Cost of Living Comparison Between Richards Bay and Phuket Cost of Living Comparison Between Richards Bay and Phuket

🙂 Solo nomad: Richards Bay is 0.4% cheaper than Phuket without rent, and 17.1% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Richards Bay is 12.2% cheaper than Phuket without rent, and 33.7% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Richards Bay
Phuket
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$7.7 R 137
$4.68 ฿151
64.53%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$27.83 R 495
$46.4 ฿1,502
-40.02%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$5.09 R 90.4
$8.65 ฿280
-41.16%
Cappuccino
$1.92 R 34.22
$3.09 ฿100
-37.86%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.93 R 16.62
$0.73 ฿23.53
27.40%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.66 R 11.76
$0.37 ฿11.95
78.38%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.39 R 24.71
$2.39 ฿77.4
-41.84%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.71 R 30.43
$3.62 ฿117
-52.76%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Richards Bay
Phuket
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$0.98 R 17.41
$2.24 ฿72.5
-56.25%
White Bread (500g)
$0.99 R 17.52
$1.8 ฿58.2
-45.00%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.42 R 25.19
$2.24 ฿72.3
-36.61%
Eggs
$2.2 R 39.13
$2.23 ฿72.1
-1.35%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.54 R 134
$19.31 ฿625
-60.95%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$4.43 R 78.9
$3.77 ฿122
17.51%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$5.27 R 93.8
$13.05 ฿422
-59.62%
Apples (1kg)
$1.51 R 26.83
$3.28 ฿106
-53.96%
Banana (1kg)
$1.41 R 25.01
$1.63 ฿52.6
-13.50%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.32 R 23.4
$2.4 ฿77.7
-45.00%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.37 R 24.31
$1.99 ฿64.3
-31.16%
Potato (1kg)
$1.13 R 20.18
$1.53 ฿49.62
-26.14%
Onion (1kg)
$1.07 R 19.06
$1.49 ฿48.11
-28.19%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.02 R 18.12
$1.02 ฿32.87
-
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.91 R 16.17
$0.48 ฿15.61
89.58%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$2.36 R 41.96
$4.32 ฿140
-45.37%
Wine (Bottle)
$4.71 R 83.8
$21.68 ฿702
-78.27%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.47 R 26.16
$1.77 ฿57.3
-16.95%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.67 R 29.78
$2.79 ฿90.4
-40.14%
🚌 Getting Around
Richards Bay
Phuket
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$5.72 R 102
$1.35 ฿43.74
323.70%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$96.3 R 1,713
$11.76 ฿380
719.22%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.71 R 30.33
$3.15 ฿102
-45.71%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.61 R 10.91
$1 ฿32.3
-39.00%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$6.67 R 119
$13.64 ฿442
-51.10%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.32 R 23.48
$1.3 ฿42.2
1.54%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$19.8K R 352.1K
$27.4K ฿885.2K
-27.63%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24.7K R 439.7K
$33.9K ฿1.1M
-27.09%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Richards Bay
Phuket
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$131 R 2,338
$123 ฿3,970
7.15%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$29.54 R 525
$13.93 ฿451
112.06%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$34.15 R 607
$18.24 ฿590
87.23%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Richards Bay
Phuket
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$32.64 R 581
$60.8 ฿1,966
-46.27%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$4.41 R 78.4
$17.11 ฿554
-74.23%
Cinema Ticket
$6.87 R 122
$9.07 ฿294
-24.26%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Richards Bay
Phuket
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$90.8 R 1,615
$694 ฿22.5K
-86.92%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$2,495 R 44.4K
$15.9K ฿514.4K
-84.30%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Richards Bay
Phuket
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$41.51 R 738
$57.5 ฿1,861
-27.82%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$18.96 R 337
$34.51 ฿1,117
-45.06%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$86.1 R 1,530
$115 ฿3,727
-25.28%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$73.7 R 1,311
$84.8 ฿2,743
-13.04%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Richards Bay
Phuket
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$385 R 6,843
$611 ฿19.8K
-37.03%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$292 R 5,194
$442 ฿14.3K
-33.97%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$824 R 14.7K
$2,014 ฿65.2K
-59.10%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$603 R 10.7K
$1,460 ฿47.2K
-58.67%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$294 R 5,232
$4,244 ฿137.3K
-93.07%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$545 R 9,691
$2,886 ฿93.4K
-81.12%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Richards Bay
Phuket
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,054 R 18.7K
$697 ฿22.5K
51.25%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
12.01
5.33
125.33%

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

Last update for Richards Bay: October 28, 2025

Last update for Phuket: October 29, 2025

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