Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Imbabah

For one person, living is cheaper in Imbabah: $383 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $10,900 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
18

Cost of Living Index in Imbabah
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Imbabah Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Imbabah

🇪🇬 Egypt

$383

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Imbabah

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

A single person spends $1,294 per month in Phuket vs $383 in Imbabah, rent included.

Phuket $1,294
Imbabah $383

A couple spends around $2,204 per month in Phuket vs $627 in Imbabah, rent included.

Phuket $2,204
Imbabah $627

A family of three spends $3,115 per month in Phuket vs $872 in Imbabah, rent included.

Phuket $3,115
Imbabah $872

Phuket costs about 238% more than Imbabah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Phuket and Imbabah are more affordable than the global median – Phuket 4% lower, Imbabah 72% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿148

$3.98 E£220

10.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,090

$17.54 E£970

84.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿294

$4.55 E£252

91.21%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.9

$1.19 E£65.7

128.57%

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

$0.93 ฿31.39

$0.30 E£16.72

210.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.85

$0.10 E£5.41

400.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿85.4

$1.22 E£67.7

107.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿122

$2.71 E£150

33.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.7

$0.55 E£30.51

216.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.95

$0.15 E£8.48

866.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.7

$0.55 E£30.63

172.73%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿73.3

$1.10 E£60.6

97.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿644

$1.37 E£75.7

1293.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿115

$2.91 E£161

16.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿368

$6.13 E£339

77.81%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿99.2

$1.44 E£79.8

104.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$0.42 E£23.43

302.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿74.0

$0.37 E£20.68

491.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿71.7

$0.21 E£11.37

909.52%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿49.21

$0.23 E£12.64

534.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿46.15

$0.30 E£16.74

356.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿36.30

$0.09 E£5.18

1100.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.41

$0.19 E£10.72

189.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿149

$1.56 E£86.0

183.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿616

$1.74 E£96.2

948.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.8

$1.17 E£64.9

51.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿97.2

$1.76 E£97.3

63.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.84

$0.19 E£10.37

663.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,852

$13.10 E£724

319.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.20 E£11.05

655.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿26.18

$0.15 E£8.48

420.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿130

$1.11 E£61.3

245.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿50.2

$0.20 E£11.04

645.00%

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

$26.9K ฿907.0K

$32.2K E£1.8M

-16.39%

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

$26.3K ฿888.9K

$24.5K E£1.4M

7.45%

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

$97.8 ฿3,300

$12.32 E£681

693.91%

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

$11.29 ฿381

$6.54 E£362

72.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿580

$12.22 E£676

40.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,305

$15.37 E£850

344.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿368

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿251

$2.59 E£143

186.87%

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

$530 ฿17.9K

$21.66 E£1,197

2348.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿633.7K

$904 E£50.0K

1976.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,081

$14.43 E£798

327.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿953

$17.75 E£982

59.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,239

$119 E£6,587

-19.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,929

$53.2 E£2,941

63.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.3K

$127 E£7,022

467.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.2K

$71.4 E£3,945

613.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.8K

$247 E£13.6K

690.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿47.1K

$138 E£7,603

915.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿141.4K

$723 E£40.0K

479.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿111.3K

$328 E£18.1K

905.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.6K

$87.5 E£4,839

461.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

21.33

-73.89%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Imbabah: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Imbabah

$71 18.7% 86% $438

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Imbabah

$80 20.9% 70.1% $187

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Imbabah

$31 8.1% 75.4% $95

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Imbabah

$92 24.1% 25% $31

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Imbabah

$73 19.1% 39% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Imbabah

$21 5.4% 75.3% $63

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Imbabah

$15 3.9% 77.6% $51

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $721 in Phuket versus $127 in Imbabah. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Phuket are about 5.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32 in Phuket versus $18 in Imbabah. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $267 vs $80 – making Imbabah the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇪🇬 Imbabah

🕒 Local time

05:02 5:02 AM

00:02 12:02 AM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

100 EGP = 1.81 USD

100 EGP = 1.62 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.73 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 55.29 EGP (100 EGP = 1.81 USD). 1 EUR = 61.83 EGP (100 EGP = 1.62 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Imbabah 7,380 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Imbabah

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 Imbabah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,294 in Phuket, $383 in Imbabah – Imbabah comes out roughly 70% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,940 per month in Phuket and $574 in Imbabah. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Imbabah, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $127 there versus $721 in Phuket.

Groceries cost about 234% more in Phuket, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32 in Phuket and $18 in Imbabah. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Imbabah, where all-in costs run around $383, than in Phuket at $1,294. In Imbabah it covers expenses comfortably, while in Phuket it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Imbabah – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Imbabah. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Phuket makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.