Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sari and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Sari: $874 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Sari
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Sari Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Sari

🇮🇷 Iran

$874

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $874 in Sari versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Sari $874
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,080 in Sari versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Sari $1,080
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,287 in Sari versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Sari $1,287
Phuket $3,154

Living in Sari costs roughly 32% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Sari 36% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.55 $3.55

$4.47 ฿151

-20.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$11.80 $11.80

$32.41 ฿1,094

-63.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.08 $4.08

$8.81 ฿297

-53.69%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.68 $0.68

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 $0.91

Cappuccino

$1.23 $1.23

$2.83 ฿95.5

-56.54%

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

$0.48 $0.48

$0.87 ฿29.43

-44.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.52 $0.52

$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)

$0.48 $0.48

$1.66 ฿56.0

-71.08%

White Bread (500g)

$0.60 $0.60

$1.46 ฿49.35

-58.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.32 $3.32

$1.50 ฿50.6

121.33%

Eggs

$1.23 $1.23

$2.09 ฿70.5

-41.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.48 $4.48

$19.07 ฿644

-76.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.46 $3.46

$3.30 ฿111

4.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.25 $9.25

$10.91 ฿368

-15.22%

Apples (1kg)

$1.32 $1.32

$2.93 ฿99.0

-54.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 $1.88

$1.69 ฿57.1

11.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.19 $1.19

$2.25 ฿75.8

-47.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.65 $0.65

$2.08 ฿70.1

-68.75%

Potato (1kg)

$0.59 $0.59

$1.51 ฿51.0

-60.93%

Onion (1kg)

$0.51 $0.51

$1.38 ฿46.56

-63.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.58 $0.58

$1.07 ฿35.99

-45.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.30 $0.30

$0.52 ฿17.52

-42.31%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$0.77 $0.77

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 $0.51

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 $2.15

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.44 $2.44

$4.20 ฿142

-41.90%

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)

$1.45 ฿49.03

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.87 $9.87

$56.7 ฿1,913

-82.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.51 $0.51

$3.02 ฿102

-83.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.31 $0.31

$1.02 ฿34.36

-69.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.03 $3.03

$3.69 ฿125

-17.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.09 $0.09

$1.47 ฿49.81

-93.88%

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

$50.9K $50.9K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

90.25%

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

$45.1K $45.1K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

68.96%

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

$13.18 $13.18

$96.4 ฿3,254

-86.32%

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

$1.58 $1.58

$11.26 ฿380

-85.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$3.99 $3.99

$16.85 ฿569

-76.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.52 $49.52

$67.2 ฿2,270

-26.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.93 $11.93

$10.73 ฿362

11.18%

Cinema Ticket

$1.02 $1.02

$7.50 ฿253

-86.40%

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

$49.24 $49.24

$476 ฿16.1K

-89.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$815 $815

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-92.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$26.10 $26.10

$62.4 ฿2,106

-58.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.45 $37.45

$28.41 ฿959

31.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 $115

$94.3 ฿3,184

22.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.5 $73.5

$85.8 ฿2,898

-14.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$794 $794

$716 ฿24.2K

10.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$497 $497

$491 ฿16.6K

1.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$693 $693

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-64.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$401 $401

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-71.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$857 $857

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-79.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$526 $526

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-82.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$248 $248

$502 ฿17.0K

-50.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

24.79

5.57

345.06%

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

Last update for Sari: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sari

$497 56.8%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 1.1% $5.7

Groceries & Markets

Sari

$122 14%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 118% $144

Clothing & Footwear

Sari

$113 13%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 7.4% $8.4

Eating Out

Sari

$59 6.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 105% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Sari

$52 5.9%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 59.5% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sari

$19 2.1%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 564% $106

Getting Around

Sari

$12 * 1.4%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 491% $59

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $794 in Sari and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays about 2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $12 in Sari vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $122 vs $266 per month, with Sari cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇷 Sari

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

23:28 11:28 PM

02:58 2:58 AM

3 h 30 min ahead of Sari

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

300,000

79,308

💱 Currency

USD USD

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.898 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, EUR to USD – USD Converter

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

USD exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.898 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sari Phuket 5,570 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Sari
Phuket

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Sari vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sari is about 32% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 51% lower in Sari. 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: $794 in Sari versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $49 in Sari 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 118% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $874 in Sari versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Sari but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Sari the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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, Sari and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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