Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Mazar-i-Sharif

For one person, living is cheaper in Mazar-i-Sharif: $292 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $11,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Mazar-i-Sharif
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Mazar-i-Sharif Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Mazar-i-Sharif

🇦🇫 Afghanistan

$292

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Mazar-i-Sharif

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 Mazar-i-Sharif actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $292 in Mazar-i-Sharif.

Phuket $1,208
Mazar-i-Sharif $292

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $461 in Mazar-i-Sharif.

Phuket $2,027
Mazar-i-Sharif $461

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $630 in Mazar-i-Sharif.

Phuket $2,845
Mazar-i-Sharif $630

Living in Phuket is roughly 313% more expensive than in Mazar-i-Sharif, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Mazar-i-Sharif 78% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$2.38 ؋154

84.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$15.47 ؋1,003

108.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$4.01 ؋260

118.45%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.54 ؋489

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.50 ؋486

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$1.23 ؋79.8

130.08%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$0.57 ؋36.96

57.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$0.30 ؋19.28

56.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$0.65 ؋42.20

166.15%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$0.15 ؋9.99

880.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$2.10 ؋136

-28.10%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$1.65 ؋107

31.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$7.49 ؋486

163.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$3.30 ؋214

1.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$6.09 ؋395

83.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$0.59 ؋38.30

383.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$1.13 ؋73.5

50.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$0.82 ؋53.2

167.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$0.61 ؋39.27

236.07%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$0.47 ؋30.46

208.51%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$0.38 ؋24.88

263.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$0.56 ؋36.54

91.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$0.32 ؋20.97

59.38%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.86 ؋121

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$1.57 ؋102

171.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$0.81 ؋52.2

179.01%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$1.52 ؋98.7

153.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$1.53 ؋99.4

-5.23%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$9,927 ؋643.5K

165.22%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$83.3 ؋5,399

15.73%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$16.98 ؋1,101

-34.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$11.53 ؋747

352.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

$3.87 ؋251

188.37%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$4.68 ؋304

66.88%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$76.6 ؋4,967

625.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$12.93 ؋838

396.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$18.48 ؋1,198

376.08%

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

$235 ؋15.2K

112.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Mazar-i-Sharif: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Mazar-i-Sharif

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Mazar-i-Sharif

$105 35.8% 61% $164

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Mazar-i-Sharif

$100 * 34.3% 19.5% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Mazar-i-Sharif

$14 * 4.8% 88.6% $110

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Mazar-i-Sharif

$49 16.9% 59.4% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Mazar-i-Sharif

$21 7.2% 69.2% $47

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Mazar-i-Sharif

$3.2 * 1.1% 91.8% $36

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

Cost Breakdown

Phuket pays 113% 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: $32.00 in Phuket vs $15.00 in Mazar-i-Sharif for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $105 per month, with Mazar-i-Sharif cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇦🇫 Mazar-i-Sharif

🕒 Local time

16:13 4:13 PM

13:43 1:43 PM

2 h 30 min behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

300,600

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Afghanistan Afghani AFN ؋

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 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 October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Afghanistan Afghani exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 64.83 AFN (100 AFN = 1.54 USD). 1 EUR = 72.88 AFN (100 AFN = 1.37 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Mazar-i-Sharif 4,500 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Mazar-i-Sharif

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 Mazar-i-Sharif: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mazar-i-Sharif is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 313% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 113% higher in Phuket, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Supermarket bills run roughly 157% 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 $292 in Mazar-i-Sharif – a 313% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $292 in Mazar-i-Sharif versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Mazar-i-Sharif but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Mazar-i-Sharif the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Mazar-i-Sharif is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Phuket, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Mazar-i-Sharif 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 Mazar-i-Sharif gentler on the wallet – expenses run 313% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.