Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Aalst and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $2,067 in Aalst, rent and utilities included – about $10,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

101

Cost of Living Index in Aalst
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Aalst Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Aalst

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,067

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,067 in Aalst versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Aalst $2,067
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,086 in Aalst versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Aalst $3,086
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,105 in Aalst versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Aalst $4,105
Phuket $2,867

Living in Aalst is roughly 71% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Aalst is 53% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.53 €20.10

$4.58 ฿154

391.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$106 €94.3

$32.48 ฿1,089

225.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.43 €11.99

$8.55 ฿287

57.08%

Cappuccino

$4.43 €3.95

$2.72 ฿91.3

62.87%

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

$3.63 €3.24

$0.94 ฿31.35

286.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 €2.83

$0.49 ฿16.45

546.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.55 €4.96

$2.59 ฿86.9

114.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 €4.93

$3.83 ฿128

44.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.74 ฿58.3

-24.71%

White Bread (500g)

$2.81 €2.51

$1.43 ฿47.98

96.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 €1.90

$1.53 ฿51.2

39.22%

Eggs

$3.83 €3.42

$2.17 ฿72.9

76.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.39 €15.52

$19.15 ฿642

-9.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.87 €10.59

$3.30 ฿111

259.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.29 €19.90

$11.14 ฿374

100.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 €2.67

$2.95 ฿98.8

1.36%

Banana (1kg)

$2.43 €2.17

$1.68 ฿56.3

44.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.67 €2.38

$2.30 ฿77.1

16.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.23 €2.88

$2.13 ฿71.5

51.64%

Potato (1kg)

$2.47 €2.21

$1.53 ฿51.3

61.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.95 €1.74

$1.36 ฿45.70

43.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.12 ฿37.57

37.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 €0.94

$0.55 ฿18.30

90.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.93 €11.54

$4.26 ฿143

203.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.74 €7.80

$18.19 ฿610

-51.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 €1.54

$1.74 ฿58.4

-1.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 €1.85

$2.79 ฿93.6

-25.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.09 €2.76

$2.22 ฿74.3

39.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿740

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.86 €2.55

$2.91 ฿97.6

-1.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.35 €2.09

$1.01 ฿33.91

132.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.40 €36.05

$3.83 ฿128

954.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.49 ฿50.0

42.28%

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

$34.7K €30.9K

$26.7K ฿894.6K

29.93%

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

$32.8K €29.3K

$26.7K ฿895.6K

22.85%

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

$203 €181

$99.4 ฿3,332

104.09%

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

$21.94 €19.58

$11.28 ฿378

94.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.8 €45.37

$17.36 ฿582

192.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.21 €32.32

$52.3 ฿1,753

-30.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.03 €18.77

$10.85 ฿364

93.82%

Cinema Ticket

$15.18 €13.55

$7.57 ฿254

100.53%

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

$1,605 €1,433

$558 ฿18.7K

187.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$33.7K €30.1K

$11.5K ฿385.2K

193.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$113 €101

$62.9 ฿2,109

79.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.17 €41.21

$28.58 ฿958

61.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €90.9

$96.1 ฿3,224

5.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 €146

$88.1 ฿2,953

85.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$911 €813

$729 ฿24.5K

24.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$808 €721

$460 ฿15.4K

75.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,384 €1,236

$2,096 ฿70.3K

-33.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,104 €985

$1,222 ฿41.0K

-9.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,162 €3,714

$3,459 ฿116.0K

20.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,890 €2,580

$2,489 ฿83.5K

16.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,782 €2,483

$493 ฿16.5K

464.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.46

5.57

-37.88%

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

Last update for Aalst: October 12, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Aalst

$807 39.1%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 43% $348

Groceries & Markets

Aalst

$360 17.4%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 25.7% $93

Eating Out

Aalst

$340 16.4%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 64.3% $218

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Aalst

$276 13.3%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 53.5% $148

Clothing & Footwear

Aalst

$191 9.2%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 35% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Aalst

$67 3.2%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 1.3% $0.9

Getting Around

Aalst

$27 * 1.3%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 44.4% $12

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 $911 in Aalst and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Aalst pays 464% 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: $106 in Aalst vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $360 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇪 Aalst

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

07:14 7:14 AM

12:14 12:14 PM

5 h ahead of Aalst

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

78,271

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.98 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Aalst Phuket 9,630 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Aalst
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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

Aalst vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Aalst and Phuket differ by about 71% in total monthly costs ($2,067 vs $1,207 including rent). Phuket is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 464% higher in Aalst, 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: $911 in Aalst versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 35% higher in Aalst. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,067 per month in Aalst versus $1,207 in Phuket – a 71% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,067 in Aalst, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Aalst. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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, Aalst 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 Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 71% less than in Aalst. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.