Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Kampong Cham

For one person, living is cheaper in Kampong Cham: $526 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 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
25

Cost of Living Index in Kampong Cham
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Kampong Cham Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Kampong Cham

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$526

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Kampong Cham

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $526 in Kampong Cham.

Phuket $1,208
Kampong Cham $526

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $825 in Kampong Cham.

Phuket $2,027
Kampong Cham $825

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $1,124 in Kampong Cham.

Phuket $2,845
Kampong Cham $1,124

Living in Phuket is roughly 130% more expensive than in Kampong Cham, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Kampong Cham 61% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$2.56 ៛10.4K

71.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$20.15 ៛81.9K

60.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$7.76 ៛31.5K

12.89%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$1.47 ៛5,960

92.52%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$0.48 ៛1,941

87.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$0.46 ៛1,855

2.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$0.49 ៛1,977

420.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$1.53 ៛6,211

150.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$2.16 ៛8,755

-19.91%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$1.74 ៛7,071

-15.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$0.88 ៛3,578

71.59%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$1.73 ៛7,043

25.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$15.04 ៛61.1K

30.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$2.85 ៛11.6K

17.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$10.31 ៛41.9K

8.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$4.35 ៛17.7K

-34.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$1.28 ៛5,182

32.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$3.78 ៛15.3K

-42.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$1.06 ៛4,286

93.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$1.26 ៛5,134

15.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$1.13 ៛4,595

22.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$1.35 ៛5,503

-20.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$0.76 ៛3,090

-32.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$1.35 ៛5,504

215.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$8.10 ៛32.9K

129.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$1.03 ៛4,192

72.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$2.30 ៛9,324

23.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$2.06 ៛8,354

46.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$1.03 ៛4,178

2.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$4.94 ៛20.1K

-21.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$1.29 ៛5,232

12.40%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$24.9K ៛101.2M

5.66%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$22.5K ៛91.4M

19.72%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$103 ៛418.2K

-6.38%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$5.53 ៛22.4K

99.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$15.17 ៛61.6K

12.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$10.04 ៛40.8K

419.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$5.04 ៛20.5K

54.96%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$277 ៛1.1M

100.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$4,366 ៛17.7M

165.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$26.09 ៛106.0K

146.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$13.27 ៛53.9K

116.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$68.0 ៛276.2K

40.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$45.23 ៛183.7K

94.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

9.2

-39.46%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Kampong Cham: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Kampong Cham

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Kampong Cham

$236 44.9% 12.1% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Kampong Cham

$124 23.5% 0.7% $0.9

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Kampong Cham

$69 13.1% 44.8% $56

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Kampong Cham

$71 13.4% 41.8% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Kampong Cham

$20 3.8% 70.3% $48

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Kampong Cham

$7.2 * 1.4% 81.7% $32

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $20.00 in Kampong Cham for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $236 per month, with Kampong Cham cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇰🇭 Kampong Cham

🕒 Local time

03:03 3:03 AM

Same time as Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

118,242

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

10,000 KHR = 2.46 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KHR, 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).

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 4,062 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.46 USD). 1 EUR = 4,567 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.19 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Kampong Cham 900 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Kampong Cham

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 Kampong Cham: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket and Kampong Cham differ by about 130% in total monthly costs ($1,208 vs $526 including rent). Kampong Cham 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 $789 in Kampong Cham 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.

Supermarket bills run roughly 14% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,208 per month in Phuket versus $526 in Kampong Cham – a 130% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $526 in Kampong Cham versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Kampong Cham but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Kampong Cham 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 Kampong Cham 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 Kampong Cham gentler on the wallet – expenses run 130% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.