Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Sabratha

For one person, living is cheaper in Sabratha: $406 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $10,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Sabratha
Learn more

Sabratha Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Sabratha

🇱🇾 Libya

$406

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Sabratha

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $406 in Sabratha.

Phuket $1,278
Sabratha $406

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $596 in Sabratha.

Phuket $2,216
Sabratha $596

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $785 in Sabratha.

Phuket $3,154
Sabratha $785

Living in Phuket is roughly 215% more expensive than in Sabratha, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Sabratha 70% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$3.03 LYD 19.40

47.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$9.55 LYD 61.2

239.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$1.54 LYD 9.87

472.08%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.60 LYD 3.87

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.68 LYD 4.33

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$0.44 LYD 2.83

543.18%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$0.32 LYD 2.07

171.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.09 LYD 0.57

444.44%

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

$0.92 LYD 5.87

80.43%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$0.20 LYD 1.28

630.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.10 LYD 7.06

36.36%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.41 LYD 9.01

48.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$5.23 LYD 33.54

264.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$3.50 LYD 22.43

-5.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$9.32 LYD 59.7

17.06%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$2.00 LYD 12.79

46.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.54 LYD 9.86

9.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$0.69 LYD 4.44

226.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$0.60 LYD 3.85

246.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.48 LYD 3.10

214.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$0.32 LYD 2.06

331.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$0.30 LYD 1.89

256.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$0.17 LYD 1.09

205.88%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.76 LYD 11.30

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 LYD 5.96

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.85 LYD 5.42

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$1.89 LYD 12.09

122.22%

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

$0.82 LYD 5.25

76.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$0.81 LYD 5.18

272.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$0.32 LYD 2.06

218.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$0.76 LYD 4.84

385.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$0.02 LYD 0.11

7250.00%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$23.2K LYD 149.0K

15.18%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$21.4K LYD 137.2K

24.69%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$91.9 LYD 589

4.85%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$3.80 LYD 24.38

196.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$13.86 LYD 88.9

21.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$11.06 LYD 70.9

507.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$7.61 LYD 48.79

41.00%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$39.49 LYD 253

1105.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$946 LYD 6,064

1090.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$19.10 LYD 122

226.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$17.32 LYD 111

64.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$64.7 LYD 415

45.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$15.66 LYD 100

447.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$157 LYD 1,006

356.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$78.6 LYD 504

524.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$232 LYD 1,487

730.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$108 LYD 694

1221.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$280 LYD 1,796

1389.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$189 LYD 1,208

1514.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$187 LYD 1,201

168.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Sabratha: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Sabratha

$79 19.4% 84% $412

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Sabratha

$113 27.7% 57.7% $154

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Sabratha

$110 27% 12% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Sabratha

$53 13% 56.9% $69

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Sabratha

$36 8.8% 70.6% $86

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Sabratha

$11 * 2.7% 86.5% $71

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Sabratha

$5.7 * 1.4% 91.9% $65

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 $716 in Phuket and $157 in Sabratha. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays about 2.7 times more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $10 in Sabratha for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $113 per month, with Sabratha cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇱🇾 Sabratha

🕒 Local time

05:27 5:27 AM

00:27 12:27 AM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

83,398

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.14 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LYD, 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 = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Libyan Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.41 LYD (1 LYD = 0.156 USD). 1 EUR = 7.13 LYD (1 LYD = 0.14 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Sabratha 9,150 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Sabratha

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 Sabratha: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sabratha is about 68% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Phuket is about 2.7 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 $157 in Sabratha. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $39 in Sabratha. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Sabratha – a meal for two runs $10 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $406 in Sabratha versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $800 budget is realistic in Sabratha but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Sabratha 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.

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