Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Sibolga

For one person, living is cheaper in Sibolga: $622 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 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
30

Cost of Living Index in Sibolga
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Sibolga Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Sibolga

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$622

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Sibolga

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $622 in Sibolga.

Phuket $1,208
Sibolga $622

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $990 in Sibolga.

Phuket $2,027
Sibolga $990

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $1,358 in Sibolga.

Phuket $2,845
Sibolga $1,358

Living in Phuket is roughly 94% more expensive than in Sibolga, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Sibolga 54% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$1.64 Rp 29.5K

168.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$13.70 Rp 246.7K

135.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$3.22 Rp 57.9K

172.05%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$1.48 Rp 26.6K

91.22%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$0.44 Rp 7,872

104.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$0.25 Rp 4,506

88.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$2.21 Rp 39.8K

15.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$3.40 Rp 61.2K

12.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$1.17 Rp 21.1K

47.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$1.07 Rp 19.2K

37.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$0.87 Rp 15.6K

73.56%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$1.47 Rp 26.4K

47.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$7.11 Rp 128.0K

177.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$2.99 Rp 53.9K

11.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$7.76 Rp 139.7K

43.81%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$2.26 Rp 40.6K

26.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$1.27 Rp 22.8K

33.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$1.68 Rp 30.2K

30.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$1.23 Rp 22.2K

66.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$1.29 Rp 23.3K

12.40%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$1.90 Rp 34.1K

-27.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$0.79 Rp 14.2K

35.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$0.43 Rp 7,745

18.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$2.75 Rp 49.5K

54.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$20.83 Rp 374.9K

-10.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$1.88 Rp 33.9K

-5.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$2.93 Rp 52.8K

-2.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$0.29 Rp 5,222

679.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$0.52 Rp 9,423

478.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$0.38 Rp 6,798

178.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$2.60 Rp 46.8K

48.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$0.81 Rp 14.6K

79.01%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$23.7K Rp 426.4M

11.14%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$30.5K Rp 548.3M

-11.55%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$65.7 Rp 1.2M

46.79%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$4.24 Rp 76.3K

160.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$19.44 Rp 349.9K

-11.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$19.82 Rp 356.7K

163.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

$8.41 Rp 151.4K

32.70%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$2.72 Rp 48.9K

187.13%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$93.2 Rp 1.7M

496.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$7,764 Rp 139.7M

49.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$43.07 Rp 775.2K

49.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$28.87 Rp 519.7K

-0.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$75.4 Rp 1.4M

26.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$70.3 Rp 1.3M

25.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$231 Rp 4.2M

219.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$149 Rp 2.7M

210.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$541 Rp 9.7M

287.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$367 Rp 6.6M

227.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$1,188 Rp 21.4M

193.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$785 Rp 14.1M

221.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

9.46

-41.12%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Sibolga: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Sibolga

$149 24% 67.8% $313

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Sibolga

$196 31.5% 27% $73

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Sibolga

$89 14.4% 28.3% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Sibolga

$98 15.7% 21.2% $26

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Sibolga

$61 9.8% 49.6% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Sibolga

$25 4.1% 62.8% $43

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Sibolga

$3.6 * 0.6% 90.9% $36

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 $231 in Sibolga. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $14.00 in Sibolga for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $196 per month, with Sibolga cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇮🇩 Sibolga

🕒 Local time

02:16 2:16 AM

Same time as Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

95,471

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, 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).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Sibolga 690 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Sibolga

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 Sibolga: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sibolga is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 94% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,813 in Phuket and $933 in Sibolga to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $737 in Phuket versus $231 in Sibolga. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $556 in Phuket versus $93.2 in Sibolga. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Sibolga – a meal for two runs $14.00 versus $32.00 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $622 in Sibolga versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sibolga but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Sibolga the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Sibolga 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 Sibolga 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 Sibolga gentler on the wallet – expenses run 94% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.