Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Wadi Musa

For one person, living is cheaper in Wadi Musa: $1,012 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Phuket, Thailand
Wadi Musa, Jordan
Phuket
🇹🇭 Thailand
$1,278
/mo nomad
Wadi Musa
🇯🇴 Jordan
$1,012
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Wadi Musa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,012 in Wadi Musa.

  • Phuket $1,278
  • Wadi Musa $1,012

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,308 in Wadi Musa.

  • Phuket $2,216
  • Wadi Musa $1,308

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $1,604 in Wadi Musa.

  • Phuket $3,154
  • Wadi Musa $1,604

Living in Phuket is roughly 26% more expensive than in Wadi Musa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Wadi Musa 26% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Phuket
Wadi Musa
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$4.47 ฿151
$6.95 JOD 4.92
-35.68%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$32.41 ฿1,093
$35.44 JOD 25.09
-8.55%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$8.81 ฿297
$6.85 JOD 4.85
28.61%
Cappuccino
$2.83 ฿95.4
$2.79 JOD 1.98
1.43%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.87 ฿29.40
$0.47 JOD 0.33
85.11%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.49 ฿16.65
$0.40 JOD 0.28
22.50%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.56 ฿86.3
$8.70 JOD 6.16
-70.57%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.68 ฿124
$11.04 JOD 7.82
-66.67%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Phuket
Wadi Musa
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.66 ฿55.9
$1.39 JOD 0.98
19.42%
White Bread (500g)
$1.46 ฿49.29
$0.69 JOD 0.49
111.59%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.50 ฿50.5
$1.44 JOD 1.02
4.17%
Eggs
$2.09 ฿70.5
$2.32 JOD 1.64
-9.91%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$19.07 ฿643
$9.06 JOD 6.41
110.49%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.30 ฿111
$5.55 JOD 3.93
-40.54%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$10.91 ฿368
$11.35 JOD 8.03
-3.88%
Apples (1kg)
$2.93 ฿98.8
$1.44 JOD 1.02
103.47%
Banana (1kg)
$1.69 ฿57.0
$1.38 JOD 0.98
22.46%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.25 ฿75.7
$1.38 JOD 0.98
63.04%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.08 ฿70.0
$0.73 JOD 0.52
184.93%
Potato (1kg)
$1.51 ฿51.0
$0.69 JOD 0.49
118.84%
Onion (1kg)
$1.38 ฿46.51
$0.69 JOD 0.49
100.00%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.07 ฿35.95
$0.63 JOD 0.45
69.84%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.52 ฿17.50
$0.44 JOD 0.31
18.18%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.20 ฿142
$3.44 JOD 2.43
22.09%
Wine (Bottle)
$18.79 ฿634
$21.02 JOD 14.89
-10.61%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.82 ฿61.4
$4.98 JOD 3.53
-63.45%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.84 ฿95.8
$5.08 JOD 3.60
-44.09%
🚌 Getting Around
Phuket
Wadi Musa
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.45 ฿48.97
-
-
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$56.7 ฿1,911
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.02 ฿102
$0.62 JOD 0.44
387.10%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.02 ฿34.32
$1.37 JOD 0.97
-25.55%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$3.69 ฿124
$7.03 JOD 4.97
-47.51%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.47 ฿49.75
$1.10 JOD 0.78
33.64%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$26.8K ฿903.2K
$32.7K JOD 23.1K
-18.00%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$26.7K ฿900.3K
$34.4K JOD 24.3K
-22.35%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Phuket
Wadi Musa
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$96.4 ฿3,250
$71.8 JOD 50.8
34.21%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$11.26 ฿380
$4.12 JOD 2.92
173.30%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$16.85 ฿568
$13.99 JOD 9.90
20.44%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Phuket
Wadi Musa
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$67.2 ฿2,268
$34.62 JOD 24.51
94.19%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$10.73 ฿362
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$7.50 ฿253
$11.17 JOD 7.91
-32.86%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Phuket
Wadi Musa
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$476 ฿16.1K
$557 JOD 394
-14.48%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$11.3K ฿379.9K
$9,465 JOD 6,701
18.99%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Phuket
Wadi Musa
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$62.4 ฿2,103
$61.8 JOD 43.78
0.84%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$28.41 ฿958
$80.0 JOD 56.7
-64.50%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$94.3 ฿3,180
$124 JOD 88.1
-24.22%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$85.8 ฿2,894
$83.4 JOD 59.0
2.91%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Phuket
Wadi Musa
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$716 ฿24.1K
$351 JOD 249
103.76%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$491 ฿16.6K
$284 JOD 201
72.72%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,927 ฿65.0K
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,431 ฿48.3K
-
-
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,175 ฿140.8K
-
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$3,045 ฿102.7K
-
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Phuket
Wadi Musa
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$502 ฿16.9K
$499 JOD 354
0.57%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
5.57
6.94
-19.74%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Wadi Musa: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Phuket
$491
Wadi Musa
$284 42.1% $207
Groceries & Markets
Phuket
$266
Wadi Musa
$238 10.7% $28
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Phuket
$124
Wadi Musa
$90 27.8% $35
Clothing & Footwear
Phuket
$122
Wadi Musa
$157 29.1% $35
Eating Out
Phuket
$122
Wadi Musa
$179 46.8% $57
Sport & Entertainment
Phuket
$82
Wadi Musa
$57 30.7% $25
Getting Around
Phuket
$71
Wadi Musa
$7.5 * 89.4% $63

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 $716 in Phuket and $351 in Wadi Musa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $35 in Wadi Musa. Groceries flip the comparison at $266 vs $238, with Wadi Musa cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know
🇹🇭 Phuket
🇯🇴 Wadi Musa
🕒 Local time
22:06 10:06 PM
18:06 6:06 PM
4 h behind Phuket
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
79,308
14,000
💱 Currency
Thai Baht THB ฿
Exchange rates and currency converter

JOD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.64 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Jordanian Dinar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.708 JOD (1 JOD = 1.41 USD). 1 EUR = 0.79 JOD (1 JOD = 1.27 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Phuket Wadi Musa 6,970 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Phuket
  • Wadi Musa

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 Wadi Musa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wadi Musa cheaper than Phuket?
Wadi Musa is about 21% cheaper overall, especially in transport, groceries, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
What income do you need for each city?
You’d need roughly $1,917 in Phuket and $1,519 in Wadi Musa 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.
What is the rent difference between Phuket and Wadi Musa?
Rent for a central apartment: $716 in Phuket versus $351 in Wadi Musa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $557 in Wadi Musa. 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 Wadi Musa?
Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $35 in Wadi Musa. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
Is $1,000 enough to cover costs in Phuket or in Wadi Musa?
Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Wadi Musa 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 Wadi Musa?
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.
Which city is safer, Phuket or Wadi Musa?
Safety-wise, Phuket and Wadi Musa are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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