Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bitola and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Bitola: $859 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Bitola
Learn more

Bitola Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Bitola

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$859

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $859 in Bitola versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Bitola $859
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,289 in Bitola versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Bitola $1,289
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,718 in Bitola versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Bitola $1,718
Phuket $3,154

Living in Bitola costs roughly 33% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bitola 37% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.23 MKD 287

$4.47 ฿151

17.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$26.77 MKD 1,472

$32.41 ฿1,094

-17.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.04 MKD 277

$8.81 ฿297

-42.79%

Cappuccino

$1.96 MKD 108

$2.83 ฿95.4

-30.74%

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

$1.71 MKD 93.9

$0.87 ฿29.42

96.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.46 MKD 80.3

$0.49 ฿16.66

197.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.16 MKD 119

$2.56 ฿86.3

-15.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 MKD 144

$3.68 ฿124

-28.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 MKD 75.7

$1.66 ฿56.0

-16.87%

White Bread (500g)

$0.66 MKD 36.57

$1.46 ฿49.32

-54.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 MKD 94.7

$1.50 ฿50.5

14.67%

Eggs

$1.98 MKD 109

$2.09 ฿70.5

-5.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.93 MKD 546

$19.07 ฿643

-47.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.81 MKD 375

$3.30 ฿111

106.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.08 MKD 719

$10.91 ฿368

19.89%

Apples (1kg)

$1.01 MKD 55.4

$2.93 ฿98.9

-65.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 MKD 76.6

$1.69 ฿57.0

-17.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.24 MKD 68.1

$2.25 ฿75.8

-44.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.59 MKD 87.4

$2.08 ฿70.1

-23.56%

Potato (1kg)

$0.91 MKD 49.82

$1.51 ฿51.0

-39.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.34 MKD 73.6

$1.38 ฿46.54

-2.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.53 MKD 28.91

$1.07 ฿35.97

-50.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.50 MKD 27.30

$0.52 ฿17.51

-3.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.30 MKD 181

$4.20 ฿142

-21.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 MKD 333

$18.79 ฿634

-67.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 MKD 49.92

$1.82 ฿61.5

-50.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 MKD 101

$2.84 ฿95.9

-35.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.54 MKD 29.49

$1.45 ฿49.00

-62.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.24 MKD 893

$56.7 ฿1,912

-71.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.08 MKD 59.3

$3.02 ฿102

-64.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.57 MKD 31.35

$1.02 ฿34.34

-44.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.32 MKD 348

$3.69 ฿125

71.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 MKD 82.4

$1.47 ฿49.78

2.04%

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

$30.9K MKD 1.7M

$26.8K ฿903.7K

15.30%

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

$32.4K MKD 1.8M

$26.7K ฿900.8K

21.25%

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

$148 MKD 8,113

$96.4 ฿3,252

53.09%

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

$14.08 MKD 774

$11.26 ฿380

25.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.62 MKD 694

$16.85 ฿569

-25.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.16 MKD 1,219

$67.2 ฿2,269

-67.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.43 MKD 354

$10.73 ฿362

-40.07%

Cinema Ticket

$4.57 MKD 252

$7.50 ฿253

-39.07%

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

$211 MKD 11.6K

$476 ฿16.1K

-55.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,167 MKD 64.2K

$11.3K ฿380.1K

-89.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$76.3 MKD 4,198

$62.4 ฿2,105

22.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.27 MKD 2,545

$28.41 ฿959

62.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.3 MKD 4,029

$94.3 ฿3,182

-22.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 MKD 6,088

$85.8 ฿2,896

29.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$260 MKD 14.3K

$716 ฿24.2K

-63.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$185 MKD 10.2K

$491 ฿16.6K

-62.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$396 MKD 21.8K

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-79.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$293 MKD 16.1K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-79.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,709 MKD 94.0K

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-59.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,142 MKD 62.8K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-62.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$750 MKD 41.3K

$502 ฿17.0K

49.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

5.57

15.80%

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

Last update for Bitola: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Bitola

$198 23.1%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 34.2% $68

Accommodation & Living

Bitola

$185 21.6%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 165% $306

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bitola

$174 20.3%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 28.5% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Bitola

$138 16.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 11.6% $16

Eating Out

Bitola

$109 12.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 11.4% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Bitola

$31 3.7%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 163% $51

Getting Around

Bitola

$22 2.6%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 216% $48

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $260 in Bitola and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bitola pays 49% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $27 in Bitola vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $198 vs $266 per month, with Bitola cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇰 Bitola

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

04:19 4:19 AM

10:19 10:19 AM

6 h ahead of Bitola

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,550

79,308

💱 Currency

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MKD = 1.82 USD

100 MKD = 1.63 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to MKD – North Macedonian Denar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇰 North Macedonian Denar (ден)

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 55 MKD (100 MKD = 1.82 USD). 1 EUR = 61.41 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 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).

USD to MKD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bitola Phuket 8,350 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Bitola
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

Bitola vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $859 in Bitola and $1,278 in Phuket, so Bitola is about 33% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 49% higher in Bitola, 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: $260 in Bitola versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 34% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Bitola – a meal for two runs $27 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $859 in Bitola versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Bitola but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Bitola 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.

Safety-wise, Bitola and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Bitola gentler on the wallet – expenses run 33% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.