Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh

For one person, living is cheaper in Sihanoukville: $928 a month against $1,035 in Phnom Penh, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Sihanoukville
Learn more

Sihanoukville Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Phnom Penh
Learn more

Phnom Penh Living Index

Jump to prices

Sihanoukville

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$928

/mo nomad

Phnom Penh

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$1,035

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sihanoukville and in Phnom Penh

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Sihanoukville and in Phnom Penh actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $928 per month in Sihanoukville vs $1,035 in Phnom Penh, rent included.

Sihanoukville $928
Phnom Penh $1,035

A couple spends around $1,395 per month in Sihanoukville vs $1,675 in Phnom Penh, rent included.

Sihanoukville $1,395
Phnom Penh $1,675

A family of three spends $1,862 per month in Sihanoukville vs $2,315 in Phnom Penh, rent included.

Sihanoukville $1,862
Phnom Penh $2,315

Sihanoukville is about 10% cheaper than Phnom Penh, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh are more affordable than the global median – Sihanoukville 31% lower, Phnom Penh 23% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.94 ៛16.0K

$4.09 ៛16.6K

-3.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.25 ៛122.9K

$39.96 ៛162.3K

-24.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.19 ៛29.2K

$6.93 ៛28.2K

3.75%

Cappuccino

$2.30 ៛9,356

$2.97 ៛12.1K

-22.56%

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

$0.78 ៛3,175

$1.78 ៛7,248

-56.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.42 ៛1,706

$0.66 ៛2,695

-36.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.02 ៛4,136

$1.03 ៛4,176

-0.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 ៛8,219

$2.95 ៛12.0K

-31.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.11 ៛8,566

$2.19 ៛8,876

-3.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.59 ៛6,471

$1.66 ៛6,757

-4.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.87 ៛3,518

$1.11 ៛4,518

-21.62%

Eggs

$1.71 ៛6,941

$1.70 ៛6,899

0.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.87 ៛56.3K

$15.06 ៛61.2K

-7.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.10 ៛16.6K

$4.13 ៛16.8K

-0.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.78 ៛35.7K

$9.00 ៛36.5K

-2.44%

Apples (1kg)

$3.59 ៛14.6K

$4.04 ៛16.4K

-11.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 ៛5,598

$1.78 ៛7,228

-22.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.25 ៛17.3K

$4.35 ៛17.7K

-2.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ៛6,549

$2.10 ៛8,529

-23.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.35 ៛5,472

$1.57 ៛6,391

-14.01%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 ៛4,653

$1.23 ៛4,990

-6.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ៛4,823

$1.18 ៛4,801

0.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.73 ៛2,950

$0.77 ៛3,128

-5.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.46 ៛5,946

$1.86 ៛7,555

-21.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.16 ៛45.3K

$11.01 ៛44.7K

1.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 ៛3,674

$1.00 ៛4,082

-10.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 ៛6,722

$1.73 ៛7,042

-4.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.43 ៛1,741

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.58 ៛38.9K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.09 ៛4,434

$1.09 ៛4,428

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ៛4,182

$1.03 ៛4,179

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.19 ៛21.1K

$5.13 ៛20.9K

1.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 ៛5,060

$1.30 ៛5,284

-3.85%

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

$34.3K ៛139.4M

$34.4K ៛139.7M

-0.19%

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

$43.5K ៛176.7M

$44.9K ៛182.4M

-3.10%

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

$106 ៛431.6K

$104 ៛424.3K

1.72%

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

$6.46 ៛26.2K

$7.48 ៛30.4K

-13.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.99 ៛77.1K

$24.51 ៛99.6K

-22.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$72.2 ៛293.1K

$41.31 ៛167.8K

74.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.11 ៛41.1K

$10.87 ៛44.2K

-6.99%

Cinema Ticket

$5.09 ៛20.7K

$4.86 ៛19.7K

4.73%

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

$339 ៛1.4M

$669 ៛2.7M

-49.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,096 ៛20.7M

$11.0K ៛44.7M

-53.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$28.55 ៛116.0K

$28.43 ៛115.5K

0.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$20.14 ៛81.8K

$23.93 ៛97.2K

-15.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.5 ៛363.7K

$91.7 ៛372.5K

-2.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$20.29 ៛82.4K

$59.8 ៛242.7K

-66.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$407 ៛1.7M

$658 ៛2.7M

-38.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$304 ៛1.2M

$375 ៛1.5M

-18.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$643 ៛2.6M

$1,145 ៛4.6M

-43.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$492 ៛2.0M

$818 ៛3.3M

-39.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,870 ៛11.7M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,519 ៛6.2M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$325 ៛1.3M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.07

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

Last update for Sihanoukville: October 11, 2026

Last update for Phnom Penh: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sihanoukville

$304 32.8%

Phnom Penh

$375 36.3% 23.3% $71

Groceries & Markets

Sihanoukville

$237 25.6%

Phnom Penh

$253 24.4% 6.7% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sihanoukville

$132 14.2%

Phnom Penh

$136 13.2% 3.6% $4.7

Eating Out

Sihanoukville

$95 10.2%

Phnom Penh

$110 10.6% 16.1% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Sihanoukville

$82 8.9%

Phnom Penh

$51 4.9% 38% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Sihanoukville

$71 7.7%

Phnom Penh

$92 8.9% 28.6% $20

Getting Around

Sihanoukville

$6.2 * 0.7%

Phnom Penh

$18 1.7% 181% $11

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $407 in Sihanoukville versus $658 in Phnom Penh. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $30.00 in Sihanoukville versus $40.00 in Phnom Penh. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $237 vs $253 – making Sihanoukville the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇰🇭 Sihanoukville

🇰🇭 Phnom Penh

🕒 Local time

15:49 3:49 PM

Same time as Sihanoukville

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

73,036

2,009,264 Capital

💱 Currency

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KHR = 2.46 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.19 EUR

10,000 KHR = 2.46 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sihanoukville Phnom Penh 190 km

From you

Sihanoukville
Phnom Penh

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

Sihanoukville vs Phnom Penh: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Phnom Penh is pricier by about 12%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,392 per month in Sihanoukville and $1,553 in Phnom Penh. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sihanoukville, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $928 in Sihanoukville and $1,035 in Phnom Penh. That's a gap of about 12%.

Kindergarten costs $339 per month in Sihanoukville and $669 in Phnom Penh. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Sihanoukville, where all-in costs run around $928, than in Phnom Penh at $1,035. In Sihanoukville it covers expenses comfortably, while in Phnom Penh it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Sihanoukville – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Sihanoukville. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Phnom Penh makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.