Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Riyadh

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,738 in Riyadh, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 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
83

Cost of Living Index in Riyadh
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Riyadh Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Riyadh

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,738

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Riyadh

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,738 in Riyadh.

Phuket $1,278
Riyadh $1,738

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,587 in Riyadh.

Phuket $2,216
Riyadh $2,587

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $3,437 in Riyadh.

Phuket $3,154
Riyadh $3,437

Living in Phuket costs roughly 26% less than in Riyadh, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Riyadh is 28% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$8.09 SAR 30.37

-44.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,092

$65.3 SAR 245

-50.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$8.18 SAR 30.68

7.70%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.16 SAR 8.12

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 SAR 11.16

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.3

$4.30 SAR 16.13

-34.19%

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

$0.87 ฿29.37

$0.85 SAR 3.18

2.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.64

$0.30 SAR 1.12

63.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.83 SAR 6.85

-9.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.25

$1.31 SAR 4.93

11.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.4

$2.37 SAR 8.88

-36.71%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.4

$3.04 SAR 11.41

-31.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿642

$10.77 SAR 40.40

77.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$9.38 SAR 35.17

-64.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$14.98 SAR 56.2

-27.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.7

$2.85 SAR 10.70

2.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.9

$1.90 SAR 7.13

-11.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.7

$2.47 SAR 9.25

-8.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$1.71 SAR 6.43

21.64%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.9

$1.18 SAR 4.43

27.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.47

$1.28 SAR 4.82

7.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.91

$1.78 SAR 6.69

-39.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.49

$0.58 SAR 2.16

-10.34%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$8.15 SAR 30.58

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 SAR 6.83

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.47 SAR 9.28

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$7.85 SAR 29.45

-46.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿633

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.7

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.93

$1.04 SAR 3.91

39.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,909

$38.07 SAR 143

48.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.13 SAR 11.74

-3.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.29

$1.91 SAR 7.16

-46.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿124

$13.31 SAR 49.91

-72.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.70

$0.60 SAR 2.26

145.00%

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

$26.8K ฿902.4K

$26.2K SAR 98.2K

2.24%

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

$26.7K ฿899.5K

$22.2K SAR 83.4K

20.07%

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

$96.4 ฿3,247

$108 SAR 403

-10.41%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$29.62 SAR 111

-61.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$71.0 SAR 266

-76.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,266

$83.0 SAR 311

-19.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿361

$57.3 SAR 215

-81.26%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$13.31 SAR 49.94

-43.65%

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

$476 ฿16.0K

$554 SAR 2,077

-14.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿379.6K

$10.1K SAR 37.8K

11.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,102

$57.7 SAR 216

8.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿957

$54.4 SAR 204

-47.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,178

$104 SAR 391

-9.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,892

$105 SAR 393

-18.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.1K

$1,149 SAR 4,310

-37.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.5K

$833 SAR 3,127

-41.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿64.9K

$2,166 SAR 8,125

-11.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.2K

$1,276 SAR 4,786

12.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.7K

$2,779 SAR 10.4K

50.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.6K

$1,718 SAR 6,443

77.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$2,052 SAR 7,699

-75.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.54

0.54%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Riyadh: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Riyadh

$833 48% 69.8% $343

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Riyadh

$241 13.9% 9.3% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Riyadh

$208 12% 67.2% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Riyadh

$144 8.3% 18.5% $23

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Riyadh

$145 8.4% 19.5% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Riyadh

$110 6.3% 33.4% $27

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Riyadh

$55 3.2% 22.2% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $1,149 in Riyadh. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Riyadh pays about 4.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $65 in Riyadh. Groceries flip the comparison at $266 vs $241, with Riyadh cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇸🇦 Riyadh

🕒 Local time

13:27 1:27 PM

09:27 9:27 AM

4 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

5,188,286 Capital

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

1 SAR = 0.267 USD

1 SAR = 0.239 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SAR, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.267 USD). 1 EUR = 4.18 SAR (1 SAR = 0.239 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Riyadh 5,780 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Riyadh

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 Riyadh: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 26% cheaper overall, especially in utilities, leisure, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 76% 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 $1,149 in Riyadh. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $554 in Riyadh. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Riyadh pay roughly 9% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,738 in Riyadh, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Riyadh. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Phuket and Riyadh are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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