Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Sabah Al Salem

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,418 in Sabah Al Salem, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 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
68

Cost of Living Index in Sabah Al Salem
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Sabah Al Salem Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Sabah Al Salem

🇰🇼 Kuwait

$1,418

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Sabah Al Salem

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 Sabah Al Salem actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,418 in Sabah Al Salem.

Phuket $1,278
Sabah Al Salem $1,418

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,468 in Sabah Al Salem.

Phuket $2,216
Sabah Al Salem $2,468

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $3,518 in Sabah Al Salem.

Phuket $3,154
Sabah Al Salem $3,518

Living in Phuket costs roughly 10% less than in Sabah Al Salem, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Sabah Al Salem is 4% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$7.81 KWD 2.43

-42.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,092

$71.2 KWD 22.11

-54.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$9.38 KWD 2.91

-6.08%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.26 KWD 1.01

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.16 KWD 0.98

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.3

$6.61 KWD 2.05

-57.19%

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

$0.87 ฿29.37

$0.47 KWD 0.15

85.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.64

$0.46 KWD 0.14

6.52%

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

$1.86 KWD 0.58

-10.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.25

$1.25 KWD 0.39

16.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.4

$2.05 KWD 0.64

-26.83%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.4

$3.16 KWD 0.98

-33.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿642

$7.12 KWD 2.21

167.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$5.41 KWD 1.68

-39.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$10.01 KWD 3.11

8.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.7

$2.44 KWD 0.76

20.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.9

$1.94 KWD 0.60

-12.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.7

$1.26 KWD 0.39

78.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$1.47 KWD 0.46

41.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.9

$1.36 KWD 0.42

11.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.47

$0.91 KWD 0.28

51.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.91

$1.65 KWD 0.51

-35.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.49

$0.49 KWD 0.15

6.12%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.08 KWD 0.96

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 KWD 0.35

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.35 KWD 0.42

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$2.68 KWD 0.83

56.72%

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

$0.92 KWD 0.28

57.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,909

$112 KWD 34.91

-49.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.60 KWD 1.12

-16.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.29

$3.20 KWD 0.99

-68.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿124

$13.80 KWD 4.29

-73.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.70

$0.33 KWD 0.10

345.45%

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

$26.8K ฿902.4K

$25.2K KWD 7,829

6.28%

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

$26.7K ฿899.5K

$21.5K KWD 6,685

24.07%

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

$96.4 ฿3,247

$38.66 KWD 12.01

149.22%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$23.88 KWD 7.42

-52.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$38.49 KWD 11.96

-56.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,266

$131 KWD 40.66

-48.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿361

$38.26 KWD 11.89

-71.96%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$11.06 KWD 3.44

-32.19%

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

$476 ฿16.0K

$281 KWD 87.3

69.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿379.6K

$7,550 KWD 2,346

49.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,102

$37.23 KWD 11.57

67.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿957

$39.57 KWD 12.30

-28.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,178

$98.9 KWD 30.73

-4.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,892

$89.8 KWD 27.89

-4.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.1K

$814 KWD 253

-12.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.5K

$550 KWD 171

-10.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿64.9K

$1,741 KWD 541

10.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.2K

$1,351 KWD 420

5.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$2,957 KWD 919

-83.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

6.53

-14.70%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Sabah Al Salem: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Sabah Al Salem

$550 38.8% 12% $59

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Sabah Al Salem

$185 13.1% 30.5% $81

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Sabah Al Salem

$101 7.1% 18.8% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Sabah Al Salem

$119 8.4% 2% $2.4

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Sabah Al Salem

$174 12.3% 42.8% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Sabah Al Salem

$153 10.8% 86% $71

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Sabah Al Salem

$136 9.6% 92.1% $65

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $814 in Sabah Al Salem. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sabah Al Salem pays about 5.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $71 in Sabah Al Salem. Groceries flip the comparison at $266 vs $185, with Sabah Al Salem cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇰🇼 Sabah Al Salem

🕒 Local time

07:14 7:14 AM

03:14 3:14 AM

4 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

92,818

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Kuwaiti Dinar KWD د.ك

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

1 KWD = 3.22 USD

1 KWD = 2.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KWD, 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).

Kuwaiti Dinar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.311 KWD (1 KWD = 3.22 USD). 1 EUR = 0.346 KWD (1 KWD = 2.89 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Sabah Al Salem 5,760 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Sabah Al Salem

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 Sabah Al Salem: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 10% cheaper overall, especially in leisure, transport, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 83% 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 $814 in Sabah Al Salem. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $281 in Sabah Al Salem. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Sabah Al Salem pay roughly 31% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

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

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