Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bristol and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,883 in Bristol, rent and utilities included – about $19,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

140

Cost of Living Index in Bristol
Learn more

Bristol Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Bristol

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,883

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,883 in Bristol versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Bristol $2,883
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,161 in Bristol versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Bristol $4,161
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,440 in Bristol versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Bristol $5,440
Phuket $3,154

Living in Bristol is roughly 126% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bristol is 112% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.78 £17.88

$4.47 ฿151

431.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$114 £85.6

$32.41 ฿1,094

251.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.82 £8.13

$8.81 ฿297

22.81%

Cappuccino

$5.14 £3.87

$2.83 ฿95.5

81.63%

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

$2.69 £2.02

$0.87 ฿29.43

209.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 £1.39

$0.49 ฿16.67

275.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.83 £5.88

$2.56 ฿86.4

205.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.74 £5.07

$3.68 ฿124

83.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 £1.14

$1.66 ฿56.0

-8.43%

White Bread (500g)

$1.71 £1.29

$1.46 ฿49.35

17.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 £1.58

$1.50 ฿50.6

40.00%

Eggs

$4.25 £3.20

$2.09 ฿70.5

103.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.15 £6.13

$19.07 ฿644

-57.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.82 £7.38

$3.30 ฿111

197.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.88 £9.68

$10.91 ฿368

18.06%

Apples (1kg)

$3.22 £2.42

$2.93 ฿99.0

9.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 £1.32

$1.69 ฿57.1

4.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 £2.03

$2.25 ฿75.8

20.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.13 £3.10

$2.08 ฿70.1

98.56%

Potato (1kg)

$2.07 £1.56

$1.51 ฿51.0

37.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 £1.09

$1.38 ฿46.56

5.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.23 £0.92

$1.07 ฿35.99

14.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.02 £1.51

$0.52 ฿17.52

288.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.31 £17.52

$4.20 ฿142

455.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.57 £7.95

$18.79 ฿634

-43.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.89 £2.17

$1.82 ฿61.5

58.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.65 £2.74

$2.84 ฿95.9

28.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.40 £2.56

$1.45 ฿49.03

134.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$125 £93.7

$56.7 ฿1,913

120.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.50 £2.63

$3.02 ฿102

15.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.62 £1.22

$1.02 ฿34.36

58.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.41 £19.85

$3.69 ฿125

615.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.17 £1.63

$1.47 ฿49.81

47.62%

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

$38.0K £28.5K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

41.76%

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

$40.0K £30.1K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

49.88%

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

$326 £245

$96.4 ฿3,254

238.81%

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

$17.56 £13.20

$11.26 ฿380

55.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.06 £28.61

$16.85 ฿569

125.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.92 £31.50

$67.2 ฿2,270

-37.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.75 £8.83

$10.73 ฿362

9.51%

Cinema Ticket

$15.58 £11.71

$7.50 ฿253

107.73%

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

$2,366 £1,778

$476 ฿16.1K

397.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.2K £19.0K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

123.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$100 £75.3

$62.4 ฿2,106

60.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.78 £35.91

$28.41 ฿959

68.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 £80.9

$94.3 ฿3,184

14.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.6 £72.6

$85.8 ฿2,898

12.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,963 £1,475

$716 ฿24.2K

174.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,455 £1,094

$491 ฿16.6K

196.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,048 £2,291

$1,927 ฿65.1K

58.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,225 £1,672

$1,431 ฿48.3K

55.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,040 £5,291

$4,175 ฿141.0K

68.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,142 £3,865

$3,045 ฿102.8K

68.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,801 £2,856

$502 ฿17.0K

656.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.87

5.57

-12.57%

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

Last update for Bristol: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bristol

$1.5K 50.5%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 66.3% $964

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bristol

$382 13.3%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 67.4% $258

Eating Out

Bristol

$355 12.3%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 65.7% $234

Groceries & Markets

Bristol

$309 10.7%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 13.9% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Bristol

$158 5.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 23.1% $37

Getting Around

Bristol

$150 5.2%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 52.9% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Bristol

$73 2.5%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 12.5% $9.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,963 in Bristol and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bristol pays about 7.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $114 in Bristol vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $309 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Bristol

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

17:58 5:58 PM

00:58 12:58 AM

7 h ahead of Bristol

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

463,400

79,308

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.752 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.837 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bristol Phuket 10,070 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Bristol
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

Bristol vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bristol and Phuket differ by about 126% in total monthly costs ($2,883 vs $1,278 including rent). Phuket is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Bristol is about 7.6 times higher, 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: $1,963 in Bristol versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 16% higher in Bristol. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $114 in Bristol. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,883 in Bristol, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Bristol. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Phuket is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Bristol, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Bristol 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.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 56% less than in Bristol. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.