Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bar and Phuket

For one person, living costs are similar in Bar and in Phuket: $1,244 and $1,278 a month, rent and utilities included.

60

Cost of Living Index in Bar
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Bar Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Bar

🇲🇪 Montenegro

$1,244

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,244 in Bar versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Bar $1,244
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,947 in Bar versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Bar $1,947
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,651 in Bar versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Bar $2,651
Phuket $3,154

Living in Bar costs roughly 3% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bar 9% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.32 €10.17

$4.47 ฿151

153.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.24 €42.44

$32.41 ฿1,094

45.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.88 €8.88

$8.81 ฿297

12.15%

Cappuccino

$2.75 €2.47

$2.83 ฿95.5

-2.83%

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

$2.14 €1.92

$0.87 ฿29.43

145.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 €1.69

$0.49 ฿16.67

283.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.83 €2.54

$2.56 ฿86.4

10.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.13 €2.81

$3.68 ฿124

-14.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.18 €1.06

$1.66 ฿56.0

-28.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.28 €1.15

$1.46 ฿49.35

-12.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.50 ฿50.6

72.67%

Eggs

$3.16 €2.84

$2.09 ฿70.5

51.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.60 €7.73

$19.07 ฿644

-54.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.83 €7.04

$3.30 ฿111

137.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.49 €10.32

$10.91 ฿368

5.32%

Apples (1kg)

$1.37 €1.23

$2.93 ฿99.0

-53.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 €1.78

$1.69 ฿57.1

17.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 €1.41

$2.25 ฿75.8

-30.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.66 €2.39

$2.08 ฿70.1

27.88%

Potato (1kg)

$0.98 €0.88

$1.51 ฿51.0

-35.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 €0.91

$1.38 ฿46.56

-26.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.11 €1.90

$1.07 ฿35.99

97.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 €0.82

$0.52 ฿17.52

75.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.45 €4.00

$4.20 ฿142

5.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.88 €7.08

$18.79 ฿634

-58.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$1.82 ฿61.5

-51.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.32 €1.19

$2.84 ฿95.9

-53.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.27 €2.04

$1.45 ฿49.03

56.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.57 €20.28

$56.7 ฿1,913

-60.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.18 €1.96

$3.02 ฿102

-27.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.14 €1.02

$1.02 ฿34.36

11.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.83 €12.43

$3.69 ฿125

274.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.70 €1.53

$1.47 ฿49.81

15.65%

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

$31.1K €27.9K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

16.11%

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

$28.5K €25.6K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

6.94%

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

$110 €98.9

$96.4 ฿3,254

14.18%

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

$15.95 €14.33

$11.26 ฿380

41.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.70 €26.69

$16.85 ฿569

76.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.49 €39.08

$67.2 ฿2,270

-35.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.38 €12.92

$10.73 ฿362

34.02%

Cinema Ticket

$4.36 €3.91

$7.50 ฿253

-41.87%

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

$314 €282

$476 ฿16.1K

-33.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,979 €6,270

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-38.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.2 €55.9

$62.4 ฿2,106

-0.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.86 €25.93

$28.41 ฿959

1.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.7 €85.1

$94.3 ฿3,184

0.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 €102

$85.8 ฿2,898

31.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$630 €566

$716 ฿24.2K

-11.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$440 €395

$491 ฿16.6K

-10.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,050

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-39.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$823 €740

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-42.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,915 €2,619

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-30.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,132 €1,915

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-29.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$987 €887

$502 ฿17.0K

96.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

-10.23%

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

Last update for Bar: 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

Bar

$440 35.3%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 11.7% $51

Groceries & Markets

Bar

$233 18.7%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 14.5% $34

Eating Out

Bar

$190 15.3%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 35.9% $68

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bar

$156 12.5%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 20% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Bar

$134 10.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 9.3% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Bar

$52 4.2%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 57.5% $30

Getting Around

Bar

$40 3.2%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 78.5% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $630 in Bar and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bar pays 97% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $47 in Bar vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $233 vs $266, with Bar cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇪 Bar

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

12:09 12:09 PM

18:09 6:09 PM

6 h ahead of Bar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,727

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Bar Phuket 8,540 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Bar
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

Bar vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bar wins on cost – living expenses run 3% lower than in Phuket. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Bar the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 97% higher in Bar, 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: $630 in Bar versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $314 in Bar versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Bar is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Bar 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.