Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rabigh and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Rabigh: $953 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

46

Cost of Living Index in Rabigh
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Rabigh Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Rabigh

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$953

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rabigh 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 Rabigh and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $953 in Rabigh versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Rabigh $953
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,456 in Rabigh versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Rabigh $1,456
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,960 in Rabigh versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Rabigh $1,960
Phuket $3,154

Living in Rabigh costs roughly 25% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rabigh 30% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.66 SAR 17.49

$4.47 ฿151

4.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$26.40 SAR 99.1

$32.41 ฿1,094

-18.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.97 SAR 26.15

$8.81 ฿297

-20.89%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.52 SAR 5.72

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.58 SAR 5.92

Cappuccino

$2.57 SAR 9.63

$2.83 ฿95.5

-9.19%

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

$0.70 SAR 2.63

$0.87 ฿29.43

-19.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.23 SAR 0.86

$0.49 ฿16.67

-53.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

Milk (1 liter)

$1.88 SAR 7.06

$1.66 ฿56.0

13.25%

White Bread (500g)

$1.02 SAR 3.82

$1.46 ฿49.35

-30.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.19 SAR 8.23

$1.50 ฿50.6

46.00%

Eggs

$2.56 SAR 9.61

$2.09 ฿70.5

22.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.08 SAR 22.80

$19.07 ฿644

-68.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.04 SAR 45.17

$3.30 ฿111

264.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.95 SAR 48.60

$10.91 ฿368

18.70%

Apples (1kg)

$2.08 SAR 7.81

$2.93 ฿99.0

-29.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 SAR 6.08

$1.69 ฿57.1

-4.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.80 SAR 6.76

$2.25 ฿75.8

-20.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 SAR 5.62

$2.08 ฿70.1

-27.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.33 SAR 4.99

$1.51 ฿51.0

-11.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.51 SAR 5.67

$1.38 ฿46.56

9.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.06 SAR 3.97

$1.07 ฿35.99

-0.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.74 SAR 2.77

$0.52 ฿17.52

42.31%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.89 SAR 10.84

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.19 SAR 8.22

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.56 SAR 5.85

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.94 SAR 29.80

$4.20 ฿142

89.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.08 SAR 4.06

$1.45 ฿49.03

-25.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$33.60 SAR 126

$56.7 ฿1,913

-40.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.41 SAR 9.06

$3.02 ฿102

-20.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.61 SAR 9.80

$1.02 ฿34.36

155.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.48 SAR 50.6

$3.69 ฿125

265.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.61 SAR 2.27

$1.47 ฿49.81

-58.50%

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

$26.6K SAR 99.9K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

-0.58%

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

$21.4K SAR 80.3K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-19.84%

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

$66.6 SAR 250

$96.4 ฿3,254

-30.88%

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

$34.24 SAR 128

$11.26 ฿380

204.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$63.8 SAR 239

$16.85 ฿569

278.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.0 SAR 277

$67.2 ฿2,270

10.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$15.35 SAR 57.6

$7.50 ฿253

104.67%

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

$428 SAR 1,606

$476 ฿16.1K

-10.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,737 SAR 29.0K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-31.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$13.32 SAR 49.99

$62.4 ฿2,106

-78.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.3 SAR 207

$28.41 ฿959

94.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$39.72 SAR 149

$94.3 ฿3,184

-57.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$53.7 SAR 201

$85.8 ฿2,898

-37.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$335 SAR 1,258

$716 ฿24.2K

-53.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$244 SAR 917

$491 ฿16.6K

-50.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$610 SAR 2,290

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-68.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$424 SAR 1,591

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-70.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,728 SAR 6,484

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-58.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,478 SAR 5,546

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-51.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.25

5.57

-5.75%

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

Last update for Rabigh: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rabigh

$244 25.7%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 101% $247

Groceries & Markets

Rabigh

$220 23.1%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 20.9% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rabigh

$165 17.3%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 24.4% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Rabigh

$105 11%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 21.4% $22

Eating Out

Rabigh

$93 9.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 31.3% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Rabigh

$73 7.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 67.2% $49

Getting Around

Rabigh

$53 5.6%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 32.2% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $335 in Rabigh and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $26 in Rabigh vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $220 vs $266 per month, with Rabigh cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Rabigh

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

18:22 6:22 PM

22:22 10:22 PM

4 h ahead of Rabigh

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

92,072

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 = 2.66 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.18 SAR (1 SAR = 0.239 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to SAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rabigh Phuket 6,530 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Rabigh
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

Rabigh vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rabigh is cheaper overall, especially in clothing, groceries, and eating out. The 34% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,429 in Rabigh and $1,917 in Phuket 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: $335 in Rabigh versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $428 in Rabigh 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 21% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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, Rabigh and Phuket 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 Rabigh gentler on the wallet – expenses run 25% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.