209

128.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.73

$0.80 UGX 3,382

81.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.21 UGX 5,116

23.97%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿73.0

$1.37 UGX 5,796

58.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿641

$4.09 UGX 17.3K

366.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$4.19 UGX 17.7K

-18.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿366

$4.69 UGX 19.8K

132.41%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿98.8

$1.96 UGX 8,262

50.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.8

$1.41 UGX 5,966

19.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.7

$1.24 UGX 5,234

76.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿71.4

$1.24 UGX 5,215

70.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿48.99

$1.16 UGX 4,890

25.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.95

$1.25 UGX 5,277

9.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿36.14

$0.71 UGX 2,978

52.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.32

$0.50 UGX 2,121

10.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿149

$2.30 UGX 9,711

92.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿613

$7.04 UGX 29.7K

159.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.5

$1.01 UGX 4,256

75.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿96.8

$1.78 UGX 7,524

61.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.62

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,844

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿50.8

$0.49 UGX 2,078

208.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿26.06

$0.30 UGX 1,283

160.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿129

$2.99 UGX 12.6K

28.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.96

$1.34 UGX 5,654

11.19%

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

$26.9K ฿902.9K

$7,067 UGX 29.8M

280.36%

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

$26.3K ฿884.9K

$7,089 UGX 29.9M

271.61%

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

$97.8 ฿3,285

$67.3 UGX 284.0K

45.25%

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

$11.29 ฿379

$11.11 UGX 46.9K

1.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿577

$32.95 UGX 139.0K

-47.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,295

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿367

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿250

$6.97 UGX 29.4K

6.60%

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

$530 ฿17.8K

$267 UGX 1.1M

98.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿630.9K

$15.7K UGX 66.4M

19.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,072

$12.99 UGX 54.8K

374.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿949

$12.06 UGX 50.9K

134.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,225

$30.48 UGX 128.6K

214.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,916

$41.93 UGX 176.8K

107.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.5K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿46.9K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿140.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

20.75

-73.16%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Busembatya: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Busembatya

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Busembatya

$140 35.9% 47.4% $127

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Busembatya

$111 28.5% 11.8% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Busembatya

$44 11.2% 64.3% $79

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Busembatya

$80 20.4% 33.1% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Busembatya

$14 * 3.6% 83.2% $69

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Busembatya

$2 * 0.5% 97% $64

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $24 in Busembatya for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $140 per month, with Busembatya cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇺🇬 Busembatya

🕒 Local time

17:37 5:37 PM

13:37 1:37 PM

4 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

15,889

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Ugandan Shilling UGX Sh

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.98 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

10,000 UGX = 2.37 USD

10,000 UGX = 2.11 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UGX, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.59 THB (100 THB = 2.98 USD). 1 EUR = 37.75 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Ugandan Shilling exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 4,217 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.37 USD). 1 EUR = 4,739 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.11 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Busembatya 7,220 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Busembatya

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 Busembatya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,294 in Phuket and $391 in Busembatya, so Busembatya is about 70% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,940 in Phuket and $587 in Busembatya 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.

Childcare runs $530 in Phuket versus $267 in Busembatya. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Busembatya – a meal for two runs $24 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $391 in Busembatya versus $1,294 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Busembatya but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Busembatya 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.