Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Cape Town Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Cape Town

😐 Solo nomad: Phuket is 5% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 3.1% cheaper with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Phuket is 8.2% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 19% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Phuket
Cape Town
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$4.68 ฿151
$11.02 R 196
-57.53%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$46.4 ฿1,502
$44.54 R 792
4.18%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$8.65 ฿280
$4.96 R 88.2
74.40%
Cappuccino
$3.09 ฿100
$1.98 R 35.25
56.06%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.73 ฿23.53
$1.16 R 20.6
-37.07%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.37 ฿11.95
$0.87 R 15.46
-57.47%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.39 ฿77.4
$2.82 R 50.1
-15.25%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.62 ฿117
$2.47 R 43.97
46.56%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Phuket
Cape Town
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$2.24 ฿72.5
$1.16 R 20.62
93.10%
White Bread (500g)
$1.8 ฿58.2
$1.1 R 19.49
63.64%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.24 ฿72.3
$1.83 R 32.49
22.40%
Eggs
$2.23 ฿72.1
$2.39 R 42.45
-6.69%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$19.31 ฿625
$8.28 R 147
133.21%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.77 ฿122
$5.22 R 92.8
-27.78%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$13.05 ฿422
$7.46 R 133
74.93%
Apples (1kg)
$3.28 ฿106
$1.55 R 27.64
111.61%
Banana (1kg)
$1.63 ฿52.6
$1.41 R 25.08
15.60%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.4 ฿77.7
$1.45 R 25.83
65.52%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.99 ฿64.3
$1.52 R 26.99
30.92%
Potato (1kg)
$1.53 ฿49.62
$1.08 R 19.21
41.67%
Onion (1kg)
$1.49 ฿48.11
$1.24 R 22.05
20.16%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.02 ฿32.87
$1.09 R 19.32
-6.42%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.48 ฿15.61
$0.98 R 17.46
-51.02%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.32 ฿140
$3.04 R 54
42.11%
Wine (Bottle)
$21.68 ฿702
$5.68 R 101
281.69%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.77 ฿57.3
$1.42 R 25.18
24.65%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.79 ฿90.4
$1.68 R 29.94
66.07%
🚌 Getting Around
Phuket
Cape Town
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.35 ฿43.74
$0.91 R 16.22
48.35%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$11.76 ฿380
$47.53 R 845
-75.26%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.15 ฿102
$1.38 R 24.59
128.26%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1 ฿32.3
$0.95 R 16.94
5.26%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$13.64 ฿442
$4.54 R 80.8
200.44%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.3 ฿42.2
$1.23 R 21.88
5.69%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$27.4K ฿885.2K
$21K R 373K
30.44%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$33.9K ฿1.1M
$24.5K R 434.9K
38.65%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Phuket
Cape Town
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$123 ฿3,970
$99.2 R 1,764
23.67%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$13.93 ฿451
$33.54 R 597
-58.47%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$18.24 ฿590
$40.65 R 723
-55.13%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Phuket
Cape Town
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$60.8 ฿1,966
$42.61 R 758
42.57%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$17.11 ฿554
$8.17 R 145
109.42%
Cinema Ticket
$9.07 ฿294
$6.85 R 122
32.41%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Phuket
Cape Town
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$694 ฿22.5K
$209 R 3,720
231.85%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$15.9K ฿514.4K
$5,202 R 92.5K
205.57%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Phuket
Cape Town
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$57.5 ฿1,861
$55.1 R 980
4.34%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$34.51 ฿1,117
$33.11 R 589
4.23%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$115 ฿3,727
$111 R 1,974
3.73%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$84.8 ฿2,743
$85.5 R 1,520
-0.81%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Phuket
Cape Town
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$611 ฿19.8K
$766 R 13.6K
-20.21%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$442 ฿14.3K
$522 R 9,280
-15.25%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,014 ฿65.2K
$1,434 R 25.5K
40.51%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,460 ฿47.2K
$1,029 R 18.3K
41.85%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,244 ฿137.3K
$2,000 R 35.6K
112.15%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,886 ฿93.4K
$1,318 R 23.4K
118.93%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Phuket
Cape Town
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$697 ฿22.5K
$1,641 R 29.2K
-57.55%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
5.33
11.77
-54.72%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 29, 2025

Last update for Cape Town: October 29, 2025

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