Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

For one person, living is cheaper in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos: $956 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos
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Madinat As Sultan Qaboos Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

🇴🇲 Oman

$956

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

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 Madinat As Sultan Qaboos actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $956 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos.

Phuket $1,294
Madinat As Sultan Qaboos $956

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $1,434 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos.

Phuket $2,204
Madinat As Sultan Qaboos $1,434

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $1,911 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos.

Phuket $3,115
Madinat As Sultan Qaboos $1,911

Living in Phuket is roughly 35% more expensive than in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 4% lower, Madinat As Sultan Qaboos 29% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿147

$5.35 OMR 2.06

-17.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,085

$38.48 OMR 14.81

-16.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿292

$7.89 OMR 3.04

10.27%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.5

$5.01 OMR 1.93

-45.71%

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

$0.93 ฿31.25

$0.91 OMR 0.35

2.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.78

$0.29 OMR 0.11

72.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿85.0

$13.09 OMR 5.04

-80.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿122

$13.26 OMR 5.10

-72.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.4

$2.29 OMR 0.88

-24.02%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.73

$1.24 OMR 0.48

16.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.91 OMR 0.73

-21.47%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿73.0

$3.08 OMR 1.19

-29.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿641

$7.12 OMR 2.74

168.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$7.14 OMR 2.75

-52.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿366

$10.13 OMR 3.90

7.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿98.8

$3.65 OMR 1.40

-19.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.8

$2.01 OMR 0.77

-15.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.7

$2.39 OMR 0.92

-8.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿71.4

$1.30 OMR 0.50

63.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿48.99

$1.17 OMR 0.45

24.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.95

$1.28 OMR 0.49

7.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿36.14

$1.82 OMR 0.70

-40.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.32

$0.65 OMR 0.25

-15.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿149

$6.55 OMR 2.52

-32.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿613

$15.39 OMR 5.92

18.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.5

$5.94 OMR 2.29

-70.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿96.8

$10.26 OMR 3.95

-71.93%

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

$3.23 OMR 1.24

-53.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿26.06

$2.53 OMR 0.97

-69.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿129

$7.92 OMR 3.05

-51.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.96

$0.61 OMR 0.23

144.26%

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

$26.9K ฿902.9K

$25.2K OMR 9,707

6.61%

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

$26.3K ฿884.9K

$20.7K OMR 7,962

27.40%

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

$97.8 ฿3,285

$180 OMR 69.2

-45.55%

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

$11.29 ฿379

$30.21 OMR 11.63

-62.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿577

$70.4 OMR 27.11

-75.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,295

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿367

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿250

$10.58 OMR 4.07

-29.77%

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

$530 ฿17.8K

$492 OMR 190

7.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿630.9K

$10.4K OMR 4,002

80.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,072

$56.7 OMR 21.81

8.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿949

$43.66 OMR 16.81

-35.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,225

$88.6 OMR 34.11

8.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,916

$87.0 OMR 33.51

-0.25%

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

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.25

6.10%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Madinat As Sultan Qaboos: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$291 30.5% 9.1% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$280 29.3% 122% $154

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$124 13% 1.2% $1.4

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$223 23.4% 86.8% $104

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$21 * 2.2% 74.6% $62

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$16 * 1.7% 75.9% $50

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $38 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $291 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇴🇲 Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

🕒 Local time

09:46 9:46 AM

06:46 6:46 AM

3 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Omani Rial OMR ر.ع.

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.98 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

1 OMR = 2.6 USD

1 OMR = 2.31 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

OMR, 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 = 37.81 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

Omani Rial exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.385 OMR (1 OMR = 2.6 USD). 1 EUR = 0.433 OMR (1 OMR = 2.31 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Madinat As Sultan Qaboos 4,590 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

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 Madinat As Sultan Qaboos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos wins on cost – living expenses run 26% lower than in Phuket. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Madinat As Sultan Qaboos the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,940 in Phuket and $1,434 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos 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.

Shoppers in Phuket pay roughly 8% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,294 per month in Phuket versus $956 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos – Madinat As Sultan Qaboos is about 26% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Madinat As Sultan Qaboos is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Madinat As Sultan Qaboos are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.