Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bhilai and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Bhilai: $328 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $11,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

16

Cost of Living Index in Bhilai
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Bhilai Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

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Bhilai

🇮🇳 India

$328

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $328 in Bhilai versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Bhilai $328
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $557 in Bhilai versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Bhilai $557
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $786 in Bhilai versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Bhilai $786
Phuket $3,154

Living in Bhilai costs roughly 74% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bhilai 76% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.67 ₹253

$4.47 ฿151

-40.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$8.83 ₹838

$32.41 ฿1,093

-72.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.08 ₹292

$8.81 ฿297

-65.04%

Cappuccino

$1.91 ₹181

$2.83 ฿95.4

-32.51%

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

$0.29 ₹27.06

$0.87 ฿29.41

-66.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.22 ₹20.56

$0.49 ฿16.65

-55.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.59 ₹151

$2.56 ฿86.3

-37.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 ₹267

$3.68 ฿124

-23.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.56 ₹52.9

$1.66 ฿55.9

-66.27%

White Bread (500g)

$0.39 ₹36.76

$1.46 ฿49.31

-73.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.60 ₹56.8

$1.50 ฿50.5

-60.00%

Eggs

$1.01 ₹96.1

$2.09 ฿70.5

-51.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.09 ₹389

$19.07 ฿643

-78.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.82 ₹267

$3.30 ฿111

-14.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

Apples (1kg)

$2.36 ₹224

$2.93 ฿98.9

-19.45%

Banana (1kg)

$0.53 ₹50.6

$1.69 ฿57.0

-68.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.89 ₹84.4

$2.25 ฿75.8

-60.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.48 ₹45.19

$2.08 ฿70.0

-76.92%

Potato (1kg)

$0.35 ₹33.61

$1.51 ฿51.0

-76.82%

Onion (1kg)

$0.45 ₹42.32

$1.38 ฿46.52

-67.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.27 ₹25.74

$1.07 ฿35.96

-74.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.29 ₹27.22

$0.52 ฿17.51

-44.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.16 ₹490

$4.20 ฿142

22.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.66 ₹442

$18.79 ฿634

-75.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 ₹160

$1.82 ฿61.5

-7.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 ₹257

$2.84 ฿95.8

-4.93%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$3.83 ₹363

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.38 ₹36.46

$1.45 ฿48.98

-73.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$6.37 ₹605

$56.7 ฿1,912

-88.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.02 ₹97.1

$3.02 ฿102

-66.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 ₹20.92

$1.02 ฿34.33

-78.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.86 ₹177

$3.69 ฿125

-49.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.12 ₹106

$1.47 ฿49.76

-23.81%

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

$11.3K ₹1.1M

$26.8K ฿903.4K

-57.77%

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

$18.1K ₹1.7M

$26.7K ฿900.5K

-32.13%

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

$31.61 ₹3,002

$96.4 ฿3,251

-67.19%

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

$3.21 ₹305

$11.26 ฿380

-71.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$4.79 ₹454

$16.85 ฿568

-71.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$6.94 ₹659

$67.2 ฿2,268

-89.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.08 ₹292

$10.73 ฿362

-71.30%

Cinema Ticket

$3.31 ₹314

$7.50 ฿253

-55.87%

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

$82.5 ₹7,832

$476 ฿16.1K

-82.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,042 ₹98.9K

$11.3K ฿380.0K

-90.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.26 ₹2,208

$62.4 ฿2,104

-62.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.63 ₹2,718

$28.41 ฿958

0.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$23.96 ₹2,275

$94.3 ฿3,181

-74.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$23.58 ₹2,239

$85.8 ฿2,895

-72.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$73.8 ₹7,002

$716 ฿24.2K

-89.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$58.0 ₹5,508

$491 ฿16.6K

-88.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$265 ₹25.2K

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-86.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$209 ₹19.8K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-85.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$675 ₹64.1K

$502 ฿16.9K

34.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.82

5.57

58.35%

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

Last update for Bhilai: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Bhilai

$93 28.3%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 187% $173

Eating Out

Bhilai

$69 21.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 76.2% $53

Accommodation & Living

Bhilai

$58 17.7%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 746% $433

Clothing & Footwear

Bhilai

$45 13.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 172% $77

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bhilai

$40 12.1%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 214% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Bhilai

$14 4.1%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 506% $69

Getting Around

Bhilai

$10 3.1%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 604% $61

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $74 in Bhilai and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bhilai pays 34% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $9 in Bhilai vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $93 vs $266 per month, with Bhilai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇳 Bhilai

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

02:44 2:44 AM

04:14 4:14 AM

1 h 30 min ahead of Bhilai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

627,734

79,308

💱 Currency

Indian Rupee INR ₹

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 INR = 10.53 USD

1,000 INR = 9.43 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to INR – Indian Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇳 Indian Rupee (₹)

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 94.95 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 106 INR (1,000 INR = 9.43 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to INR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bhilai Phuket 2,350 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Bhilai
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

Bhilai vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $328 in Bhilai and $1,278 in Phuket, so Bhilai is about 74% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 34% higher in Bhilai, 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: $74 in Bhilai versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $82 in Bhilai 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 187% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $328 in Bhilai versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Bhilai but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Bhilai 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.

Expats usually find Bhilai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 74% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.