Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cluj-Napoca and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,423 in Cluj-Napoca, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

68

Cost of Living Index in Cluj-Napoca
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Cluj-Napoca Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Cluj-Napoca

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,423

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,423 in Cluj-Napoca versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Cluj-Napoca $1,423
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,126 in Cluj-Napoca versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Cluj-Napoca $2,126
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,830 in Cluj-Napoca versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Cluj-Napoca $2,830
Phuket $3,154

Living in Cluj-Napoca is roughly 11% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cluj-Napoca is 5% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.58 RON 60.5

$4.47 ฿151

181.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.8 RON 263

$32.41 ฿1,094

69.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.59 RON 46.11

$8.81 ฿297

8.85%

Cappuccino

$3.78 RON 18.15

$2.83 ฿95.5

33.57%

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

$2.30 RON 11.07

$0.87 ฿29.43

164.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 RON 10.68

$0.49 ฿16.67

353.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 RON 15.94

$2.56 ฿86.4

29.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.20 RON 20.17

$3.68 ฿124

14.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 RON 7.70

$1.66 ฿56.0

-3.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 RON 6.93

$1.46 ฿49.35

-1.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 RON 8.14

$1.50 ฿50.6

12.67%

Eggs

$3.76 RON 18.05

$2.09 ฿70.5

79.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.07 RON 43.57

$19.07 ฿644

-52.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.14 RON 34.30

$3.30 ฿111

116.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.46 RON 55.1

$10.91 ฿368

5.04%

Apples (1kg)

$1.39 RON 6.66

$2.93 ฿99.0

-52.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.58 RON 7.60

$1.69 ฿57.1

-6.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.88 RON 9.04

$2.25 ฿75.8

-16.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.37 RON 11.38

$2.08 ฿70.1

13.94%

Potato (1kg)

$0.92 RON 4.43

$1.51 ฿51.0

-39.07%

Onion (1kg)

$0.90 RON 4.32

$1.38 ฿46.56

-34.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.90 RON 4.34

$1.07 ฿35.99

-15.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 RON 4.84

$0.52 ฿17.52

94.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.42 RON 30.86

$4.20 ฿142

52.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.41 RON 35.62

$18.79 ฿634

-60.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 RON 5.98

$1.82 ฿61.5

-31.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 RON 8.31

$2.84 ฿95.9

-39.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.76 RON 3.65

$1.45 ฿49.03

-47.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.23 RON 213

$56.7 ฿1,913

-21.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.84 RON 4.01

$3.02 ฿102

-72.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.96 RON 4.62

$1.02 ฿34.36

-5.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.27 RON 39.74

$3.69 ฿125

124.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.94 RON 9.32

$1.47 ฿49.81

31.97%

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

$28.3K RON 136.1K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

5.80%

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

$24.7K RON 118.9K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-7.31%

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

$151 RON 725

$96.4 ฿3,254

56.57%

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

$8.44 RON 40.55

$11.26 ฿380

-25.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.16 RON 44.04

$16.85 ฿569

-45.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.36 RON 228

$67.2 ฿2,270

-29.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.01 RON 106

$10.73 ฿362

105.13%

Cinema Ticket

$9.35 RON 44.95

$7.50 ฿253

24.67%

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

$577 RON 2,774

$476 ฿16.1K

21.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,450 RON 45.4K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-16.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 RON 419

$62.4 ฿2,106

39.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.26 RON 213

$28.41 ฿959

55.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.8 RON 475

$94.3 ฿3,184

4.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 RON 513

$85.8 ฿2,898

24.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$668 RON 3,212

$716 ฿24.2K

-6.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$536 RON 2,575

$491 ฿16.6K

9.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 RON 5,895

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-36.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$807 RON 3,881

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-43.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,568 RON 22.0K

$4,175 ฿141.0K

9.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,342 RON 16.1K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

9.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,241 RON 5,962

$502 ฿17.0K

146.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.65

5.57

19.39%

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

Last update for Cluj-Napoca: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cluj-Napoca

$536 37.7%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 8.4% $45

Groceries & Markets

Cluj-Napoca

$230 16.2%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 15.7% $36

Eating Out

Cluj-Napoca

$218 15.3%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 44.1% $96

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cluj-Napoca

$168 11.8%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 26.1% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Cluj-Napoca

$152 10.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 19.6% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Cluj-Napoca

$66 4.6%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 24.5% $16

Getting Around

Cluj-Napoca

$53 3.7%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 33.4% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $668 in Cluj-Napoca and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cluj-Napoca pays about 2.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $55 in Cluj-Napoca vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $230 vs $266, with Cluj-Napoca cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Cluj-Napoca

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

16:02 4:02 PM

21:02 9:02 PM

5 h ahead of Cluj-Napoca

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

324,576

79,308

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.81 RON (1 RON = 0.208 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cluj-Napoca Phuket 8,210 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cluj-Napoca
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

Cluj-Napoca vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out and clothing. The 11% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Cluj-Napoca is about 2.5 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: $668 in Cluj-Napoca versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Cluj-Napoca runs roughly 22% less than in Phuket. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Childcare runs $577 in Cluj-Napoca versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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, Cluj-Napoca 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.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Cluj-Napoca on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.