Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Unaizah

For one person, living is cheaper in Unaizah: $1,221 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $880 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Unaizah
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Unaizah Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Unaizah

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,221

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Unaizah

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $1,221 in Unaizah.

Phuket $1,294
Unaizah $1,221

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $1,813 in Unaizah.

Phuket $2,204
Unaizah $1,813

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $2,405 in Unaizah.

Phuket $3,115
Unaizah $2,405

Living in Phuket is roughly 6% more expensive than in Unaizah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 4% lower, Unaizah 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿147

$6.68 SAR 25.07

-34.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,080

$40.07 SAR 150

-19.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿291

$7.05 SAR 26.48

23.40%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.91 SAR 7.19

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 SAR 6.88

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.1

$4.40 SAR 16.52

-38.18%

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

$0.93 ฿31.11

$0.73 SAR 2.73

27.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.70

$0.28 SAR 1.06

78.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿84.6

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿121

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$1.64 SAR 6.17

6.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.51

$0.44 SAR 1.67

229.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.2

$2.27 SAR 8.51

-33.92%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.6

$4.76 SAR 17.87

-54.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿638

$4.55 SAR 17.09

319.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$4.66 SAR 17.50

-27.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿364

$12.69 SAR 47.64

-14.11%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿98.3

$1.82 SAR 6.83

61.54%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.6

$1.98 SAR 7.44

-14.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.4

$1.82 SAR 6.85

20.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿71.0

$2.00 SAR 7.51

6.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿48.77

$2.11 SAR 7.92

-30.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.74

$2.60 SAR 9.76

-47.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿35.98

$1.28 SAR 4.81

-15.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$0.64 SAR 2.40

-14.06%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.82 SAR 10.60

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.01 SAR 7.53

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 SAR 8.09

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿148

$6.74 SAR 25.29

-34.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿610

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.3

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿96.3

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.40

$0.95 SAR 3.56

52.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,835

$40.56 SAR 152

35.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$2.60 SAR 9.76

-41.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿25.94

$1.57 SAR 5.88

-50.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿128

$16.03 SAR 60.2

-76.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.74

$0.55 SAR 2.08

170.91%

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

$26.9K ฿898.9K

$27.6K SAR 103.5K

-2.56%

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

$26.3K ฿881.0K

$21.7K SAR 81.6K

21.15%

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

$97.8 ฿3,271

$103 SAR 386

-4.83%

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

$11.29 ฿378

$32.41 SAR 122

-65.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿575

$67.2 SAR 252

-74.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,285

$54.1 SAR 203

26.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿365

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿248

$13.23 SAR 49.64

-43.84%

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

$530 ฿17.7K

$471 SAR 1,767

12.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿628.1K

$9,262 SAR 34.8K

102.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,062

$45.34 SAR 170

36.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿945

$53.0 SAR 199

-46.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,210

$100 SAR 377

-4.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,903

$80.4 SAR 302

8.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.1K

$588 SAR 2,207

22.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.0K

$440 SAR 1,651

15.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.2K

$760 SAR 2,853

156.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿46.7K

$684 SAR 2,567

104.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿140.2K

$2,056 SAR 7,716

103.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.3K

$1,255 SAR 4,711

162.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.4K

$2,550 SAR 9,570

-80.72%

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 Unaizah: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Unaizah

$440 36% 13.5% $69

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Unaizah

$187 15.3% 30% $80

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Unaizah

$202 16.6% 60.2% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Unaizah

$126 10.3% 2.3% $2.8

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Unaizah

$131 10.8% 10% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Unaizah

$81 6.6% 3.2% $2.7

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Unaizah

$55 4.5% 17.1% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Phuket and $588 in Unaizah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Unaizah pays about 5.2 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 Unaizah. Groceries flip the comparison at $267 vs $187, with Unaizah cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇸🇦 Unaizah

🕒 Local time

11:39 11:39 AM

07:39 7:39 AM

4 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

163,729

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 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 6, 2026: 1 USD = 33.44 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.54 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.21 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Unaizah 6,080 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Unaizah

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 Unaizah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Unaizah is about 6% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 81% 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 $588 in Unaizah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $530 in Phuket versus $471 in Unaizah. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 43% 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 Unaizah 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 Unaizah are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.