Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sanaa and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Sanaa: $1,027 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

50

Cost of Living Index in Sanaa
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Sanaa Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Sanaa

🇾🇪 Yemen

$1,027

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,027 in Sanaa versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Sanaa $1,027
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,623 in Sanaa versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Sanaa $1,623
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,220 in Sanaa versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Sanaa $2,220
Phuket $2,845

Living in Sanaa costs roughly 15% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities sit below the global median: Sanaa 24% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.50 YER 1,534

$4.40 ฿147

47.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.73 YER 6,069

$32.26 ฿1,078

-20.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.37 YER 2,211

$8.76 ฿293

6.96%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.02 YER 477

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 YER 610

Cappuccino

$3.78 YER 892

$2.83 ฿94.5

33.57%

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

$1.12 YER 264

$0.90 ฿30.14

24.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 YER 131

$0.47 ฿15.56

19.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

Milk (1 liter)

$2.01 YER 474

$1.73 ฿57.7

16.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.70 YER 401

$1.47 ฿49.11

15.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.99 YER 470

$1.51 ฿50.6

31.79%

Eggs

$3.75 YER 885

$2.17 ฿72.7

72.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.41 YER 4,107

$19.70 ฿658

-11.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.39 YER 1,980

$3.34 ฿112

151.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.97 YER 4,475

$11.16 ฿373

69.98%

Apples (1kg)

$3.32 YER 783

$2.85 ฿95.1

16.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.05 YER 249

$1.70 ฿56.9

-38.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.24 YER 529

$2.19 ฿73.3

2.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 YER 392

$2.05 ฿68.4

-19.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 YER 357

$1.45 ฿48.57

4.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.33 YER 313

$1.38 ฿46.16

-3.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 YER 283

$1.07 ฿35.69

12.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 YER 159

$0.51 ฿16.91

31.37%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.49 YER 587

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 YER 438

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.60 YER 614

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.36 YER 1,265

$4.26 ฿142

25.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.44 YER 104

$2.26 ฿75.6

-80.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$84.2 YER 19.9K

$22.10 ฿738

281.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.26 YER 1,005

$3.01 ฿101

41.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.08 YER 492

$1.06 ฿35.34

96.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.47 YER 1,763

$3.86 ฿129

93.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.12 YER 500

$1.45 ฿48.45

46.21%

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

$17.1K YER 4.0M

$26.3K ฿879.9K

-34.89%

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

$34.5K YER 8.1M

$26.9K ฿900.4K

27.92%

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

$109 YER 25.6K

$96.4 ฿3,221

12.79%

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

$23.24 YER 5,481

$11.04 ฿369

110.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$100 YER 23.7K

$17.14 ฿573

485.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.4 YER 15.9K

$52.2 ฿1,744

29.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.53 YER 3,899

$11.16 ฿373

48.12%

Cinema Ticket

$5.99 YER 1,413

$7.81 ฿261

-23.30%

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

$118 YER 27.9K

$556 ฿18.6K

-78.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,167 YER 511.2K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

-81.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.90 YER 9,884

$64.2 ฿2,146

-34.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$123 YER 28.9K

$28.69 ฿959

327.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$48.13 YER 11.4K

$95.4 ฿3,187

-49.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.83 YER 9,632

$88.0 ฿2,940

-53.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$224 YER 52.9K

$737 ฿24.6K

-69.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$97.0 YER 22.9K

$462 ฿15.5K

-79.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$408 YER 96.3K

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-80.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$273 YER 64.5K

$1,201 ฿40.1K

-77.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,161 YER 981.6K

$3,488 ฿116.6K

19.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$798 YER 188.3K

$2,523 ฿84.3K

-68.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$196 YER 46.2K

$501 ฿16.7K

-60.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.25

5.57

101.97%

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

Last update for Sanaa: October 19, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sanaa

$271 26.4%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 1% $2.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sanaa

$232 22.6%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 46.4% $108

Eating Out

Sanaa

$132 12.9%

Phuket

$121 10% 8.3% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Sanaa

$114 11.1%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 9% $10

Getting Around

Sanaa

$101 9.8%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 60.8% $61

Accommodation & Living

Sanaa

$97 9.4%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 377% $365

Sport & Entertainment

Sanaa

$79 7.7%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 14.6% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $224 in Sanaa and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 155% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $26.00 in Sanaa vs $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $271 vs $269, with Phuket cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇾🇪 Sanaa

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

13:48 1:48 PM

17:48 5:48 PM

4 h ahead of Sanaa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,527,861 Capital

79,308

💱 Currency

Yemeni Rial YER ﷼

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 YER = 4.24 USD

1,000 YER = 3.77 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to YER – Yemeni Rial Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇾🇪 Yemeni Rial (﷼)

Yemeni Rial exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 236 YER (1,000 YER = 4.24 USD). 1 EUR = 265 YER (1,000 YER = 3.77 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to YER in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sanaa Phuket 5,950 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Sanaa
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

Sanaa vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sanaa is cheaper overall, especially in clothing. The 18% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 155% lower in Phuket. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $224 in Sanaa versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $118 in Sanaa versus $556 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Phuket pay roughly 1% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,027 in Sanaa versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sanaa but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Sanaa the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Sanaa is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Phuket, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Sanaa 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 Sanaa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 18% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.