Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Masallatah

For one person, living is cheaper in Masallatah: $369 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $10,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

Phuket, Thailand
Masallatah, Libya
Phuket
🇹🇭 Thailand
$1,278
/mo nomad
Masallatah
🇱🇾 Libya
$369
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Masallatah

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

A single person spends $1,278 per month in Phuket vs $369 in Masallatah, rent included.

  • Phuket $1,278
  • Masallatah $369

A couple spends around $2,216 per month in Phuket vs $572 in Masallatah, rent included.

  • Phuket $2,216
  • Masallatah $572

A family of three spends $3,154 per month in Phuket vs $775 in Masallatah, rent included.

  • Phuket $3,154
  • Masallatah $775

Phuket costs about 247% more than Masallatah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Phuket and Masallatah are more affordable than the global median – Phuket 6% lower, Masallatah 73% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Phuket
Masallatah
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$4.47 ฿151
$3.93 LYD 25.22
13.74%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$32.41 ฿1,094
$15.50 LYD 99.4
109.10%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$8.81 ฿297
$2.69 LYD 17.23
227.51%
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)
-
$0.65 LYD 4.17
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$0.67 LYD 4.27
-
Cappuccino
$2.83 ฿95.4
$0.44 LYD 2.83
543.18%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.87 ฿29.42
$0.46 LYD 2.93
89.13%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.49 ฿16.66
$0.10 LYD 0.66
390.00%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.56 ฿86.3
-
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.68 ฿124
-
-
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Phuket
Masallatah
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.66 ฿56.0
$0.91 LYD 5.86
82.42%
White Bread (500g)
$1.46 ฿49.32
$0.22 LYD 1.41
563.64%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.50 ฿50.5
$1.18 LYD 7.59
27.12%
Eggs
$2.09 ฿70.5
$1.43 LYD 9.15
46.15%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$19.07 ฿643
$5.14 LYD 32.97
271.01%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.30 ฿111
$3.41 LYD 21.88
-3.23%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$10.91 ฿368
$9.54 LYD 61.2
14.36%
Apples (1kg)
$2.93 ฿98.9
$2.21 LYD 14.19
32.58%
Banana (1kg)
$1.69 ฿57.0
$1.55 LYD 9.92
9.03%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.25 ฿75.8
$0.69 LYD 4.43
226.09%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.08 ฿70.1
$0.60 LYD 3.85
246.67%
Potato (1kg)
$1.51 ฿51.0
$0.77 LYD 4.93
96.10%
Onion (1kg)
$1.38 ฿46.54
$0.50 LYD 3.22
176.00%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.07 ฿35.97
$0.43 LYD 2.74
148.84%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.52 ฿17.51
$0.17 LYD 1.12
205.88%
Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)
-
$1.76 LYD 11.32
-
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
-
$1.00 LYD 6.42
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$0.79 LYD 5.09
-
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.20 ฿142
$1.90 LYD 12.20
121.05%
Wine (Bottle)
$18.79 ฿634
-
-
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.82 ฿61.5
-
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.84 ฿95.9
-
-
🚌 Getting Around
Phuket
Masallatah
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.45 ฿49.00
-
-
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$56.7 ฿1,912
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.02 ฿102
$0.76 LYD 4.90
297.37%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.02 ฿34.34
$0.49 LYD 3.16
108.16%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$3.69 ฿125
-
-
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.47 ฿49.78
$0.02 LYD 0.13
7250.00%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$26.8K ฿903.7K
$23.8K LYD 152.9K
12.30%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$26.7K ฿900.8K
$20.9K LYD 133.7K
28.01%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Phuket
Masallatah
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$96.4 ฿3,252
$92.5 LYD 593
4.22%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$11.26 ฿380
$6.06 LYD 38.90
85.81%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$16.85 ฿569
$26.63 LYD 171
-36.73%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Phuket
Masallatah
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$67.2 ฿2,269
-
-
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$10.73 ฿362
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$7.50 ฿253
-
-
🧸 Childcare & Education
Phuket
Masallatah
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$476 ฿16.1K
$52.9 LYD 339
800.02%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$11.3K ฿380.1K
$1,541 LYD 9,884
630.90%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Phuket
Masallatah
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$62.4 ฿2,105
$22.90 LYD 147
172.31%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$28.41 ฿959
$17.06 LYD 109
66.53%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$94.3 ฿3,182
$64.1 LYD 411
47.12%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$85.8 ฿2,896
$67.5 LYD 433
27.04%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Phuket
Masallatah
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$716 ฿24.2K
-
-
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$491 ฿16.6K
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,927 ฿65.0K
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,431 ฿48.3K
-
-
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,175 ฿140.9K
-
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$3,045 ฿102.8K
-
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Phuket
Masallatah
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$502 ฿17.0K
-
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
5.57
0
-

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Masallatah: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Phuket
$491
Masallatah
–
Groceries & Markets
Phuket
$266
Masallatah
–
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Phuket
$124
Masallatah
–
Clothing & Footwear
Phuket
$122
Masallatah
–
Eating Out
Phuket
$122
Masallatah
–
Sport & Entertainment
Phuket
$82
Masallatah
–
Getting Around
Phuket
$71
Masallatah
–

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32 in Phuket versus $15 in Masallatah. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $266 vs $116 – making Masallatah the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇹🇭 Phuket
🇱🇾 Masallatah
🕒 Local time
09:31 9:31 AM
04:31 4:31 AM
5 h behind Phuket
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
79,308
💱 Currency
Thai Baht THB ฿
Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د
Exchange rates and currency converter

LYD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Libyan Dinar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 6.41 LYD (1 LYD = 0.156 USD). 1 EUR = 7.16 LYD (1 LYD = 0.14 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Phuket Masallatah 9,010 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Phuket
  • Masallatah

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 Masallatah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Masallatah cheaper than Phuket?
Yes – Phuket is pricier by about 247%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.
What income do you need for each city?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,917 per month in Phuket and $553 in Masallatah. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
What are total monthly expenses in Phuket and in Masallatah?
Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,278 in Phuket and $369 in Masallatah. That makes Masallatah about 71% cheaper.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Kindergarten costs $476 per month in Phuket and $53 in Masallatah. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.
Is $1,000 a realistic budget for living in Phuket or in Masallatah?
A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Masallatah, where all-in costs run around $369, than in Phuket at $1,278. In Masallatah it covers expenses comfortably, while in Phuket it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Is it better to live in Phuket or in Masallatah?
It depends on your priorities. Phuket has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $369 in Masallatah to $1,278 in Phuket. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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