Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Qena

For one person, living is cheaper in Qena: $468 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
22

Cost of Living Index in Qena
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Qena Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Qena

🇪🇬 Egypt

$468

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Qena

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Phuket versus $468 in Qena.

Phuket $1,207
Qena $468

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $746 in Qena.

Phuket $2,037
Qena $746

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $1,023 in Qena.

Phuket $2,867
Qena $1,023

Living in Phuket is roughly 158% more expensive than in Qena, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Qena 65% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ฿154

$3.84 E£205

19.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.48 ฿1,089

$14.99 E£801

116.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿287

$5.78 E£309

47.92%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.2

$2.00 E£107

36.00%

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

$0.94 ฿31.33

$0.50 E£26.78

88.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.44

$0.18 E£9.56

172.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.8

$1.92 E£103

34.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$3.04 E£162

25.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$0.97 E£51.7

79.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿47.95

$0.76 E£40.69

88.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.2

$0.66 E£35.14

131.82%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.9

$1.93 E£103

12.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.15 ฿642

$3.15 E£169

507.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$5.61 E£300

-41.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿373

$9.89 E£528

12.64%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ฿98.8

$1.48 E£79.2

99.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.3

$0.52 E£27.67

223.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 ฿77.0

$0.41 E£21.67

460.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ฿71.5

$0.41 E£21.99

419.51%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.2

$0.34 E£18.28

350.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.67

$0.39 E£20.87

248.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.54

$0.27 E£14.25

314.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.29

$0.18 E£9.69

205.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿143

$2.14 E£114

99.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿610

$7.22 E£386

151.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.4

$1.26 E£67.1

38.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.6

$1.71 E£91.6

63.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.3

$0.17 E£9.02

1205.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿739

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 ฿97.6

$0.37 E£20.03

686.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.89

$0.21 E£11.18

380.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

$1.26 E£67.1

203.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.98

$0.43 E£22.75

246.51%

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

$26.7K ฿894.0K

$31.9K E£1.7M

-16.32%

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

$26.7K ฿895.1K

$21.8K E£1.2M

22.79%

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

$99.4 ฿3,330

$25.42 E£1,359

290.91%

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

$11.28 ฿378

$7.95 E£425

41.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.36 ฿582

$9.28 E£496

87.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,752

$15.61 E£834

234.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿363

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ฿254

$3.39 E£181

123.30%

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

$558 ฿18.7K

$101 E£5,375

455.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿384.9K

$598 E£32.0K

1821.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,107

$19.95 E£1,066

215.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿958

$33.52 E£1,791

-14.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 ฿3,222

$123 E£6,579

-21.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,951

$28.92 E£1,545

204.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

$133 E£7,086

450.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

$79.8 E£4,265

476.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.2K

$280 E£14.9K

649.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿41.0K

$145 E£7,723

745.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.9K

$709 E£37.9K

388.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.4K

$300 E£16.0K

729.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

16.21

-65.64%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Last update for Qena: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$460 38.1%

Qena

$80 17.1% 82.7% $380

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.2%

Qena

$138 29.5% 48.3% $129

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$128 10.6%

Qena

$43 9.1% 66.7% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Qena

$92 19.8% 25.4% $32

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10.1%

Qena

$90 19.3% 25.4% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$67 5.6%

Qena

$22 4.8% 66.8% $45

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.2%

Qena

$2.1 * 0.5% 94.6% $37

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 $729 in Phuket and $133 in Qena. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $15.00 in Qena for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $138 per month, with Qena cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇪🇬 Qena

🕒 Local time

03:02 3:02 AM

23:02 11:02 PM

4 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

235,362

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.98 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 33.51 THB (100 THB = 2.98 USD). 1 EUR = 37.53 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 53.44 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 59.84 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Qena 7,200 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Qena

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 Qena: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Qena is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 158% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,811 in Phuket and $702 in Qena 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $729 in Phuket versus $133 in Qena. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $558 in Phuket versus $101 in Qena. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Qena – a meal for two runs $15.00 versus $32.00 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $468 in Qena versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Qena but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Qena the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Qena 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 Qena 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 Qena gentler on the wallet – expenses run 158% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.