Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Alba Iulia and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Alba Iulia: $901 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in Alba Iulia
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Alba Iulia Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Alba Iulia

🇷🇴 Romania

$901

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $901 in Alba Iulia versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Alba Iulia $901
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,378 in Alba Iulia versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Alba Iulia $1,378
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,855 in Alba Iulia versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Alba Iulia $1,855
Phuket $3,154

Living in Alba Iulia costs roughly 29% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Alba Iulia 34% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.60 RON 41.32

$4.47 ฿151

92.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.98 RON 149

$32.41 ฿1,094

-4.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 RON 28.25

$8.81 ฿297

-33.26%

Cappuccino

$2.28 RON 10.95

$2.83 ฿95.5

-19.43%

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

$1.75 RON 8.43

$0.87 ฿29.43

101.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.48 RON 7.13

$0.49 ฿16.67

202.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.97 RON 9.45

$2.56 ฿86.4

-23.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 RON 9.79

$3.68 ฿124

-44.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.23 RON 5.91

$1.66 ฿56.0

-25.90%

White Bread (500g)

$1.08 RON 5.20

$1.46 ฿49.35

-26.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 RON 6.86

$1.50 ฿50.6

-4.67%

Eggs

$2.69 RON 12.93

$2.09 ฿70.5

28.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.53 RON 36.17

$19.07 ฿644

-60.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.03 RON 28.97

$3.30 ฿111

82.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.80 RON 51.9

$10.91 ฿368

-1.01%

Apples (1kg)

$0.92 RON 4.44

$2.93 ฿99.0

-68.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.31 RON 6.29

$1.69 ฿57.1

-22.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.26 RON 6.06

$2.25 ฿75.8

-44.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.33 RON 11.20

$2.08 ฿70.1

12.02%

Potato (1kg)

$0.72 RON 3.44

$1.51 ฿51.0

-52.32%

Onion (1kg)

$0.59 RON 2.83

$1.38 ฿46.56

-57.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 RON 4.18

$1.07 ฿35.99

-18.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 RON 2.92

$0.52 ฿17.52

17.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 RON 24.88

$4.20 ฿142

23.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.28 RON 20.56

$18.79 ฿634

-77.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 RON 5.36

$1.82 ฿61.5

-38.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 RON 6.11

$2.84 ฿95.9

-55.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 RON 3.60

$1.45 ฿49.03

-48.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.98 RON 81.6

$56.7 ฿1,913

-70.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 RON 3.06

$3.02 ฿102

-78.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.63 RON 3.03

$1.02 ฿34.36

-38.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.47 RON 21.46

$3.69 ฿125

21.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 RON 7.20

$1.47 ฿49.81

2.04%

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

$28.8K RON 138.4K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

7.52%

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

$23.7K RON 114.1K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-11.06%

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

$125 RON 598

$96.4 ฿3,254

29.25%

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

$7.31 RON 35.12

$11.26 ฿380

-35.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.01 RON 43.29

$16.85 ฿569

-46.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.55 RON 142

$67.2 ฿2,270

-56.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.83 RON 148

$10.73 ฿362

187.33%

Cinema Ticket

$5.09 RON 24.44

$7.50 ฿253

-32.13%

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

$435 RON 2,092

$476 ฿16.1K

-8.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,969 RON 33.5K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-38.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$38.02 RON 183

$62.4 ฿2,106

-39.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$23.94 RON 115

$28.41 ฿959

-15.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.8 RON 355

$94.3 ฿3,184

-21.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$61.7 RON 297

$85.8 ฿2,898

-28.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$296 RON 1,422

$716 ฿24.2K

-58.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$283 RON 1,360

$491 ฿16.6K

-42.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$612 RON 2,941

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-68.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$478 RON 2,298

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-66.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,643 RON 7,894

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-60.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,401 RON 6,732

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-53.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$903 RON 4,340

$502 ฿17.0K

79.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.97

5.57

25.13%

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

Last update for Alba Iulia: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Alba Iulia

$283 31.4%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 73.5% $208

Groceries & Markets

Alba Iulia

$185 20.5%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 44.2% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Alba Iulia

$141 15.6%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 11.6% $16

Eating Out

Alba Iulia

$141 15.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 13.5% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Alba Iulia

$89 9.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 37.2% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Alba Iulia

$40 4.4%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 107% $43

Getting Around

Alba Iulia

$24 2.6%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 197% $47

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $296 in Alba Iulia and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Alba Iulia pays 80% 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 Alba Iulia vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $185 vs $266 per month, with Alba Iulia cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Alba Iulia

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

17:46 5:46 PM

22:46 10:46 PM

5 h ahead of Alba Iulia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

63,536

79,308

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.81 RON (1 RON = 0.208 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Alba Iulia Phuket 8,210 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Alba Iulia
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

Alba Iulia vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Alba Iulia is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and leisure. The 42% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 80% higher in Alba Iulia, 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: $296 in Alba Iulia versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $901 per month in Alba Iulia versus $1,278 in Phuket – a 42% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Alba Iulia runs roughly 70% less than in Phuket. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

At $901 in Alba Iulia versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Alba Iulia but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Alba Iulia 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, Alba Iulia 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 Alba Iulia gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.