Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Riffa

For one person, living is cheaper in Riffa: $1,211 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Riffa
Learn more

Riffa Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Riffa

🇧🇭 Bahrain

$1,211

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Riffa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,211 in Riffa.

Phuket $1,278
Riffa $1,211

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,868 in Riffa.

Phuket $2,216
Riffa $1,868

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,525 in Riffa.

Phuket $3,154
Riffa $2,525

Living in Phuket is roughly 6% more expensive than in Riffa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Riffa 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$5.32 BHD 1.99

-15.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$40.15 BHD 15.01

-19.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$5.85 BHD 2.19

50.60%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$3.93 BHD 1.47

-27.99%

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

$0.87 ฿29.40

$0.63 BHD 0.24

38.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$0.26 BHD 0.10

88.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$6.71 BHD 2.51

-61.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$7.96 BHD 2.98

-53.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.40 BHD 0.52

18.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.29

$0.67 BHD 0.25

117.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.84 BHD 0.69

-18.48%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.22 BHD 0.83

-5.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$8.16 BHD 3.05

133.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$6.00 BHD 2.25

-45.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$8.54 BHD 3.19

27.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.8

$2.27 BHD 0.85

29.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$1.77 BHD 0.66

-4.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.7

$1.83 BHD 0.68

22.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$1.07 BHD 0.40

94.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.06 BHD 0.40

42.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.51

$0.63 BHD 0.24

119.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.95

$0.51 BHD 0.19

109.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.50

$0.50 BHD 0.19

4.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$5.33 BHD 1.99

-21.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$13.15 BHD 4.92

42.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.4

$1.87 BHD 0.70

-2.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$2.69 BHD 1.01

5.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.97

$0.76 BHD 0.29

90.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,911

$35.33 BHD 13.21

60.37%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$5.29 BHD 1.98

-42.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.32

$3.53 BHD 1.32

-71.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿124

$10.70 BHD 4.00

-65.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.75

$0.50 BHD 0.19

194.00%

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

$26.8K ฿903.2K

$22.8K BHD 8,522

17.51%

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

$26.7K ฿900.3K

$19.4K BHD 7,254

37.62%

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

$96.4 ฿3,250

$133 BHD 49.56

-27.29%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$24.38 BHD 9.12

-53.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$35.65 BHD 13.33

-52.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$73.5 BHD 27.49

-8.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$13.07 BHD 4.89

-17.90%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$10.59 BHD 3.96

-29.18%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$633 BHD 237

-24.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿379.9K

$5,805 BHD 2,171

94.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,103

$29.31 BHD 10.96

112.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$21.27 BHD 7.95

33.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,180

$67.3 BHD 25.17

40.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,894

$39.08 BHD 14.61

119.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.1K

$919 BHD 344

-22.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$426 BHD 159

15.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,524 BHD 570

26.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$850 BHD 318

68.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$1,411 BHD 528

-64.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.5

1.27%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Riffa: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Riffa

$426 35.2% 13.2% $65

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Riffa

$205 17% 22.9% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Riffa

$193 15.9% 54.7% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Riffa

$71 5.8% 42.1% $51

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Riffa

$160 13.3% 31.8% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Riffa

$95 7.8% 15.1% $12

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Riffa

$61 5.1% 13.1% $9.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $919 in Riffa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Riffa pays about 2.8 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $40 in Riffa. Groceries flip the comparison at $266 vs $205, with Riffa cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇧🇭 Riffa

🕒 Local time

04:00 4:00 AM

00:00 12:00 AM

4 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

121,566

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Bahraini Dinar BHD .د.ب

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 BHD = 2.67 USD

1 BHD = 2.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BHD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.81 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Bahraini Dinar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.374 BHD (1 BHD = 2.67 USD). 1 EUR = 0.419 BHD (1 BHD = 2.39 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Riffa 5,440 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Riffa

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 Riffa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Riffa is about 5% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 64% lower in Phuket. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $716 in Phuket versus $919 in Riffa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $633 in Riffa. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Riffa gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 Riffa are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.