Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bournemouth and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $2,509 in Bournemouth, rent and utilities included – about $15,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

122

Cost of Living Index in Bournemouth
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Bournemouth Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Bournemouth

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,509

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,509 per month in Bournemouth vs $1,207 in Phuket, rent included.

Bournemouth $2,509
Phuket $1,207

A couple spends around $3,689 per month in Bournemouth vs $2,037 in Phuket, rent included.

Bournemouth $3,689
Phuket $2,037

A family of three spends $4,870 per month in Bournemouth vs $2,867 in Phuket, rent included.

Bournemouth $4,870
Phuket $2,867

Bournemouth costs about 108% more than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Bournemouth sits 86% above the global median, while Phuket is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.33 £15.25

$4.58 ฿153

343.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$101 £75.6

$32.48 ฿1,086

210.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 £8.76

$8.55 ฿286

36.61%

Cappuccino

$4.76 £3.57

$2.72 ฿91.0

75.00%

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

$3.21 £2.41

$0.94 ฿31.25

241.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 £1.53

$0.49 ฿16.39

314.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.78 £5.09

$2.59 ฿86.6

161.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.19 £5.39

$3.83 ฿128

87.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.61 £1.21

$1.74 ฿58.1

-7.47%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 £1.16

$1.43 ฿47.82

7.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.53 ฿51.0

17.65%

Eggs

$4.32 £3.24

$2.17 ฿72.7

99.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.23 £4.68

$19.15 ฿640

-67.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 £6.96

$3.30 ฿110

181.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.68 £9.51

$11.14 ฿372

13.82%

Apples (1kg)

$2.22 £1.67

$2.95 ฿98.5

-24.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 £1.32

$1.68 ฿56.1

4.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 £1.46

$2.30 ฿76.8

-15.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.11 £1.58

$2.13 ฿71.3

-0.94%

Potato (1kg)

$2.03 £1.52

$1.53 ฿51.1

32.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 £0.95

$1.36 ฿45.55

-7.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.89 £1.42

$1.12 ฿37.44

68.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 £1.27

$0.55 ฿18.24

207.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.60 £17.71

$4.26 ฿142

453.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.36 £7.02

$18.19 ฿608

-48.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.80 £2.10

$1.74 ฿58.2

60.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.49 £1.87

$2.79 ฿93.3

-10.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.64 £2.73

$2.22 ฿74.1

63.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$90.8 £68.1

$22.06 ฿737

311.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.23 £2.42

$2.91 ฿97.3

11.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.29 £1.72

$1.01 ฿33.79

126.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.25 £24.20

$3.83 ฿128

742.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.99 £1.49

$1.49 ฿49.85

33.56%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

43.07%

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

$40.0K £30.0K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

49.58%

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

$353 £265

$99.4 ฿3,321

255.20%

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

$16.19 £12.14

$11.28 ฿377

43.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.90 £32.18

$17.36 ฿580

147.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.33 £28.00

$52.3 ฿1,747

-28.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.71 £8.78

$10.85 ฿362

7.93%

Cinema Ticket

$17.19 £12.90

$7.57 ฿253

127.08%

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

$2,218 £1,664

$558 ฿18.7K

297.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$33.8K £25.4K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

194.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.8 £66.6

$62.9 ฿2,102

41.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.86 £32.90

$28.58 ฿955

53.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.6 £62.0

$96.1 ฿3,213

-14.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$143 £107

$88.1 ฿2,943

62.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,258 £944

$729 ฿24.4K

72.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,146 £860

$460 ฿15.4K

149.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,670 £2,003

$2,096 ฿70.0K

27.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,898 £1,424

$1,222 ฿40.8K

55.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,662 £4,998

$3,459 ฿115.6K

92.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,474 £4,107

$2,489 ฿83.2K

119.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,920 £2,191

$493 ฿16.5K

492.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.96

5.57

-10.95%

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

Last update for Bournemouth: October 11, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bournemouth

$1.1K 45.7%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 59.9% $686

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bournemouth

$412 16.4%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 68.9% $284

Eating Out

Bournemouth

$324 12.9%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 62.6% $203

Groceries & Markets

Bournemouth

$273 10.9%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 2.1% $5.7

Clothing & Footwear

Bournemouth

$161 6.4%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 23.1% $37

Getting Around

Bournemouth

$120 4.8%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 67.6% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Bournemouth

$72 2.9%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 6% $4.3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,258 in Bournemouth versus $729 in Phuket. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 492% higher in Bournemouth, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $101 in Bournemouth versus $32.00 in Phuket. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $273 vs $268 – making Phuket the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Bournemouth

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

04:42 4:42 AM

10:42 10:42 AM

6 h ahead of Bournemouth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

183,491

79,308

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bournemouth Phuket 10,040 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Bournemouth
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

Bournemouth vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bournemouth costs about 108% more than Phuket, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,763 per month in Bournemouth and $1,811 in Phuket. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Phuket, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Groceries cost about 2% more in Bournemouth, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $101 in Bournemouth and $32.00 in Phuket. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Phuket, where all-in costs run around $1,207, than in Bournemouth at $2,509. In Phuket it covers expenses comfortably, while in Bournemouth it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Phuket costs $1,207 versus $2,509 in Bournemouth. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Phuket. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Bournemouth makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.