Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Msaken

For one person, living is cheaper in Msaken: $645 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 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
31

Cost of Living Index in Msaken
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Msaken Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Msaken

🇹🇳 Tunisia

$645

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Msaken

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $645 in Msaken.

Phuket $1,278
Msaken $645

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,019 in Msaken.

Phuket $2,216
Msaken $1,019

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $1,392 in Msaken.

Phuket $3,154
Msaken $1,392

Living in Phuket is roughly 98% more expensive than in Msaken, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Msaken 53% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$4.91 TND 14.80

-8.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$22.34 TND 67.3

45.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$5.81 TND 17.52

51.64%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$1.09 TND 3.28

159.63%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$0.81 TND 2.44

7.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.36 TND 1.08

36.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$1.71 TND 5.15

49.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.10 TND 6.34

75.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$0.47 TND 1.42

253.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$0.32 TND 0.98

356.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.62 TND 4.89

-7.41%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.71 TND 5.16

22.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$13.79 TND 41.54

38.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$5.87 TND 17.67

-43.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$14.31 TND 43.10

-23.76%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$1.94 TND 5.86

51.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$3.59 TND 10.83

-52.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$1.19 TND 3.59

89.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$0.81 TND 2.43

156.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.79 TND 2.38

91.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$0.66 TND 1.99

109.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$0.44 TND 1.31

143.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$0.31 TND 0.93

67.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.61 TND 10.86

16.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$5.89 TND 17.74

219.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.02 TND 3.09

78.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$1.30 TND 3.92

118.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$0.34 TND 1.04

326.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$0.31 TND 0.93

874.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$0.34 TND 1.04

200.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$3.96 TND 11.92

-6.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$0.86 TND 2.60

70.93%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$39.4K TND 118.6K

-32.00%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$36.4K TND 109.7K

-26.68%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$59.6 TND 179

61.74%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$8.78 TND 26.46

28.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$21.06 TND 63.4

-19.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$20.76 TND 62.6

223.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$6.15 TND 18.52

21.95%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$93.3 TND 281

410.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$3,119 TND 9,395

261.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$44.67 TND 135

39.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$60.7 TND 183

-53.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$115 TND 347

-18.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$82.7 TND 249

3.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$108 TND 325

564.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$92.0 TND 277

433.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$203 TND 610

851.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$147 TND 444

870.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$238 TND 718

110.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

10.65

-47.70%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Msaken: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Msaken

$92 14.3% 81.3% $399

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Msaken

$204 31.6% 23.5% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Msaken

$89 13.9% 28.2% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Msaken

$136 21.2% 12% $15

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Msaken

$87 13.5% 28.3% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Msaken

$33 5.1% 59.8% $49

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Msaken

$3.4 * 0.5% 95.2% $67

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $108 in Msaken. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays about 2.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $22 in Msaken for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $204 per month, with Msaken cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇹🇳 Msaken

🕒 Local time

05:04 5:04 AM

23:04 11:04 PM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

56,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Tunisian Dinar TND د.ت

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 TND = 0.332 USD

1 TND = 0.298 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TND, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Tunisian Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3.01 TND (1 TND = 0.332 USD). 1 EUR = 3.35 TND (1 TND = 0.298 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Msaken 9,300 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Msaken

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 Msaken: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Msaken is about 50% cheaper overall, especially in transport, groceries, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Phuket is about 2.1 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: $716 in Phuket versus $108 in Msaken. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $93 in Msaken. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Msaken – a meal for two runs $22 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $645 in Msaken versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Msaken but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Msaken 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 Msaken are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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