Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Augusta, ME and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,388 in Augusta, ME, rent and utilities included – about $13,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

114

Cost of Living Index in Augusta, ME
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Augusta, ME Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Augusta, ME

🇺🇸 United States

$2,388

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,388 in Augusta, ME versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Augusta, ME $2,388
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,317 in Augusta, ME versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Augusta, ME $3,317
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,246 in Augusta, ME versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Augusta, ME $4,246
Phuket $3,154

Living in Augusta, ME is roughly 87% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Augusta, ME is 75% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.90 $19.90

$4.47 ฿151

345.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$53.1 $53.1

$32.41 ฿1,094

63.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 $10.39

$8.81 ฿297

17.93%

Cappuccino

$5.40 $5.40

$2.83 ฿95.4

90.81%

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

$2.36 $2.36

$0.87 ฿29.42

171.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.59 $1.59

$0.49 ฿16.66

224.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.02 $5.02

$2.56 ฿86.3

96.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.72 $7.72

$3.68 ฿124

109.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 $1.14

$1.66 ฿56.0

-31.33%

White Bread (500g)

$4.56 $4.56

$1.46 ฿49.32

212.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.45 $1.45

$1.50 ฿50.5

-3.33%

Eggs

$3.96 $3.96

$2.09 ฿70.5

89.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.09 $15.09

$19.07 ฿643

-20.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.12 $14.12

$3.30 ฿111

327.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.52 $19.52

$10.91 ฿368

78.92%

Apples (1kg)

$7.48 $7.48

$2.93 ฿98.9

155.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.31 $1.31

$1.69 ฿57.0

-22.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.09 $3.09

$2.25 ฿75.8

37.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.59 $4.59

$2.08 ฿70.1

120.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.33 $2.33

$1.51 ฿51.0

54.30%

Onion (1kg)

$2.86 $2.86

$1.38 ฿46.54

107.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.08 $2.08

$1.07 ฿35.97

94.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.81 $1.81

$0.52 ฿17.51

248.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.98 $11.98

$4.20 ฿142

185.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 $12.99

$18.79 ฿634

-30.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 $1.56

$1.82 ฿61.5

-14.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 $1.55

$2.84 ฿95.9

-45.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.55 $2.55

$3.02 ฿102

-15.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.27 $1.27

$1.02 ฿34.34

24.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.55 $28.55

$3.69 ฿125

673.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.90 $0.90

$1.47 ฿49.78

-38.78%

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

$29.6K $29.6K

$26.8K ฿903.7K

10.45%

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

$24.3K $24.3K

$26.7K ฿900.8K

-9.07%

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

$243 $243

$96.4 ฿3,252

152.15%

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

$45.59 $45.59

$11.26 ฿380

304.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$61.0 $61.0

$16.85 ฿569

261.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.60 $22.60

$67.2 ฿2,269

-66.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$14.13 $14.13

$7.50 ฿253

88.40%

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

$2,656 $2,656

$476 ฿16.1K

458.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$36.6K $36.6K

$11.3K ฿380.1K

224.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$73.5 $73.5

$62.4 ฿2,105

17.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.9 $50.9

$28.41 ฿959

79.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 $113

$94.3 ฿3,182

19.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 $154

$85.8 ฿2,896

80.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,200 $1,200

$716 ฿24.2K

67.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 $1,078

$491 ฿16.6K

119.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,602 $1,602

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-16.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,473 $1,473

$1,431 ฿48.3K

2.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,386 $2,386

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-42.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,378 $2,378

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-21.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,948 $1,948

$502 ฿17.0K

287.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.3

5.57

13.11%

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

Last update for Augusta, ME: October 24, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Augusta, ME

$1.1K 45.2%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 54.5% $587

Groceries & Markets

Augusta, ME

$413 17.3%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 35.6% $147

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Augusta, ME

$349 14.6%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 64.4% $225

Eating Out

Augusta, ME

$312 13%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 60.9% $190

Clothing & Footwear

Augusta, ME

$176 7.4%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 30.9% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Augusta, ME

$51 2.1%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 61.7% $31

Getting Around

Augusta, ME

$8.9 * 0.4%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 694% $62

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 $1,200 in Augusta, ME and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Augusta, ME pays about 3.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $53 in Augusta, ME vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $413 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Augusta, ME

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

20:40 8:40 PM

08:40 8:40 AM

12 h ahead of Augusta, ME

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

194,343

79,308

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.896 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.896 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Augusta, ME Phuket 14,090 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Augusta, ME
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

Augusta, ME vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,388 in Augusta, ME and $1,278 in Phuket, so Phuket is about 46% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Augusta, ME is about 3.9 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: $1,200 in Augusta, ME versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,656 in Augusta, ME versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $53 in Augusta, ME. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,388 in Augusta, ME, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Augusta, ME. 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.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Augusta, ME on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.