Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Shinas

For one person, living is cheaper in Shinas: $952 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

Phuket, Thailand
Shinas, Oman
Phuket
🇹🇭 Thailand
$1,278
/mo nomad
Shinas
🇴🇲 Oman
$952
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Shinas

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $952 in Shinas.

  • Phuket $1,278
  • Shinas $952

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,430 in Shinas.

  • Phuket $2,216
  • Shinas $1,430

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $1,908 in Shinas.

  • Phuket $3,154
  • Shinas $1,908

Living in Phuket is roughly 34% more expensive than in Shinas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Shinas 30% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Phuket
Shinas
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$4.47 ฿151
$5.11 OMR 1.97
-12.52%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$32.41 ฿1,092
$39.27 OMR 15.12
-17.47%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$8.81 ฿297
$7.59 OMR 2.92
16.07%
Cappuccino
$2.83 ฿95.3
$5.21 OMR 2.01
-45.68%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.87 ฿29.37
$0.84 OMR 0.32
3.57%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.49 ฿16.64
$0.29 OMR 0.11
68.97%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.56 ฿86.2
$12.92 OMR 4.97
-80.19%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.68 ฿124
$13.16 OMR 5.07
-72.04%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Phuket
Shinas
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.66 ฿55.9
$2.35 OMR 0.91
-29.36%
White Bread (500g)
$1.46 ฿49.25
$1.19 OMR 0.46
22.69%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.50 ฿50.4
$1.91 OMR 0.73
-21.47%
Eggs
$2.09 ฿70.4
$3.01 OMR 1.16
-30.56%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$19.07 ฿642
$7.24 OMR 2.79
163.40%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.30 ฿111
$6.86 OMR 2.64
-51.90%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$10.91 ฿368
$10.13 OMR 3.90
7.70%
Apples (1kg)
$2.93 ฿98.7
$3.53 OMR 1.36
-17.00%
Banana (1kg)
$1.69 ฿56.9
$1.94 OMR 0.75
-12.89%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.25 ฿75.7
$2.39 OMR 0.92
-5.86%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.08 ฿70.0
$1.27 OMR 0.49
63.78%
Potato (1kg)
$1.51 ฿50.9
$1.17 OMR 0.45
29.06%
Onion (1kg)
$1.38 ฿46.47
$1.27 OMR 0.49
8.66%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.07 ฿35.91
$1.87 OMR 0.72
-42.78%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.52 ฿17.49
$0.65 OMR 0.25
-20.00%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.20 ฿142
$6.63 OMR 2.55
-36.65%
Wine (Bottle)
$18.79 ฿633
$15.36 OMR 5.91
22.33%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.82 ฿61.4
$5.99 OMR 2.31
-69.62%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.84 ฿95.7
$10.12 OMR 3.90
-71.94%
🚌 Getting Around
Phuket
Shinas
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.45 ฿48.93
-
-
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$56.7 ฿1,909
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.02 ฿102
$3.24 OMR 1.25
-6.79%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.02 ฿34.29
$2.64 OMR 1.02
-61.36%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$3.69 ฿124
$7.96 OMR 3.06
-53.64%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.47 ฿49.70
$0.65 OMR 0.25
126.15%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$26.8K ฿902.4K
$24.6K OMR 9,472
8.83%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$26.7K ฿899.5K
$20.6K OMR 7,915
29.83%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Phuket
Shinas
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$96.4 ฿3,247
$179 OMR 68.7
-46.04%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$11.26 ฿380
$31.10 OMR 11.97
-63.79%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$16.85 ฿568
$69.2 OMR 26.65
-75.65%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Phuket
Shinas
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$67.2 ฿2,266
-
-
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$10.73 ฿361
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$7.50 ฿253
$10.51 OMR 4.05
-28.64%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Phuket
Shinas
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$476 ฿16.0K
$490 OMR 189
-2.86%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$11.3K ฿379.6K
$10.3K OMR 3,982
8.91%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Phuket
Shinas
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$62.4 ฿2,102
$56.2 OMR 21.63
11.02%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$28.41 ฿957
$43.52 OMR 16.76
-34.72%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$94.3 ฿3,178
$89.6 OMR 34.51
5.20%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$85.8 ฿2,892
$87.7 OMR 33.77
-2.19%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Phuket
Shinas
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$716 ฿24.1K
-
-
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$491 ฿16.5K
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,927 ฿64.9K
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,431 ฿48.2K
-
-
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,175 ฿140.7K
-
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$3,045 ฿102.6K
-
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Phuket
Shinas
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$502 ฿16.9K
$3,086 OMR 1,188
-83.72%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
5.57
5.25
6.10%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Shinas: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Phuket
$491
Shinas
- * 100%
Groceries & Markets
Phuket
$266
Shinas
$289 8.6% $23
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Phuket
$124
Shinas
$279 124% $154
Clothing & Footwear
Phuket
$122
Shinas
$125 2.3% $2.8
Eating Out
Phuket
$122
Shinas
$222 82.1% $100
Sport & Entertainment
Phuket
$82
Shinas
$21 * 74.4% $61
Getting Around
Phuket
$71
Shinas
$16 * 76.7% $54

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Shinas pays about 6.1 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 $39 in Shinas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $289 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇹🇭 Phuket
🇴🇲 Shinas
🕒 Local time
18:56 6:56 PM
15:56 3:56 PM
3 h behind Phuket
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
79,308
43,312
💱 Currency
Thai Baht THB ฿
Omani Rial OMR ر.ع.
Exchange rates and currency converter

OMR, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.61 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Omani Rial exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.385 OMR (1 OMR = 2.6 USD). 1 EUR = 0.43 OMR (1 OMR = 2.33 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Phuket Shinas 4,820 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Phuket
  • Shinas

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 Shinas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Shinas cheaper than Phuket?
Shinas is about 26% cheaper overall, especially in leisure and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
Where can you earn more: Phuket or Shinas?
On paper, salaries run 84% 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.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $490 in Shinas. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Is eating out cheaper in Phuket or in Shinas?
Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $39 in Shinas. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
Is $800 enough to cover costs in Phuket or in Shinas?
Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Shinas is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.
Is it better to live in Phuket or in Shinas?
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.

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