Cost of living comparison

compared to

Pale vs. Phnom Penh Cost of Living Summary

Pale is 22.7% more expensive than Phnom Penh.

Restaurants: pay 60.9% more in Pale
Groceries: pay 3.5% less in Pale
Transportation: pay 18.8% more in Pale
Housing: pay 4.7% less in Pale
Childcare: pay 34.6% less in Pale
Entertainment and Sports: pay 21.7% more in Pale
Clothing: pay 2.0 times more in Pale

The cost of clothing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Pale are more expensive than in Phnom Penh. Expenses including childcare, housing, and groceries are lower in Pale. Notably, clothing is significantly more expensive in Pale.

Pale vs. Phnom Penh Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Pale instead of Phnom Penh, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 60.9% more for restaurants

	Phnom Penh	Pale
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.00 KHR19,986.53	$9.01 BAM15.00	+80.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.00 KHR27,981.15	$8.41 BAM14.00	+20.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.93 KHR3,715.14	$1.97 BAM3.28	+111.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.91 KHR3,650.72	$1.20 BAM2.00	+31.5%
Average			+60.9%

Phnom Penh vs. Pale - Cost of restaurants

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pay 3.5% less for groceries

	Phnom Penh	Pale
Bread 1 loaf	$1.65 KHR6,597.61	$1.26 BAM2.10	-23.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.70 KHR26,781.96	$4.93 BAM8.22	-26.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.17 KHR32,649.02	$5.36 BAM8.92	-34.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.82 KHR7,270.66	$2.81 BAM4.68	+54.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.01 KHR8,028.23	$3.89 BAM6.47	+93.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.81 KHR7,237.49	$0.71 BAM1.18	-60.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.88 KHR3,535.64	$0.86 BAM1.43	-2.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.91 KHR7,651.49	$0.95 BAM1.59	-50.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.73 KHR2,937.30	$0.97 BAM1.62	+32.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.88 KHR3,505.42	$0.54 BAM0.91	-37.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.54 KHR2,145.56	$0.63 BAM1.05	+17.1%
Average			-3.5%

Phnom Penh vs. Pale - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.8% more for transportation

	Phnom Penh	Pale
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.33 KHR17,308.52	$5.72 BAM9.52	+32.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$9.60 KHR38,374.14	$18.01 BAM29.99	+87.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$49,000.00 KHR195,868,029.72	$29,117.48 BAM48,484.92	-40.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.05 KHR36,186.85	$8.71 BAM14.50	-3.8%
Average			+18.8%

Phnom Penh vs. Pale - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.7% less for housing

	Phnom Penh	Pale
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.29 KHR85,086.31	$25.02 BAM41.65	+17.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$481.60 KHR1,925,112.27	$190.61 BAM317.40	-60.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$273.92 KHR1,094,935.34	$165.10 BAM274.91	-39.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$82.99 KHR331,720.63	$135.85 BAM226.20	+63.7%
Average			-4.7%

Phnom Penh vs. Pale - Cost of housing

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pay 34.6% less for childcare

	Phnom Penh	Pale
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$293.33 KHR1,172,543.31	$242.40 BAM403.62	-17.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,141.67 KHR28,547,432.22	$3,437.06 BAM5,723.22	-51.9%
Average			-34.6%

Phnom Penh vs. Pale - Cost of childcare

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pay 21.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Phnom Penh	Pale
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.21 KHR4,829.58	$1.95 BAM3.25	+61.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.53 KHR10,098.46	$1.67 BAM2.78	-34.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.88 KHR7,494.95	$3.81 BAM6.35	+103.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.67 KHR166,554.45	$24.01 BAM39.99	-42.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.75 KHR14,989.90	$4.50 BAM7.50	+20.1%
Average			+21.7%

Phnom Penh vs. Pale - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.0 times more for clothing

	Phnom Penh	Pale
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$25.75 KHR102,930.65	$78.55 BAM130.79	+205.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$23.33 KHR93,270.49	$39.02 BAM64.98	+67.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$88.00 KHR351,762.99	$101.87 BAM169.63	+15.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$60.20 KHR240,637.87	$129.08 BAM214.93	+114.4%
Average			+100.6%

Phnom Penh vs. Pale - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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