Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sabah Al Salem and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,418 in Sabah Al Salem, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

68

Cost of Living Index in Sabah Al Salem
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Sabah Al Salem Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Sabah Al Salem

🇰🇼 Kuwait

$1,418

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,418 in Sabah Al Salem versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Sabah Al Salem $1,418
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,468 in Sabah Al Salem versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Sabah Al Salem $2,468
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,518 in Sabah Al Salem versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Sabah Al Salem $3,518
Phuket $3,154

Living in Sabah Al Salem is roughly 11% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sabah Al Salem is 4% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.81 KWD 2.41

$4.47 ฿151

74.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.2 KWD 21.91

$32.41 ฿1,094

119.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.38 KWD 2.89

$8.81 ฿297

6.47%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.26 KWD 1.00

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.16 KWD 0.97

Cappuccino

$6.61 KWD 2.04

$2.83 ฿95.5

133.57%

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

$0.47 KWD 0.14

$0.87 ฿29.43

-45.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.46 KWD 0.14

$0.49 ฿16.67

-6.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 KWD 0.57

$1.66 ฿56.0

12.05%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 KWD 0.39

$1.46 ฿49.35

-14.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.05 KWD 0.63

$1.50 ฿50.6

36.67%

Eggs

$3.16 KWD 0.97

$2.09 ฿70.5

51.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.12 KWD 2.19

$19.07 ฿644

-62.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.41 KWD 1.66

$3.30 ฿111

63.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.01 KWD 3.08

$10.91 ฿368

-8.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.44 KWD 0.75

$2.93 ฿99.0

-16.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 KWD 0.60

$1.69 ฿57.1

14.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.26 KWD 0.39

$2.25 ฿75.8

-44.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 KWD 0.45

$2.08 ฿70.1

-29.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.36 KWD 0.42

$1.51 ฿51.0

-9.93%

Onion (1kg)

$0.91 KWD 0.28

$1.38 ฿46.56

-34.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.65 KWD 0.51

$1.07 ฿35.99

54.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 KWD 0.15

$0.52 ฿17.52

-5.77%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.08 KWD 0.95

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 KWD 0.35

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.35 KWD 0.42

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.68 KWD 0.82

$4.20 ฿142

-36.19%

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)

$0.92 KWD 0.28

$1.45 ฿49.03

-36.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$112 KWD 34.59

$56.7 ฿1,913

98.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.60 KWD 1.11

$3.02 ฿102

19.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.20 KWD 0.98

$1.02 ฿34.36

213.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.80 KWD 4.25

$3.69 ฿125

273.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.33 KWD 0.10

$1.47 ฿49.81

-77.55%

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

$25.2K KWD 7,758

$26.8K ฿904.3K

-5.91%

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

$21.5K KWD 6,624

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-19.40%

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

$38.66 KWD 11.90

$96.4 ฿3,254

-59.88%

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

$23.88 KWD 7.35

$11.26 ฿380

112.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.49 KWD 11.85

$16.85 ฿569

128.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$131 KWD 40.29

$67.2 ฿2,270

94.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$38.26 KWD 11.78

$10.73 ฿362

256.57%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 KWD 3.40

$7.50 ฿253

47.47%

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

$281 KWD 86.5

$476 ฿16.1K

-40.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,550 KWD 2,325

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-32.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.23 KWD 11.46

$62.4 ฿2,106

-40.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.57 KWD 12.18

$28.41 ฿959

39.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.9 KWD 30.45

$94.3 ฿3,184

4.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.8 KWD 27.64

$85.8 ฿2,898

4.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$814 KWD 251

$716 ฿24.2K

13.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$550 KWD 169

$491 ฿16.6K

12.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,741 KWD 536

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-9.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,351 KWD 416

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-5.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,957 KWD 911

$502 ฿17.0K

488.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.53

5.57

17.24%

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

Last update for Sabah Al Salem: October 24, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sabah Al Salem

$550 38.8%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 10.7% $59

Groceries & Markets

Sabah Al Salem

$185 13.1%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 43.9% $81

Eating Out

Sabah Al Salem

$174 12.3%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 29.9% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Sabah Al Salem

$153 10.8%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 46.2% $71

Getting Around

Sabah Al Salem

$136 9.6%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 48% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Sabah Al Salem

$119 8.4%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 2% $2.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sabah Al Salem

$101 7.1%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 23.2% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $814 in Sabah Al Salem and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sabah Al Salem pays about 5.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $71 in Sabah Al Salem vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $185 vs $266, with Sabah Al Salem cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇰🇼 Sabah Al Salem

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

19:56 7:56 PM

23:56 11:56 PM

4 h ahead of Sabah Al Salem

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

92,818

79,308

💱 Currency

Kuwaiti Dinar KWD د.ك

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 KWD = 3.25 USD

1 KWD = 2.92 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to KWD – Kuwaiti Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇼 Kuwaiti Dinar (د.ك)

Kuwaiti Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.308 KWD (1 KWD = 3.25 USD). 1 EUR = 0.343 KWD (1 KWD = 2.92 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 KWD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sabah Al Salem Phuket 5,760 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Sabah Al Salem
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

Sabah Al Salem vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in leisure, transport, and eating out. The 11% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Sabah Al Salem is about 5.9 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: $814 in Sabah Al Salem versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $281 in Sabah Al Salem versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Sabah Al Salem pay roughly 31% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

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, Sabah Al Salem 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.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Sabah Al Salem on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.