Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ashford and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $2,427 in Ashford, rent and utilities included – about $14,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Ashford
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Ashford Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Ashford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,427

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,427 in Ashford versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Ashford $2,427
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,351 in Ashford versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Ashford $3,351
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,276 in Ashford versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Ashford $4,276
Phuket $2,867

Living in Ashford is roughly 101% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ashford is 80% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.96 £15.73

$4.58 ฿153

357.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.9 £60.0

$32.48 ฿1,086

146.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.49 £7.87

$8.55 ฿286

22.69%

Cappuccino

$5.74 £4.30

$2.72 ฿91.0

111.03%

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

$2.74 £2.05

$0.94 ฿31.25

191.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.82 £1.37

$0.49 ฿16.39

271.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.89 £2.92

$2.59 ฿86.6

50.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.09 £5.32

$3.83 ฿128

85.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 £1.11

$1.74 ฿58.1

-14.94%

White Bread (500g)

$1.32 £0.99

$1.43 ฿47.82

-7.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 £1.26

$1.53 ฿51.0

10.46%

Eggs

$3.00 £2.25

$2.17 ฿72.7

38.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.22 £3.92

$19.15 ฿640

-72.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.91 £5.18

$3.30 ฿110

109.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.39 £10.79

$11.14 ฿372

29.17%

Apples (1kg)

$3.28 £2.46

$2.95 ฿98.5

11.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 £1.08

$1.68 ฿56.1

-14.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.67 £2.01

$2.30 ฿76.8

16.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.17 £2.38

$2.13 ฿71.3

48.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.25

$1.53 ฿51.1

9.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.46 £1.09

$1.36 ฿45.55

7.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 £1.08

$1.12 ฿37.44

28.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 £1.07

$0.55 ฿18.24

158.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$18.83 £14.13

$4.26 ฿142

342.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.24 £6.93

$18.19 ฿608

-49.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.67 £2.00

$1.74 ฿58.2

53.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 £2.73

$2.79 ฿93.3

30.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.89 £2.92

$2.22 ฿74.1

75.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$146 £110

$22.06 ฿737

563.37%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.11 £4.58

$2.91 ฿97.3

109.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.68 £1.26

$1.01 ฿33.79

66.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.44 £16.08

$3.83 ฿128

459.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.49 ฿49.85

38.93%

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

$35.0K £26.2K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

31.05%

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

$41.1K £30.9K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

53.97%

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

$244 £183

$99.4 ฿3,321

145.30%

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

$24.30 £18.23

$11.28 ฿377

115.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.52 £28.90

$17.36 ฿580

121.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.3 £45.99

$52.3 ฿1,747

17.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.74 £14.06

$10.85 ฿362

72.72%

Cinema Ticket

$21.45 £16.10

$7.57 ฿253

183.36%

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

$1,076 £808

$558 ฿18.7K

92.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.8K £14.9K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

72.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$69.5 £52.1

$62.9 ฿2,102

10.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.50 £23.63

$28.58 ฿955

10.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.7 £57.6

$96.1 ฿3,213

-20.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$100 £75.1

$88.1 ฿2,943

13.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,115 £836

$729 ฿24.4K

52.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,133 £850

$460 ฿15.4K

146.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 £1,282

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-18.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,425 £1,069

$1,222 ฿40.8K

16.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,328 £4,748

$3,459 ฿115.6K

82.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,671 £3,504

$2,489 ฿83.2K

87.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,452 £1,840

$493 ฿16.5K

397.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.91

5.57

-11.85%

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

Last update for Ashford: October 10, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ashford

$1.1K 46.7%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 59.4% $673

Eating Out

Ashford

$320 13.2%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 62.1% $199

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ashford

$307 12.6%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 58.2% $179

Groceries & Markets

Ashford

$262 10.8%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 2.3% $6

Getting Around

Ashford

$176 7.3%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 78% $138

Clothing & Footwear

Ashford

$125 5.2%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 0.8% $1

Sport & Entertainment

Ashford

$104 4.3%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 35.3% $37

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,115 in Ashford and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ashford pays 397% 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: $80.0 in Ashford vs $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $262 vs $268, with Ashford cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Ashford

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

04:36 4:36 AM

10:36 10:36 AM

6 h ahead of Ashford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

58,936

79,308

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ashford Phuket 9,840 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Ashford
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

Ashford vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, transport, and clothing. The 101% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 397% higher in Ashford, 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: $1,115 in Ashford versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $80.0 in Ashford. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,427 per month in Ashford versus $1,207 in Phuket – a 101% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,427 in Ashford, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Ashford. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Phuket is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Ashford, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Ashford 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 101% less than in Ashford. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.