Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Khost

For one person, living is cheaper in Khost: $403 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 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
19

Cost of Living Index in Khost
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Khost Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Khost

🇦🇫 Afghanistan

$403

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Khost

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $403 in Khost.

Phuket $1,294
Khost $403

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $593 in Khost.

Phuket $2,204
Khost $593

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $783 in Khost.

Phuket $3,115
Khost $783

Living in Phuket is roughly 221% more expensive than in Khost, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 4% lower, Khost 70% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿148

$2.70 ؋175

62.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,090

$7.50 ؋487

330.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿294

$4.71 ؋306

84.71%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.34 ؋152

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 ؋122

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.9

$1.11 ؋72.3

145.05%

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

$0.93 ฿31.38

$0.49 ؋32.02

89.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.85

$0.16 ؋10.36

212.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿85.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿122

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.7

$0.82 ؋53.1

112.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.93

$0.25 ؋16.29

480.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.7

$1.80 ؋117

-16.67%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿73.3

$1.56 ؋101

39.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿644

$4.46 ؋290

328.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿115

$3.94 ؋256

-13.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿368

$6.59 ؋429

65.40%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿99.2

$0.68 ؋43.99

332.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$0.89 ؋58.0

89.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿74.0

$0.94 ؋60.9

132.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿71.6

$0.52 ؋33.60

307.69%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿49.19

$0.65 ؋42.28

124.62%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿46.14

$0.47 ؋30.69

191.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿36.29

$0.28 ؋18.12

285.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.40

$0.37 ؋23.76

48.65%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.87 ؋121

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.78 ؋51.0

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.05 ؋68.1

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿149

$2.41 ؋156

83.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿616

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.8

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿97.2

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.82

$0.48 ؋31.18

202.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,851

$18.31 ؋1,190

199.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.81 ؋52.4

86.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿26.17

$0.45 ؋29.16

73.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿129

$2.27 ؋148

69.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿50.2

$1.08 ؋70.5

37.96%

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

$26.9K ฿906.7K

$8,337 ؋541.9K

222.43%

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

$26.3K ฿888.6K

$33.8K ؋2.2M

-22.09%

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

$97.8 ฿3,299

$42.02 ؋2,732

132.77%

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

$11.29 ฿381

$13.11 ؋852

-13.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿580

$95.6 ؋6,217

-82.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,305

$7.79 ؋506

777.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿368

$6.29 ؋409

73.61%

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿251

$2.27 ؋148

227.31%

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

$530 ฿17.9K

$20.48 ؋1,331

2489.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿633.5K

$1,034 ؋67.2K

1716.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,080

$10.84 ؋705

468.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿953

$15.86 ؋1,031

78.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,238

$57.4 ؋3,734

67.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,928

$25.23 ؋1,640

244.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.3K

$31.24 ؋2,030

2208.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.2K

$15.55 ؋1,011

3172.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.8K

$77.3 ؋5,026

2421.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿47.1K

$46.16 ؋3,000

2926.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿141.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿111.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.6K

$188 ؋12.2K

162.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

-44.30%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Khost: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Khost

$16 3.9% 96.9% $493

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Khost

$100 24.9% 62.4% $166

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Khost

$151 37.4% 19.4% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Khost

$49 12.2% 59.9% $74

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Khost

$52 12.8% 56.8% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Khost

$12 3.1% 85.2% $71

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Khost

$23 5.8% 64.8% $43

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Phuket and $31 in Khost. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays about 2.6 times more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $7 in Khost for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $100 per month, with Khost cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇦🇫 Khost

🕒 Local time

17:18 5:18 PM

14:48 2:48 PM

2 h 30 min behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

11,987

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Afghanistan Afghani AFN ؋

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

100 AFN = 1.54 USD

100 AFN = 1.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AFN, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.81 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

Afghanistan Afghani exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 65 AFN (100 AFN = 1.54 USD). 1 EUR = 72.87 AFN (100 AFN = 1.37 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Khost 4,070 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Khost

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 Khost: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Khost is about 69% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Phuket is about 2.6 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $721 in Phuket versus $31 in Khost. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Khost – a meal for two runs $7 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,294 per month in Phuket versus $403 in Khost – Khost is about 69% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $403 in Khost versus $1,294 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Khost but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Khost 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.

Expats usually find Khost gentler on the wallet – expenses run 69% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.