Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tabuk and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Tabuk: $1,178 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

56

Cost of Living Index in Tabuk
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Tabuk Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Tabuk

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,178

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,178 in Tabuk versus $1,294 in Phuket.

Tabuk $1,178
Phuket $1,294

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,766 in Tabuk versus $2,204 in Phuket.

Tabuk $1,766
Phuket $2,204

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,354 in Tabuk versus $3,115 in Phuket.

Tabuk $2,354
Phuket $3,115

Living in Tabuk costs roughly 9% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tabuk 13% lower, Phuket 4% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.33 SAR 27.50

$4.39 ฿147

66.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.31 SAR 118

$32.31 ฿1,078

-3.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.55 SAR 28.34

$8.70 ฿290

-13.22%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.35 SAR 5.05

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 SAR 6.01

Cappuccino

$3.13 SAR 11.76

$2.72 ฿90.9

15.07%

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

$0.73 SAR 2.73

$0.93 ฿31.06

-21.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 SAR 0.97

$0.50 ฿16.67

-48.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿84.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿121

Milk (1 liter)

$1.89 SAR 7.11

$1.74 ฿58.1

8.62%

White Bread (500g)

$0.91 SAR 3.40

$1.45 ฿48.42

-37.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.68 SAR 10.05

$1.50 ฿50.1

78.67%

Eggs

$2.95 SAR 11.06

$2.17 ฿72.5

35.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.63 SAR 47.41

$19.09 ฿637

-33.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 SAR 25.29

$3.40 ฿113

98.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.74 SAR 47.81

$10.90 ฿364

16.88%

Apples (1kg)

$1.95 SAR 7.31

$2.94 ฿98.2

-33.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.67 SAR 6.28

$1.69 ฿56.5

-1.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.81 SAR 6.78

$2.19 ฿73.2

-17.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 SAR 8.04

$2.12 ฿70.9

0.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.69 SAR 6.36

$1.46 ฿48.68

15.75%

Onion (1kg)

$2.09 SAR 7.86

$1.37 ฿45.66

52.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.89 SAR 7.09

$1.08 ฿35.91

75.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.60 SAR 2.24

$0.55 ฿18.21

9.09%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.86 SAR 10.72

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 SAR 6.86

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 SAR 7.80

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.62 SAR 24.86

$4.43 ฿148

49.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿609

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿96.2

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.05 SAR 3.94

$1.45 ฿48.32

-27.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$36.23 SAR 136

$54.9 ฿1,832

-34.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.70 SAR 10.14

$1.51 ฿50.5

78.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.69 SAR 6.34

$0.78 ฿25.90

116.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.98 SAR 56.2

$3.84 ฿128

290.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.65 SAR 2.44

$1.49 ฿49.65

-56.38%

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

$27.0K SAR 101.5K

$26.9K ฿897.3K

0.59%

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

$20.4K SAR 76.6K

$26.3K ฿879.4K

-22.52%

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

$104 SAR 392

$97.8 ฿3,265

6.81%

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

$36.05 SAR 135

$11.29 ฿377

219.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$75.8 SAR 284

$17.19 ฿574

340.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$79.5 SAR 298

$68.3 ฿2,281

16.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿365

Cinema Ticket

$13.35 SAR 50.1

$7.43 ฿248

79.68%

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

$428 SAR 1,605

$530 ฿17.7K

-19.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,508 SAR 31.9K

$18.8K ฿626.9K

-54.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.00 SAR 150

$61.7 ฿2,059

-35.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.44 SAR 178

$28.25 ฿943

67.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.1 SAR 338

$96.0 ฿3,204

-6.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.1 SAR 342

$86.8 ฿2,898

4.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$309 SAR 1,159

$721 ฿24.1K

-57.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$338 SAR 1,270

$509 ฿17.0K

-33.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$556 SAR 2,087

$1,950 ฿65.1K

-71.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$567 SAR 2,128

$1,397 ฿46.6K

-59.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,966 SAR 7,379

$4,192 ฿139.9K

-53.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,192 SAR 4,474

$3,298 ฿110.1K

-63.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,716 SAR 6,442

$492 ฿16.4K

249.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.54

5.57

-0.54%

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

Last update for Tabuk: November 2, 2026

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tabuk

$338 28.7%

Phuket

$509 39.3% 50.4% $171

Groceries & Markets

Tabuk

$222 18.8%

Phuket

$267 20.6% 20.2% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tabuk

$216 18.4%

Phuket

$126 9.8% 41.6% $90

Eating Out

Tabuk

$123 10.4%

Phuket

$120 9.2% 2.7% $3.3

Clothing & Footwear

Tabuk

$121 10.3%

Phuket

$123 9.5% 1.5% $1.8

Sport & Entertainment

Tabuk

$106 9%

Phuket

$83 6.4% 21.7% $23

Getting Around

Tabuk

$52 4.4%

Phuket

$66 5.1% 28.1% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $309 in Tabuk and $721 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tabuk pays about 3.5 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $31 in Tabuk vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $222 vs $267 per month, with Tabuk cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Tabuk

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

23:54 11:54 PM

03:54 3:54 AM

4 h ahead of Tabuk

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

512,629

79,308

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

100 THB = 3 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇦 Saudi Riyal (ر.س)

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.21 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.38 THB (100 THB = 3 USD). 1 EUR = 37.47 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

USD to SAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tabuk Phuket 6,840 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Tabuk
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

Tabuk vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tabuk is about 9% cheaper overall, especially in groceries and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Tabuk is about 3.5 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: $309 in Tabuk versus $721 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $428 in Tabuk versus $530 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 20% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Tabuk 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, Tabuk and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Tabuk gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.