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

😐 Solo nomad: Phuket is 2.5% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 2.6% cheaper with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Phuket is 5.1% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 20% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Phuket
Cape Town
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$4.59 ฿147
$11.06 R 181
-58.50%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$46.83 ฿1,501
$45.39 R 744
3.17%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$8.70 ฿279
$5.09 R 83.4
70.92%
Cappuccino
$2.92 ฿93.7
$2.08 R 34.09
40.38%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.68 ฿21.92
$1.16 R 19.08
-41.38%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.40 ฿12.70
$0.89 R 14.64
-55.06%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.51 ฿80.4
$2.84 R 46.55
-11.62%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.80 ฿122
$2.45 R 40.15
55.10%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Phuket
Cape Town
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$2.16 ฿69.3
$1.10 R 17.99
96.36%
White Bread (500g)
$1.88 ฿60.3
$1.10 R 17.97
70.91%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.16 ฿69.2
$1.83 R 30.03
18.03%
Eggs
$2.22 ฿71.2
$2.50 R 41.02
-11.20%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$19.57 ฿627
$8.65 R 142
126.24%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.80 ฿122
$5.06 R 83.0
-24.90%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$13.41 ฿430
$7.58 R 124
76.91%
Apples (1kg)
$3.26 ฿104
$1.57 R 25.76
107.64%
Banana (1kg)
$1.61 ฿51.7
$1.41 R 23.18
14.18%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.31 ฿74.0
$1.50 R 24.66
54.00%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.06 ฿66.0
$1.53 R 25.10
34.64%
Potato (1kg)
$1.61 ฿51.5
$1.09 R 17.80
47.71%
Onion (1kg)
$1.44 ฿46.26
$1.18 R 19.39
22.03%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.03 ฿33.01
$1.06 R 17.38
-2.83%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.48 ฿15.39
$0.99 R 16.19
-51.52%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.50 ฿144
$3.11 R 51.0
44.69%
Wine (Bottle)
$19.18 ฿615
$6.36 R 104
201.57%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.82 ฿58.4
$1.37 R 22.45
32.85%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.69 ฿86.2
$1.75 R 28.77
53.71%
🚌 Getting Around
Phuket
Cape Town
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.38 ฿44.16
$0.92 R 15.03
50.00%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$11.76 ฿377
$48.28 R 792
-75.64%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.11 ฿99.6
$1.38 R 22.59
125.36%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.00 ฿32.18
$0.93 R 15.26
7.53%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$13.74 ฿441
$4.37 R 71.6
214.42%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.30 ฿41.61
$1.20 R 19.68
8.33%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$27.4K ฿877.0K
$21.6K R 354.1K
26.71%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$33.0K ฿1.1M
$24.0K R 393.7K
37.55%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Phuket
Cape Town
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$125 ฿4,004
$101 R 1,664
23.08%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$13.74 ฿440
$32.97 R 541
-58.33%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$18.61 ฿597
$40.85 R 670
-54.44%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Phuket
Cape Town
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$60.6 ฿1,941
$42.59 R 698
42.17%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$17.15 ฿550
$7.89 R 129
117.36%
Cinema Ticket
$9.01 ฿289
$6.62 R 109
36.10%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Phuket
Cape Town
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$698 ฿22.4K
$213 R 3,490
227.83%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$16.1K ฿516.5K
$5,331 R 87.4K
202.25%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Phuket
Cape Town
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$59.2 ฿1,898
$54.6 R 896
8.38%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$34.86 ฿1,118
$33.27 R 546
4.78%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$114 ฿3,662
$114 R 1,878
-0.24%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$85.8 ฿2,751
$84.0 R 1,377
2.17%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Phuket
Cape Town
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$619 ฿19.8K
$767 R 12.6K
-19.32%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$437 ฿14.0K
$525 R 8,604
-16.74%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,075 ฿66.5K
$1,440 R 23.6K
44.08%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,509 ฿48.4K
$1,008 R 16.5K
49.74%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,764 ฿120.7K
$2,240 R 36.7K
68.00%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,694 ฿86.4K
$1,451 R 23.8K
85.66%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Phuket
Cape Town
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$528 ฿16.9K
$1,707 R 28.0K
-69.03%
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: April 13, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: April 14, 2026

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 other spots: cost of living compared

Similar cities