Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sur and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Sur: $1,149 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

55

Cost of Living Index in Sur
Learn more

Sur Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Sur

🇴🇲 Oman

$1,149

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,149 in Sur versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Sur $1,149
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,653 in Sur versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Sur $1,653
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,156 in Sur versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Sur $2,156
Phuket $3,154

Living in Sur costs roughly 10% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Sur 16% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.88 OMR 1.49

$4.47 ฿151

-13.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.96 OMR 9.99

$32.41 ฿1,094

-19.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.63 OMR 2.94

$8.81 ฿297

-13.39%

Cappuccino

$5.05 OMR 1.94

$2.83 ฿95.5

78.45%

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

$0.73 OMR 0.28

$0.87 ฿29.43

-16.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 OMR 0.10

$0.49 ฿16.67

-44.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$12.80 OMR 4.93

$2.56 ฿86.4

400.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$12.79 OMR 4.92

$3.68 ฿124

247.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 OMR 0.61

$1.66 ฿56.0

-4.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.23 OMR 0.48

$1.46 ฿49.35

-15.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.73 OMR 0.66

$1.50 ฿50.6

15.33%

Eggs

$1.95 OMR 0.75

$2.09 ฿70.5

-6.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.19 OMR 2.77

$19.07 ฿644

-62.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.81 OMR 2.62

$3.30 ฿111

106.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.99 OMR 3.46

$10.91 ฿368

-17.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 OMR 0.91

$2.93 ฿99.0

-19.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.28 OMR 0.49

$1.69 ฿57.1

-24.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.06 OMR 0.41

$2.25 ฿75.8

-52.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.80 OMR 0.31

$2.08 ฿70.1

-61.54%

Potato (1kg)

$0.76 OMR 0.29

$1.51 ฿51.0

-49.67%

Onion (1kg)

$0.54 OMR 0.21

$1.38 ฿46.56

-60.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.55 OMR 0.60

$1.07 ฿35.99

44.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 OMR 0.21

$0.52 ฿17.52

1.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.38 OMR 2.45

$4.20 ฿142

51.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.86 OMR 6.11

$18.79 ฿634

-15.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$6.10 OMR 2.35

$1.82 ฿61.5

235.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.30 OMR 3.96

$2.84 ฿95.9

262.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.32 OMR 1.28

$3.02 ฿102

9.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.61 OMR 1.01

$1.02 ฿34.36

155.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.74 OMR 2.98

$3.69 ฿125

109.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.53 OMR 0.20

$1.47 ฿49.81

-63.95%

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

$24.7K OMR 9,491

$26.8K ฿904.3K

-7.94%

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

$20.7K OMR 7,965

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-22.49%

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

$77.7 OMR 29.90

$96.4 ฿3,254

-19.39%

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

$23.09 OMR 8.89

$11.26 ฿380

105.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$69.7 OMR 26.85

$16.85 ฿569

313.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$86.3 OMR 33.21

$67.2 ฿2,270

28.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$10.25 OMR 3.95

$7.50 ฿253

36.67%

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

$502 OMR 193

$476 ฿16.1K

5.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,458 OMR 2,486

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-42.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.9 OMR 21.89

$62.4 ฿2,106

-8.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.07 OMR 16.97

$28.41 ฿959

55.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.9 OMR 34.23

$94.3 ฿3,184

-5.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 OMR 34.01

$85.8 ฿2,898

2.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$257 OMR 99.0

$716 ฿24.2K

-64.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$271 OMR 104

$491 ฿16.6K

-44.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$467 OMR 180

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-75.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$385 OMR 148

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-73.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$583 OMR 224

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-86.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$515 OMR 198

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-83.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,660 OMR 1,024

$502 ฿17.0K

429.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.25

5.57

-5.75%

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

Last update for Sur: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sur

$271 23.5%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 81.5% $220

Groceries & Markets

Sur

$252 21.9%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 5.7% $14

Eating Out

Sur

$208 18.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 41.5% $86

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sur

$170 14.8%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 27% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Sur

$125 10.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 2.6% $3.3

Sport & Entertainment

Sur

$107 9.3%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 23% $25

Getting Around

Sur

$16 * 1.4%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 331% $54

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 $257 in Sur and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sur pays about 5.3 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $26 in Sur vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $252 vs $266 per month, with Sur cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇴🇲 Sur

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

21:40 9:40 PM

00:40 12:40 AM

3 h ahead of Sur

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

120,000

79,308

💱 Currency

Omani Rial OMR ر.ع.

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 OMR = 2.6 USD

1 OMR = 2.33 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to OMR – Omani Rial Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇴🇲 Omani Rial (ر.ع.)

Omani Rial exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.385 OMR (1 OMR = 2.6 USD). 1 EUR = 0.429 OMR (1 OMR = 2.33 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).

USD to OMR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sur Phuket 4,460 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Sur
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

Sur vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

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

Average pay in Sur is about 5.3 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: $257 in Sur versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $502 in Sur versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Sur – a meal for two runs $26 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Sur gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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, Sur 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.