Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Baia Mare and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Baia Mare: $963 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in Baia Mare
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Baia Mare Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Baia Mare

🇷🇴 Romania

$963

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $963 in Baia Mare versus $1,294 in Phuket.

Baia Mare $963
Phuket $1,294

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,487 in Baia Mare versus $2,204 in Phuket.

Baia Mare $1,487
Phuket $2,204

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,010 in Baia Mare versus $3,115 in Phuket.

Baia Mare $2,010
Phuket $3,115

Living in Baia Mare costs roughly 26% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Baia Mare 29% lower, Phuket 4% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.39 RON 58.9

$4.39 ฿147

182.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.82 RON 156

$32.31 ฿1,078

1.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 RON 40.65

$8.70 ฿290

-1.72%

Cappuccino

$2.15 RON 10.25

$2.72 ฿90.9

-20.96%

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

$1.75 RON 8.31

$0.93 ฿31.06

88.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.40 RON 6.66

$0.50 ฿16.67

180.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.59 RON 7.55

$2.53 ฿84.5

-37.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 RON 10.10

$3.63 ฿121

-41.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 RON 6.61

$1.74 ฿58.1

-20.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 RON 6.72

$1.45 ฿48.42

-2.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.87 RON 8.90

$1.50 ฿50.1

24.67%

Eggs

$2.93 RON 13.92

$2.17 ฿72.5

35.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.45 RON 30.68

$19.09 ฿637

-66.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.07 RON 33.64

$3.40 ฿113

107.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.49 RON 49.91

$10.90 ฿364

-3.76%

Apples (1kg)

$1.11 RON 5.30

$2.94 ฿98.2

-62.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.48 RON 7.06

$1.69 ฿56.5

-12.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.30 RON 6.16

$2.19 ฿73.2

-40.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.66 RON 12.64

$2.12 ฿70.9

25.47%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 RON 4.58

$1.46 ฿48.68

-34.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.18 RON 5.62

$1.37 ฿45.66

-13.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.23 RON 5.86

$1.08 ฿35.91

13.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 RON 3.57

$0.55 ฿18.21

36.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.34 RON 30.17

$4.43 ฿148

43.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.96 RON 23.57

$18.25 ฿609

-72.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 RON 4.72

$1.77 ฿59.2

-44.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 RON 7.79

$2.88 ฿96.2

-43.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.70 RON 3.32

$1.45 ฿48.32

-51.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$14.73 RON 70.1

$54.9 ฿1,832

-73.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.08 RON 5.12

$1.51 ฿50.5

-28.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.13 RON 5.38

$0.78 ฿25.90

44.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.11 RON 52.9

$3.84 ฿128

189.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 RON 8.55

$1.49 ฿49.65

20.81%

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

$28.6K RON 136.0K

$26.9K ฿897.3K

6.37%

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

$24.8K RON 117.8K

$26.3K ฿879.4K

-6.03%

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

$106 RON 504

$97.8 ฿3,265

8.40%

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

$16.55 RON 78.7

$11.29 ฿377

46.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.09 RON 52.8

$17.19 ฿574

-35.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.01 RON 195

$68.3 ฿2,281

-39.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.29 RON 77.5

$10.92 ฿365

49.18%

Cinema Ticket

$9.93 RON 47.26

$7.43 ฿248

33.65%

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

$521 RON 2,479

$530 ฿17.7K

-1.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,345 RON 25.4K

$18.8K ฿626.9K

-71.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.51 RON 178

$61.7 ฿2,059

-39.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.17 RON 196

$28.25 ฿943

45.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$63.3 RON 301

$96.0 ฿3,204

-34.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$75.7 RON 360

$86.8 ฿2,898

-12.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$375 RON 1,782

$721 ฿24.1K

-48.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$268 RON 1,272

$509 ฿17.0K

-47.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$593 RON 2,820

$1,950 ฿65.1K

-69.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$454 RON 2,158

$1,397 ฿46.6K

-67.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,211 RON 10.5K

$4,192 ฿139.9K

-47.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,520 RON 7,229

$3,298 ฿110.1K

-53.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$903 RON 4,293

$492 ฿16.4K

83.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.48

5.57

34.29%

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

Last update for Baia Mare: October 31, 2026

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Baia Mare

$268 27.8%

Phuket

$509 39.3% 90.2% $241

Groceries & Markets

Baia Mare

$204 21.1%

Phuket

$267 20.6% 31% $63

Eating Out

Baia Mare

$175 18.2%

Phuket

$120 9.2% 31.8% $56

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Baia Mare

$134 13.9%

Phuket

$126 9.8% 5.5% $7.4

Clothing & Footwear

Baia Mare

$98 10.2%

Phuket

$123 9.5% 25.3% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Baia Mare

$61 6.3%

Phuket

$83 6.4% 36.6% $22

Getting Around

Baia Mare

$24 2.5%

Phuket

$66 5.1% 172% $42

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $375 in Baia Mare and $721 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Baia Mare pays 84% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $33 in Baia Mare vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $204 vs $267, with Baia Mare cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Baia Mare

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

00:49 12:49 AM

05:49 5:49 AM

5 h ahead of Baia Mare

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

123,738

79,308

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

100 THB = 3 USD

100 THB = 2.67 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 November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 4.76 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.38 THB (100 THB = 3 USD). 1 EUR = 37.47 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Baia Mare Phuket 8,230 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Baia Mare
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

Baia Mare vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Baia Mare is about 26% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 84% higher in Baia Mare, 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: $375 in Baia Mare versus $721 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $521 in Baia Mare versus $530 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 31% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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.