Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bucha and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucha: $746 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Bucha
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Bucha Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Bucha

🇺🇦 Ukraine

$746

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $746 in Bucha versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Bucha $746
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,142 in Bucha versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Bucha $1,142
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,538 in Bucha versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Bucha $1,538
Phuket $2,845

Living in Bucha costs roughly 38% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bucha 45% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.86 ₴443

$4.40 ฿147

124.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.50 ₴1,010

$32.26 ฿1,078

-30.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.60 ₴296

$8.76 ฿293

-24.66%

Cappuccino

$1.00 ₴45.09

$2.83 ฿94.5

-64.66%

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

$0.62 ₴27.81

$0.90 ฿30.14

-31.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.37 ₴16.60

$0.47 ฿15.56

-21.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.87 ₴39.16

$2.55 ฿85.2

-65.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 ₴86.5

$3.83 ฿128

-49.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 ₴50.1

$1.73 ฿57.7

-35.26%

White Bread (500g)

$0.89 ₴40.04

$1.47 ฿49.11

-39.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ₴67.5

$1.51 ฿50.6

-0.66%

Eggs

$1.97 ₴88.5

$2.17 ฿72.7

-9.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.09 ₴363

$19.70 ฿658

-58.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.20 ₴233

$3.34 ฿112

55.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.83 ₴306

$11.16 ฿373

-38.80%

Apples (1kg)

$0.99 ₴44.59

$2.85 ฿95.1

-65.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 ₴68.1

$1.70 ฿56.9

-10.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.87 ₴84.1

$2.19 ฿73.3

-14.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.76 ₴124

$2.05 ฿68.4

34.63%

Potato (1kg)

$0.69 ₴31.10

$1.45 ฿48.57

-52.41%

Onion (1kg)

$0.45 ₴20.42

$1.38 ฿46.16

-67.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 ₴63.2

$1.07 ฿35.69

31.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ₴23.07

$0.51 ฿16.91

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.39 ₴152

$4.26 ฿142

-20.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.73 ₴212

$18.58 ฿621

-74.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.95 ₴42.66

$1.78 ฿59.7

-46.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.37 ₴61.4

$2.85 ฿95.2

-51.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.46 ₴20.45

$2.26 ฿75.6

-79.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$13.82 ₴620

$22.10 ฿738

-37.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.07 ₴93.1

$3.01 ฿101

-31.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.48 ₴21.61

$1.06 ฿35.34

-54.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 ₴179

$3.86 ฿129

3.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 ₴76.0

$1.45 ฿48.45

16.55%

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

$31.4K ₴1.4M

$26.3K ฿879.9K

19.24%

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

$24.6K ₴1.1M

$26.9K ฿900.4K

-8.71%

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

$98.5 ₴4,419

$96.4 ฿3,221

2.15%

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

$6.39 ₴287

$11.04 ฿369

-42.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$6.35 ₴285

$17.14 ฿573

-62.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.50 ₴1,189

$52.2 ฿1,744

-49.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.20 ₴682

$11.16 ฿373

36.20%

Cinema Ticket

$4.60 ₴206

$7.81 ฿261

-41.10%

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

$402 ₴18.0K

$556 ฿18.6K

-27.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,197 ₴188.4K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

-63.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.3 ₴3,023

$64.2 ฿2,146

4.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.42 ₴782

$28.69 ฿959

-39.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$54.5 ₴2,447

$95.4 ฿3,187

-42.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$56.4 ₴2,531

$88.0 ฿2,940

-35.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$200 ₴8,961

$737 ฿24.6K

-72.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$197 ₴8,821

$462 ฿15.5K

-57.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$465 ₴20.9K

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-77.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$331 ₴14.8K

$1,201 ฿40.1K

-72.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,038 ₴46.6K

$3,488 ฿116.6K

-70.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$769 ₴34.5K

$2,523 ฿84.3K

-69.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$548 ₴24.6K

$501 ฿16.7K

9.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

17.88

5.57

221.01%

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

Last update for Bucha: October 18, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bucha

$197 26.3%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 135% $266

Groceries & Markets

Bucha

$172 23%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 56.3% $97

Eating Out

Bucha

$123 16.5%

Phuket

$121 10% 1.4% $1.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bucha

$111 14.9%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 12% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Bucha

$88 11.8%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 41.2% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Bucha

$36 4.8%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 89.9% $32

Getting Around

Bucha

$20 2.7%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 96% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $200 in Bucha and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucha pays 9% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $23.00 in Bucha vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $172 vs $269 per month, with Bucha cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇦 Bucha

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

21:49 9:49 PM

01:49 1:49 AM

4 h ahead of Bucha

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

27,460

79,308

💱 Currency

Ukrainian Hryvnia UAH ₴

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 UAH = 2.23 USD

100 UAH = 1.98 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to UAH – Ukrainian Hryvnia Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇺🇦 Ukrainian Hryvnia (₴)

Ukrainian Hryvnia exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 44.89 UAH (100 UAH = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 50.46 UAH (100 UAH = 1.98 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to UAH in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bucha Phuket 7,800 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Bucha
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

Bucha vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bucha and Phuket differ by about 62% in total monthly costs ($746 vs $1,208 including rent). Bucha is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 9% higher in Bucha, 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: $200 in Bucha versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $746 per month in Bucha versus $1,208 in Phuket – a 62% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucha runs roughly 60% less than in Phuket. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $746 in Bucha versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucha but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Bucha 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, Bucha 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 Bucha gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.