Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Surat Thani and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Surat Thani: $775 a month against $2,883 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $25,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Surat Thani
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Surat Thani Living Index
139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index

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Surat Thani

🇹🇭 Thailand

$775

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,883

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Surat Thani and in Dubai

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $775 in Surat Thani versus $2,883 in Dubai.

Surat Thani $775
Dubai $2,883

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,414 in Surat Thani versus $4,403 in Dubai.

Surat Thani $1,414
Dubai $4,403

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,053 in Surat Thani versus $5,923 in Dubai.

Surat Thani $2,053
Dubai $5,923

Living in Surat Thani costs roughly 73% less than in Dubai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Surat Thani is 43% below, Dubai is 113% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.89 ฿63.0

$12.99 AED 47.72

-85.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$17.87 ฿597

$81.9 AED 301

-78.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.51 ฿151

$9.64 AED 35.40

-53.22%

Cappuccino

$1.50 ฿50.2

$6.09 AED 22.38

-75.37%

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

$0.50 ฿16.68

$1.61 AED 5.93

-68.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 ฿9.66

$0.75 AED 2.76

-61.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿85.4

$13.79 AED 50.6

-81.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 ฿123

$13.41 AED 49.25

-72.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.4

$1.86 AED 6.83

-10.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 ฿39.89

$1.53 AED 5.62

-22.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.17 ฿39.13

$2.55 AED 9.38

-54.12%

Eggs

$1.87 ฿62.4

$3.28 AED 12.06

-42.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.18 ฿641

$12.14 AED 44.57

57.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 ฿111

$9.15 AED 33.62

-63.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.44 ฿249

$12.80 AED 47.00

-41.88%

Apples (1kg)

$2.91 ฿97.2

$2.56 AED 9.39

13.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.3

$1.91 AED 7.03

-12.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 ฿58.7

$1.82 AED 6.69

-3.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$1.43 AED 5.26

43.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.30 ฿43.57

$1.10 AED 4.04

18.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.90

$0.92 AED 3.40

48.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 ฿37.24

$1.52 AED 5.58

-26.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.41 ฿13.66

$0.69 AED 2.54

-40.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.07 ฿103

$6.41 AED 23.55

-52.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.86 ฿630

$16.52 AED 60.7

14.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 ฿51.6

$2.56 AED 9.41

-39.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿60.7

$3.08 AED 11.32

-40.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.02 ฿34.00

$1.58 AED 5.82

-35.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.95 ฿700

$75.9 AED 279

-72.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 ฿39.50

$3.19 AED 11.72

-63.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.63 ฿21.05

$0.71 AED 2.62

-11.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.49 ฿117

$8.21 AED 30.13

-57.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.16 ฿38.93

$1.01 AED 3.73

14.85%

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

$26.6K ฿890.1K

$26.1K AED 96.0K

1.88%

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

$27.3K ฿911.7K

$21.8K AED 80.2K

24.87%

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

$72.9 ฿2,437

$245 AED 900

-70.24%

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

$11.12 ฿372

$57.5 AED 211

-80.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.32 ฿579

$91.3 AED 335

-81.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.24 ฿1,612

$105 AED 385

-53.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.52 ฿385

$46.58 AED 171

-75.27%

Cinema Ticket

$4.53 ฿151

$16.04 AED 58.9

-71.76%

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

$549 ฿18.3K

$873 AED 3,206

-37.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿386.5K

$18.0K AED 66.2K

-35.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.9 ฿2,070

$70.8 AED 260

-12.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.16 ฿974

$62.3 AED 229

-53.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.3 ฿3,252

$106 AED 390

-8.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.5 ฿2,892

$102 AED 376

-15.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$237 ฿7,910

$2,454 AED 9,014

-90.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$149 ฿4,985

$1,510 AED 5,545

-90.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,150 ฿38.4K

$4,640 AED 17.0K

-75.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$709 ฿23.7K

$2,961 AED 10.9K

-76.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,226 ฿74.4K

$7,219 AED 26.5K

-69.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,404 ฿46.9K

$4,232 AED 15.5K

-66.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,584 AED 13.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.54

22.69%

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

Last update for Surat Thani: October 19, 2026

Last update for Dubai: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Surat Thani

$244 31.5%

Dubai

$288 10% 18% $44

Accommodation & Living

Surat Thani

$149 19.3%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.4% 912% $1.4K

Clothing & Footwear

Surat Thani

$124 16%

Dubai

$154 5.3% 24.3% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Surat Thani

$101 13.1%

Dubai

$394 13.7% 289% $292

Eating Out

Surat Thani

$70 9%

Dubai

$311 10.8% 345% $241

Sport & Entertainment

Surat Thani

$57 7.4%

Dubai

$137 4.8% 139% $80

Getting Around

Surat Thani

$29 3.8%

Dubai

$89 3.1% 203% $60

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $237 in Surat Thani and $2,454 in Dubai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $18.00 in Surat Thani vs $82.0 in Dubai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $244 vs $288 per month, with Surat Thani cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Surat Thani

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

23:07 11:07 PM

20:07 8:07 PM

3 h behind Surat Thani

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

132,040

3,790,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

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).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Surat Thani Dubai 4,990 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Surat Thani
Dubai

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

Surat Thani vs Dubai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Surat Thani is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 272% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,163 in Surat Thani and $4,324 in Dubai to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $237 in Surat Thani versus $2,454 in Dubai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Surat Thani runs roughly 262% less than in Dubai. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $549 in Surat Thani versus $873 in Dubai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $775 in Surat Thani versus $2,883 in Dubai, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Surat Thani but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Surat Thani the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Surat Thani and Dubai 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 Surat Thani gentler on the wallet – expenses run 272% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.