Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Umluj

For one person, living is cheaper in Umluj: $1,230 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $770 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Umluj
Learn more

Umluj Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Umluj

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,230

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Umluj

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $1,230 in Umluj.

Phuket $1,294
Umluj $1,230

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $1,824 in Umluj.

Phuket $2,204
Umluj $1,824

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $2,418 in Umluj.

Phuket $3,115
Umluj $2,418

Living in Phuket is roughly 5% more expensive than in Umluj, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 4% lower, Umluj 9% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿147

$6.59 SAR 24.75

-33.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,085

$39.59 SAR 149

-18.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿292

$8.45 SAR 31.71

2.96%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.68 SAR 6.30

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 SAR 9.55

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.5

$3.45 SAR 12.96

-21.16%

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

$0.93 ฿31.25

$0.83 SAR 3.12

12.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.78

$0.27 SAR 1.03

85.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿85.0

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿122

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.4

$1.92 SAR 7.21

-9.37%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.73

$1.12 SAR 4.21

29.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$2.03 SAR 7.60

-26.11%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿73.0

$2.48 SAR 9.30

-12.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿641

$6.36 SAR 23.88

200.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$8.73 SAR 32.76

-61.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿366

$14.21 SAR 53.3

-23.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿98.8

$2.30 SAR 8.62

27.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.8

$1.96 SAR 7.35

-13.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.7

$1.37 SAR 5.16

59.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿71.4

$1.40 SAR 5.26

51.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿48.99

$1.08 SAR 4.04

35.19%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.95

$1.27 SAR 4.78

7.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿36.14

$1.41 SAR 5.28

-23.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.32

$0.48 SAR 1.82

14.58%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.56 SAR 9.61

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 SAR 5.83

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 SAR 7.40

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿149

$5.89 SAR 22.10

-24.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿613

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿96.8

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.62

$1.19 SAR 4.48

21.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,844

$39.20 SAR 147

40.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿50.8

$2.96 SAR 11.11

-48.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿26.06

$1.57 SAR 5.90

-50.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿129

$15.82 SAR 59.4

-75.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.96

$0.53 SAR 1.99

181.13%

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

$26.9K ฿902.9K

$33.3K SAR 125.1K

-19.32%

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

$26.3K ฿884.9K

$21.3K SAR 79.8K

23.89%

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

$97.8 ฿3,285

$95.4 SAR 358

2.58%

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

$11.29 ฿379

$35.71 SAR 134

-68.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿577

$69.3 SAR 260

-75.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,295

$80.5 SAR 302

-15.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿367

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿250

$13.83 SAR 51.9

-46.28%

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

$530 ฿17.8K

$378 SAR 1,420

40.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿630.9K

$11.6K SAR 43.4K

62.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,072

$43.21 SAR 162

42.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿949

$62.5 SAR 234

-54.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,225

$92.6 SAR 348

3.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,916

$87.8 SAR 330

-1.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.2K

$558 SAR 2,093

29.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.1K

$407 SAR 1,528

25.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.5K

$875 SAR 3,286

122.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿46.9K

$611 SAR 2,292

128.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿140.8K

$2,201 SAR 8,261

90.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.8K

$1,179 SAR 4,427

179.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.5K

$4,181 SAR 15.7K

-88.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.54

0.54%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Umluj: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Umluj

$407 33.1% 20% $102

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Umluj

$207 16.8% 22.5% $60

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Umluj

$200 16.3% 58.6% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Umluj

$129 10.5% 4.9% $6

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Umluj

$124 10.1% 3.7% $4.4

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Umluj

$108 8.8% 30.1% $25

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Umluj

$55 4.5% 17.1% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Phuket and $558 in Umluj. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Umluj pays about 8.5 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 $40 in Umluj. Groceries flip the comparison at $267 vs $207, with Umluj cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇸🇦 Umluj

🕒 Local time

10:43 10:43 AM

06:43 6:43 AM

4 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

37,757

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.98 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SAR, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.59 THB (100 THB = 2.98 USD). 1 EUR = 37.81 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.23 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Umluj 6,730 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Umluj

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 Umluj: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Umluj is about 5% cheaper overall, especially in groceries and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 88% 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $721 in Phuket versus $558 in Umluj. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $530 in Phuket versus $378 in Umluj. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 29% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Umluj gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Umluj are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.