Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Qatif and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Qatif: $1,102 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

53

Cost of Living Index in Qatif
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Qatif Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Qatif

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,102

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Qatif and in Phuket

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Qatif and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,102 in Qatif versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Qatif $1,102
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,640 in Qatif versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Qatif $1,640
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,178 in Qatif versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Qatif $2,178
Phuket $3,154

Living in Qatif costs roughly 14% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Qatif 19% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.50 SAR 13.15

$4.47 ฿151

-21.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.91 SAR 131

$32.41 ฿1,093

7.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.52 SAR 24.48

$8.81 ฿297

-25.99%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.88 SAR 7.04

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 SAR 8.39

Cappuccino

$3.10 SAR 11.62

$2.83 ฿95.4

9.54%

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

$0.77 SAR 2.89

$0.87 ฿29.41

-11.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.19 SAR 0.72

$0.49 ฿16.65

-61.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

Milk (1 liter)

$1.78 SAR 6.68

$1.66 ฿55.9

7.23%

White Bread (500g)

$0.91 SAR 3.42

$1.46 ฿49.31

-37.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 SAR 7.20

$1.50 ฿50.5

28.00%

Eggs

$2.10 SAR 7.89

$2.09 ฿70.5

0.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.90 SAR 22.14

$19.07 ฿643

-69.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 SAR 29.64

$3.30 ฿111

139.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.64 SAR 47.44

$10.91 ฿368

15.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.29 SAR 8.58

$2.93 ฿98.9

-21.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.71 SAR 6.41

$1.69 ฿57.0

1.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.59 SAR 5.95

$2.25 ฿75.8

-29.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.67 SAR 2.52

$2.08 ฿70.0

-67.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 SAR 4.05

$1.51 ฿51.0

-28.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.13 SAR 4.26

$1.38 ฿46.52

-18.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.95 SAR 3.58

$1.07 ฿35.96

-11.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 SAR 2.07

$0.52 ฿17.51

5.77%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.60 SAR 9.77

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 SAR 5.64

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 SAR 8.31

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.26 SAR 23.48

$4.20 ฿142

49.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.09 SAR 4.09

$1.45 ฿48.98

-24.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$36.50 SAR 137

$56.7 ฿1,912

-35.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.46 SAR 9.22

$3.02 ฿102

-18.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.55 SAR 2.07

$1.02 ฿34.33

-46.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.24 SAR 49.70

$3.69 ฿125

258.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.61 SAR 2.29

$1.47 ฿49.76

-58.50%

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

$29.1K SAR 109.1K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

8.56%

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

$20.3K SAR 76.3K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

-23.84%

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

$104 SAR 388

$96.4 ฿3,251

7.43%

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

$32.15 SAR 121

$11.26 ฿380

185.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$59.3 SAR 222

$16.85 ฿568

251.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$79.4 SAR 298

$67.2 ฿2,268

18.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.38 SAR 80.2

$10.73 ฿362

99.25%

Cinema Ticket

$13.07 SAR 49.03

$7.50 ฿253

74.27%

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

$264 SAR 992

$476 ฿16.1K

-44.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,860 SAR 29.5K

$11.3K ฿380.0K

-30.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$32.16 SAR 121

$62.4 ฿2,104

-48.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.10 SAR 79.2

$28.41 ฿958

-25.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.5 SAR 358

$94.3 ฿3,181

1.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.7 SAR 340

$85.8 ฿2,895

5.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$586 SAR 2,199

$716 ฿24.2K

-18.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 SAR 1,402

$491 ฿16.6K

-23.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$807 SAR 3,029

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-58.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$578 SAR 2,171

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-59.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$943 SAR 3,537

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-77.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$796 SAR 2,987

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-73.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,257 SAR 8,471

$502 ฿16.9K

349.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.5

5.57

-1.26%

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

Last update for Qatif: October 27, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Qatif

$374 33.9%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 31.4% $117

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Qatif

$195 17.7%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 36.1% $70

Groceries & Markets

Qatif

$185 16.8%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 43.6% $81

Clothing & Footwear

Qatif

$108 9.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 13.1% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Qatif

$106 9.6%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 22.1% $23

Eating Out

Qatif

$89 8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 37.3% $33

Getting Around

Qatif

$46 4.2%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 53.2% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $586 in Qatif and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Qatif pays about 4.5 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $35 in Qatif vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $185 vs $266, with Qatif cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Qatif

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

22:17 10:17 PM

02:17 2:17 AM

4 h ahead of Qatif

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

87,332

79,308

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.239 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇦 Saudi Riyal (ر.س)

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.19 SAR (1 SAR = 0.239 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to SAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Qatif Phuket 5,500 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Qatif
Phuket

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

Qatif vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Qatif is about 14% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Qatif is about 4.5 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $586 in Qatif versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $264 in Qatif versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 44% 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 Qatif 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, Qatif and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.