Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Sihanoukville

For one person, living is cheaper in Sihanoukville: $936 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Sihanoukville
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Sihanoukville Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Sihanoukville

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Sihanoukville

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $936 in Sihanoukville.

Phuket $1,208
Sihanoukville $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $1,409 in Sihanoukville.

Phuket $2,027
Sihanoukville $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $1,882 in Sihanoukville.

Phuket $2,845
Sihanoukville $1,882

Living in Phuket is roughly 29% more expensive than in Sihanoukville, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Sihanoukville 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$4.01 ៛16.3K

9.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$30.51 ៛123.9K

5.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$7.04 ៛28.6K

24.43%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$2.23 ៛9,071

26.91%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$0.75 ៛3,034

20.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$0.42 ៛1,710

11.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$0.97 ៛3,951

162.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$2.04 ៛8,281

87.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$2.18 ៛8,861

-20.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$1.59 ៛6,477

-7.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$0.94 ៛3,823

60.64%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$1.74 ៛7,052

24.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$13.90 ៛56.4K

41.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$4.18 ៛17.0K

-20.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$9.15 ៛37.2K

21.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$3.43 ៛13.9K

-16.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$1.41 ៛5,744

20.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$4.22 ៛17.2K

-48.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$1.56 ៛6,324

31.41%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$1.29 ៛5,244

12.40%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$1.16 ៛4,711

18.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$1.38 ៛5,603

-22.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$0.72 ៛2,932

-29.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$1.51 ៛6,134

182.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$11.21 ៛45.5K

65.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$0.98 ៛3,986

81.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$1.70 ៛6,887

67.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$1.14 ៛4,611

164.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$1.02 ៛4,147

3.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$5.06 ៛20.6K

-23.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$1.30 ៛5,270

11.54%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$34.4K ៛139.8M

-23.52%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$44.7K ៛181.6M

-39.72%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$119 ៛481.6K

-18.71%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$6.26 ៛25.4K

76.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$18.52 ៛75.2K

-7.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$72.4 ៛294.3K

-27.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

$10.04 ៛40.8K

11.16%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$5.12 ៛20.8K

52.54%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$339 ៛1.4M

63.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$5,039 ៛20.5M

129.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$27.68 ៛112.4K

131.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$19.77 ៛80.3K

45.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$89.5 ៛363.4K

6.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$19.69 ៛80.0K

346.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$402 ៛1.6M

83.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$299 ៛1.2M

54.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$659 ៛2.7M

218.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$497 ៛2.0M

141.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

7.94

-29.85%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Sihanoukville: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Sihanoukville

$299 32% 35.2% $163

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Sihanoukville

$240 25.6% 10.7% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Sihanoukville

$143 15.3% 15.1% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Sihanoukville

$70 7.5% 43.3% $54

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Sihanoukville

$94 10% 22.8% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Sihanoukville

$83 8.8% 22% $15

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Sihanoukville

$6.2 * 0.7% 84.2% $33

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 $402 in Sihanoukville. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $31.00 in Sihanoukville for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $240 per month, with Sihanoukville cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇰🇭 Sihanoukville

🕒 Local time

14:16 2:16 PM

Same time as Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

73,036

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

10,000 KHR = 2.46 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KHR, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 4,062 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.46 USD). 1 EUR = 4,567 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.19 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Sihanoukville 640 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Sihanoukville

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 Sihanoukville: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sihanoukville is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 29% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,813 in Phuket and $1,404 in Sihanoukville 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 $402 in Sihanoukville. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $556 in Phuket versus $339 in Sihanoukville. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Sihanoukville – a meal for two runs $31.00 versus $32.00 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $936 in Sihanoukville versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sihanoukville but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Sihanoukville the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Sihanoukville 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 Sihanoukville 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 Sihanoukville gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.