Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Sheikh Zayed

For one person, living is cheaper in Sheikh Zayed: $462 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 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 Sheikh Zayed
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Sheikh Zayed Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Sheikh Zayed

🇪🇬 Egypt

$462

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Sheikh Zayed

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $462 in Sheikh Zayed.

Phuket $1,208
Sheikh Zayed $462

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $780 in Sheikh Zayed.

Phuket $2,027
Sheikh Zayed $780

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $1,099 in Sheikh Zayed.

Phuket $2,845
Sheikh Zayed $1,099

Living in Phuket is roughly 162% more expensive than in Sheikh Zayed, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Sheikh Zayed 66% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$3.68 E£196

19.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$18.59 E£993

73.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$4.07 E£217

115.23%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$1.26 E£67.3

124.60%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$0.30 E£15.83

200.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$0.12 E£6.15

291.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$1.28 E£68.3

99.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$2.70 E£144

41.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$0.80 E£42.81

116.25%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$0.70 E£37.32

110.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$0.54 E£28.89

179.63%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$1.16 E£62.1

87.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$3.76 E£201

423.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$4.30 E£230

-22.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$9.01 E£481

23.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$1.48 E£78.8

92.57%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$0.78 E£41.42

117.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$0.55 E£29.19

298.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$0.34 E£18.25

502.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$0.26 E£13.91

457.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$0.32 E£17.28

331.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$0.27 E£14.56

296.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$0.20 E£10.60

155.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$1.57 E£84.0

171.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$5.48 E£292

239.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$0.91 E£48.49

95.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$2.26 E£121

26.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$0.27 E£14.24

737.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$0.50 E£26.60

502.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$0.53 E£28.40

100.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$1.11 E£59.5

247.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$0.41 E£21.73

253.66%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$29.3K E£1.6M

-10.00%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$24.8K E£1.3M

8.52%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$13.92 E£743

592.39%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$6.80 E£363

62.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$12.79 E£683

34.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$37.41 E£1,998

39.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

$9.25 E£494

20.65%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$2.77 E£148

181.95%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$84.4 E£4,505

559.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$2,064 E£110.2K

460.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$32.64 E£1,743

96.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$44.08 E£2,354

-34.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$123 E£6,545

-22.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$52.0 E£2,775

69.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$184 E£9,848

299.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$75.3 E£4,022

513.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$488 E£26.1K

329.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$184 E£9,843

551.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$1,033 E£55.1K

237.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$552 E£29.5K

357.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

$130 E£6,959

284.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

21.33

-73.89%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Sheikh Zayed: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Sheikh Zayed

$75 16.3% 83.7% $387

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Sheikh Zayed

$122 26.5% 54.4% $146

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Sheikh Zayed

$34 7.3% 73.1% $91

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Sheikh Zayed

$113 24.5% 9% $11

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Sheikh Zayed

$70 15.2% 42.1% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Sheikh Zayed

$43 9.3% 36.7% $25

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Sheikh Zayed

$4.2 * 0.9% 89.3% $35

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 $737 in Phuket and $184 in Sheikh Zayed. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 284% 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: $32.00 in Phuket vs $19.00 in Sheikh Zayed for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $122 per month, with Sheikh Zayed cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇪🇬 Sheikh Zayed

🕒 Local time

19:29 7:29 PM

15:29 3:29 PM

4 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

80,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Sheikh Zayed 7,400 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Sheikh Zayed

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 Sheikh Zayed: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sheikh Zayed is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 162% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 284% higher in Phuket, 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: $737 in Phuket versus $184 in Sheikh Zayed. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $556 in Phuket versus $84.4 in Sheikh Zayed. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Sheikh Zayed – a meal for two runs $19.00 versus $32.00 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $462 in Sheikh Zayed versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sheikh Zayed but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Sheikh Zayed the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Sheikh Zayed 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 Sheikh Zayed 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 Sheikh Zayed gentler on the wallet – expenses run 162% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.