Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Dibba Al-Fujairah

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $1,960 in Dibba Al-Fujairah, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
95

Cost of Living Index in Dibba Al-Fujairah
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Dibba Al-Fujairah Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Dibba Al-Fujairah

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$1,960

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Dibba Al-Fujairah

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 Dibba Al-Fujairah actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,960 in Dibba Al-Fujairah.

Phuket $1,208
Dibba Al-Fujairah $1,960

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $3,574 in Dibba Al-Fujairah.

Phuket $2,027
Dibba Al-Fujairah $3,574

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $5,189 in Dibba Al-Fujairah.

Phuket $2,845
Dibba Al-Fujairah $5,189

Living in Phuket costs roughly 38% less than in Dibba Al-Fujairah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Dibba Al-Fujairah is 45% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$6.80 AED 24.97

-35.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$80.8 AED 297

-60.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$8.21 AED 30.17

6.70%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$5.99 AED 22.01

-52.75%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$0.78 AED 2.87

15.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$0.28 AED 1.04

67.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$13.67 AED 50.2

-81.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$13.67 AED 50.2

-71.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$1.34 AED 4.93

29.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$1.12 AED 4.10

31.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$2.38 AED 8.73

-36.55%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$2.14 AED 7.85

1.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$12.17 AED 44.70

61.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$6.91 AED 25.38

-51.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$6.77 AED 24.85

64.84%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$1.59 AED 5.83

79.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$1.33 AED 4.90

27.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$1.85 AED 6.80

18.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$1.32 AED 4.86

55.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$0.84 AED 3.08

72.62%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$0.79 AED 2.91

74.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$1.38 AED 5.06

-22.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$0.52 AED 1.92

-1.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$6.25 AED 22.96

-31.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$16.56 AED 60.8

12.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$2.71 AED 9.96

-34.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$2.70 AED 9.93

5.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$2.08 AED 7.64

8.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

$37.12 AED 136

-40.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$1.08 AED 3.96

178.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$0.73 AED 2.69

45.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$8.41 AED 30.87

-54.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$0.75 AED 2.76

93.33%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$26.5K AED 97.2K

-0.50%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$21.9K AED 80.4K

23.14%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$245 AED 900

-60.69%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$53.2 AED 195

-79.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$82.1 AED 301

-79.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$57.7 AED 212

-9.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

$30.26 AED 111

-63.12%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$16.61 AED 61.0

-52.98%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$851 AED 3,124

-34.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$5,706 AED 21.0K

102.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$68.6 AED 252

-6.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$55.9 AED 205

-48.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$103 AED 377

-7.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$100 AED 368

-12.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$808 AED 2,966

-8.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$808 AED 2,969

-42.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$1,852 AED 6,803

13.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$2,721 AED 9,995

-55.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$4,788 AED 17.6K

-27.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$2,612 AED 9,594

-3.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.54

22.69%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Dibba Al-Fujairah: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Dibba Al-Fujairah

$808 41.3% 74.9% $346

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Dibba Al-Fujairah

$232 11.8% 13.7% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Dibba Al-Fujairah

$380 19.4% 205% $256

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Dibba Al-Fujairah

$147 7.5% 18.4% $23

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Dibba Al-Fujairah

$251 12.8% 107% $130

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Dibba Al-Fujairah

$91 4.6% 34.1% $23

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Dibba Al-Fujairah

$50 2.6% 27.3% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $737 in Phuket and $808 in Dibba Al-Fujairah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $81.0 in Dibba Al-Fujairah. Groceries flip the comparison at $269 vs $232, with Dibba Al-Fujairah cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇦🇪 Dibba Al-Fujairah

🕒 Local time

18:41 6:41 PM

15:41 3:41 PM

3 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

30,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Dibba Al-Fujairah 4,870 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Dibba Al-Fujairah

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 Dibba Al-Fujairah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket and Dibba Al-Fujairah differ by about 62% in total monthly costs ($1,208 vs $1,960 including rent). Phuket is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,813 in Phuket and $2,940 in Dibba Al-Fujairah 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: $737 in Phuket versus $808 in Dibba Al-Fujairah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 68% less than in Dibba Al-Fujairah. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $556 in Phuket versus $851 in Dibba Al-Fujairah. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,960 in Dibba Al-Fujairah, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Dibba Al-Fujairah. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket 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.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Dibba Al-Fujairah are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Dibba Al-Fujairah. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.