Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sylhet and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Sylhet: $365 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $10,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

18

Cost of Living Index in Sylhet
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Sylhet Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Sylhet

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$365

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $365 in Sylhet versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Sylhet $365
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $617 in Sylhet versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Sylhet $617
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $869 in Sylhet versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Sylhet $869
Phuket $2,867

Living in Sylhet costs roughly 70% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Sylhet 73% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.46 ৳303

$4.58 ฿154

-46.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$11.56 ৳1,424

$32.48 ฿1,089

-64.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.01 ৳494

$8.55 ฿287

-53.10%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.02 ৳495

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.09 ৳504

Cappuccino

$1.98 ৳243

$2.72 ฿91.3

-27.21%

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

$0.31 ৳37.55

$0.94 ฿31.35

-67.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.15 ৳18.45

$0.49 ฿16.45

-69.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.9

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

Milk (1 liter)

$0.79 ৳97.6

$1.74 ฿58.3

-54.60%

White Bread (500g)

$0.59 ৳72.9

$1.43 ฿47.98

-58.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.65 ৳79.5

$1.53 ฿51.2

-57.52%

Eggs

$1.18 ৳145

$2.17 ฿72.9

-45.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.83 ৳964

$19.15 ฿642

-59.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.35 ৳413

$3.30 ฿111

1.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.55 ৳806

$11.14 ฿374

-41.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.68 ৳330

$2.95 ฿98.8

-9.15%

Banana (1kg)

$0.90 ৳111

$1.68 ฿56.3

-46.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.42 ৳298

$2.30 ฿77.1

5.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.60 ৳74.2

$2.13 ฿71.5

-71.83%

Potato (1kg)

$0.26 ৳32.23

$1.53 ฿51.3

-83.01%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 ৳57.2

$1.36 ฿45.70

-66.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.32 ৳39.33

$1.12 ฿37.57

-71.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.27 ৳33.02

$0.55 ฿18.30

-50.91%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.81 ৳346

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.05 ৳252

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.05 ৳499

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.76 ৳340

$4.26 ฿143

-35.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿610

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.6

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.70 ৳86.1

$2.22 ฿74.3

-68.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$24.05 ৳2,961

$22.06 ฿740

9.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.24 ৳152

$2.91 ฿97.6

-57.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.15 ৳18.51

$1.01 ฿33.91

-85.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.17 ৳144

$3.83 ฿128

-69.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.08 ৳133

$1.49 ฿50.0

-27.52%

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

$29.9K ৳3.7M

$26.7K ฿894.6K

11.92%

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

$33.0K ৳4.1M

$26.7K ฿895.6K

23.51%

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

$25.97 ৳3,196

$99.4 ฿3,332

-73.87%

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

$4.23 ৳520

$11.28 ฿378

-62.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.48 ৳1,290

$17.36 ฿582

-39.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$9.05 ৳1,114

$52.3 ฿1,753

-82.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.01 ৳493

$10.85 ฿364

-63.04%

Cinema Ticket

$4.02 ৳495

$7.57 ฿254

-46.90%

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

$28.87 ৳3,554

$558 ฿18.7K

-94.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$995 ৳122.5K

$11.5K ฿385.2K

-91.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$16.22 ৳1,997

$62.9 ฿2,109

-74.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.43 ৳2,023

$28.58 ฿958

-42.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$36.99 ৳4,554

$96.1 ฿3,224

-61.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$30.47 ৳3,751

$88.1 ฿2,953

-65.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$129 ৳15.8K

$729 ฿24.5K

-82.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$57.6 ৳7,087

$460 ฿15.4K

-87.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$173 ৳21.3K

$2,096 ฿70.3K

-91.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$162 ৳19.9K

$1,222 ฿41.0K

-86.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$706 ৳86.9K

$3,459 ฿116.0K

-79.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$350 ৳43.1K

$2,489 ฿83.5K

-85.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$224 ৳27.6K

$493 ฿16.5K

-54.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

5.57

88.15%

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

Last update for Sylhet: October 10, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sylhet

$119 32.5%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 125% $149

Accommodation & Living

Sylhet

$58 15.8%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 699% $402

Eating Out

Sylhet

$57 15.7%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 112% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Sylhet

$45 12.3%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 175% $79

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sylhet

$41 11.1%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 215% $87

Getting Around

Sylhet

$29 7.9%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 34.8% $10

Sport & Entertainment

Sylhet

$17 4.7%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 295% $50

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $129 in Sylhet and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 120% 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: $12.00 in Sylhet vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $119 vs $268 per month, with Sylhet cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Sylhet

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

10:00 10:00 AM

11:00 11:00 AM

1 h ahead of Sylhet

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

526,412

79,308

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.12 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.26 EUR

100 THB = 2.98 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to BDT – Bangladeshi Taka Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇩 Bangladeshi Taka (৳)

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 123 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.12 USD). 1 EUR = 138 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.26 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 33.53 THB (100 THB = 2.98 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sylhet Phuket 2,010 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Sylhet
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

Sylhet vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sylhet is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 231% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 120% 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: $129 in Sylhet versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $28.87 in Sylhet versus $558 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 125% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $365 in Sylhet versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sylhet but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Sylhet the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Sylhet 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, Sylhet 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 Sylhet gentler on the wallet – expenses run 231% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.