Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Peshawar

For one person, living is cheaper in Peshawar: $525 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Peshawar
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Peshawar Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Peshawar

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$525

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Peshawar

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $525 in Peshawar.

Phuket $1,278
Peshawar $525

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $716 in Peshawar.

Phuket $2,216
Peshawar $716

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $906 in Peshawar.

Phuket $3,154
Peshawar $906

Living in Phuket is roughly 143% more expensive than in Peshawar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Peshawar 61% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$2.50 PKR 690

78.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$9.15 PKR 2,529

254.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$5.35 PKR 1,478

64.67%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.21 PKR 612

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.92 PKR 806

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$2.63 PKR 727

7.60%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$0.34 PKR 95.0

155.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.18 PKR 49.25

172.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.01 PKR 278

64.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$0.73 PKR 203

100.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.06 PKR 293

41.51%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.11 PKR 308

88.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$3.44 PKR 952

454.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$3.18 PKR 880

3.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$3.67 PKR 1,016

197.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$1.19 PKR 328

146.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$0.52 PKR 143

225.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$0.63 PKR 173

257.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$0.56 PKR 154

271.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.27 PKR 74.5

459.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$0.34 PKR 94.2

305.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$0.28 PKR 76.9

282.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$0.25 PKR 68.4

108.00%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.01 PKR 555

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.74 PKR 205

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.73 PKR 203

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$1.84 PKR 510

128.26%

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

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$0.19 PKR 53.2

663.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$12.64 PKR 3,495

348.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.10 PKR 305

174.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$0.70 PKR 194

45.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$1.45 PKR 401

154.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.18 PKR 327

24.58%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$22.3K PKR 6.2M

20.22%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$23.4K PKR 6.5M

14.01%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$102 PKR 28.2K

-5.46%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$6.10 PKR 1,686

84.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$14.19 PKR 3,923

18.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$15.22 PKR 4,208

341.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$6.14 PKR 1,697

74.76%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$1.95 PKR 540

284.62%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$47.01 PKR 13.0K

912.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$5,087 PKR 1.4M

121.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$7.38 PKR 2,040

744.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$16.03 PKR 4,433

77.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$51.2 PKR 14.1K

84.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$40.31 PKR 11.1K

112.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$229 PKR 63.2K

213.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$161 PKR 44.6K

204.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$263 PKR 72.8K

632.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$197 PKR 54.4K

627.60%

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

$147 PKR 40.7K

241.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

-49.36%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Peshawar: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Peshawar

$161 30.7% 67.1% $330

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Peshawar

$83 15.9% 68.7% $183

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Peshawar

$122 23.3% 1.8% $2.3

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Peshawar

$52 9.8% 57.6% $70

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Peshawar

$70 13.3% 42.8% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Peshawar

$19 3.6% 76.7% $63

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Peshawar

$18 3.4% 74.5% $53

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $229 in Peshawar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays about 3.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $9 in Peshawar for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $83 per month, with Peshawar cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇵🇰 Peshawar

🕒 Local time

17:20 5:20 PM

15:20 3:20 PM

2 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

1,970,042

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1,000 PKR = 3.62 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.25 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PKR, 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 = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 276 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.62 USD). 1 EUR = 308 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.25 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

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Between locations

Phuket Peshawar 4,000 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Peshawar

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 Peshawar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Peshawar wins on cost – living expenses run 59% lower than in Phuket. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Peshawar the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Phuket is about 3.4 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 $229 in Peshawar. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,278 per month in Phuket versus $525 in Peshawar – a 143% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Peshawar runs roughly 78% less than in Phuket. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

At $525 in Peshawar versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $800 budget is realistic in Peshawar but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Peshawar 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.

Expats usually find Peshawar gentler on the wallet – expenses run 59% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.