Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Kurunegala

For one person, living is cheaper in Kurunegala: $498 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $9,600 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
24

Cost of Living Index in Kurunegala
Learn more

Kurunegala Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Kurunegala

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$498

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Kurunegala

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $498 in Kurunegala.

Phuket $1,294
Kurunegala $498

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $807 in Kurunegala.

Phuket $2,204
Kurunegala $807

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $1,116 in Kurunegala.

Phuket $3,115
Kurunegala $1,116

Living in Phuket is roughly 160% more expensive than in Kurunegala, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 4% lower, Kurunegala 63% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿147

$1.83 LKR 610

139.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,085

$24.67 LKR 8,207

30.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿292

$7.47 LKR 2,484

16.47%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.5

$2.56 LKR 853

6.25%

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

$0.93 ฿31.25

$0.67 LKR 223

38.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.78

$0.27 LKR 89.9

85.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿85.0

$2.18 LKR 724

16.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿122

$3.00 LKR 997

21.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.4

$1.58 LKR 526

10.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.73

$0.56 LKR 187

158.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$0.75 LKR 248

100.00%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿73.0

$1.66 LKR 551

30.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿641

$15.58 LKR 5,181

22.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$5.09 LKR 1,694

-33.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿366

$7.78 LKR 2,588

40.10%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿98.8

$6.54 LKR 2,177

-55.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.8

$0.87 LKR 291

94.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.7

$4.15 LKR 1,379

-47.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿71.4

$1.34 LKR 445

58.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿48.99

$1.08 LKR 358

35.19%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.95

$0.83 LKR 277

65.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿36.14

$1.20 LKR 400

-10.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.32

$0.46 LKR 152

19.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿149

$10.12 LKR 3,367

-56.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿613

$13.58 LKR 4,517

34.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.5

$1.98 LKR 657

-10.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿96.8

$2.86 LKR 950

0.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.62

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,844

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿50.8

$0.37 LKR 125

308.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿26.06

$0.30 LKR 101

160.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿129

$0.94 LKR 314

308.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.96

$0.95 LKR 315

56.84%

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

$26.9K ฿902.9K

$43.1K LKR 14.3M

-37.68%

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

$26.3K ฿884.9K

$44.8K LKR 14.9M

-41.21%

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

$97.8 ฿3,285

$58.1 LKR 19.3K

68.41%

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

$11.29 ฿379

$4.31 LKR 1,434

161.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿577

$20.95 LKR 6,969

-17.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,295

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿367

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿250

$4.49 LKR 1,492

65.48%

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

$530 ฿17.8K

$39.43 LKR 13.1K

1245.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿630.9K

$16.9K LKR 5.6M

10.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,072

$18.04 LKR 6,001

241.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿949

$17.71 LKR 5,890

59.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,225

$77.6 LKR 25.8K

23.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,916

$40.86 LKR 13.6K

112.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.5K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿46.9K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿140.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.5K

$152 LKR 50.7K

222.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

12.5

-55.44%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Kurunegala: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Kurunegala

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Kurunegala

$246 49.4% 7.9% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Kurunegala

$83 16.7% 34% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Kurunegala

$69 13.9% 43.4% $53

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Kurunegala

$88 17.8% 26% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Kurunegala

$9 * 1.8% 89.2% $74

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Kurunegala

$1.9 * 0.4% 97.1% $64

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

Cost Breakdown

Phuket pays about 3.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $25 in Kurunegala for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $246 per month, with Kurunegala cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇱🇰 Kurunegala

🕒 Local time

14:54 2:54 PM

13:24 1:24 PM

1 h 30 min behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

30,300

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.98 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.59 THB (100 THB = 2.98 USD). 1 EUR = 37.75 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 374 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Kurunegala 1,990 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Kurunegala

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 Kurunegala: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kurunegala is about 62% cheaper overall, especially in leisure, transport, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Phuket is about 3.2 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Childcare runs $530 in Phuket versus $39 in Kurunegala. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Kurunegala – a meal for two runs $25 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $498 in Kurunegala versus $1,294 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kurunegala but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Kurunegala 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 Kurunegala are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Kurunegala wins on affordability, Phuket on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.