Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Croydon and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,190 a month against $3,041 in Croydon, rent and utilities included – about $22,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

149

Cost of Living Index in Croydon
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Croydon Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Croydon

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,041

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,190

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,041 per month in Croydon vs $1,190 in Phuket, rent included.

Croydon $3,041
Phuket $1,190

A couple spends around $4,216 per month in Croydon vs $2,006 in Phuket, rent included.

Croydon $4,216
Phuket $2,006

A family of three spends $5,391 per month in Croydon vs $2,822 in Phuket, rent included.

Croydon $5,391
Phuket $2,822

Croydon costs about 156% more than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Croydon sits 127% above the global median, while Phuket is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.15 £19.75

$4.35 ฿146

501.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$92.8 £70.1

$32.45 ฿1,087

185.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.06 £7.60

$8.42 ฿282

19.48%

Cappuccino

$4.78 £3.61

$2.81 ฿94.0

70.11%

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

$2.84 £2.14

$0.87 ฿29.31

226.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.62

$0.46 ฿15.40

367.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.81 £6.66

$2.59 ฿86.6

240.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.49 £4.90

$3.64 ฿122

78.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.69 £1.28

$1.71 ฿57.2

-1.17%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 £1.08

$1.45 ฿48.45

-0.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.97 £2.25

$1.56 ฿52.3

90.38%

Eggs

$3.97 £3.00

$2.10 ฿70.3

89.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.26 £8.51

$19.53 ฿654

-42.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.91 £5.98

$3.40 ฿114

132.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.49 £9.44

$11.14 ฿373

12.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 £2.25

$2.83 ฿94.9

5.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 £1.08

$1.62 ฿54.4

-12.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.97 £2.25

$2.22 ฿74.5

33.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.17 £2.40

$2.15 ฿71.9

47.44%

Potato (1kg)

$1.61 £1.22

$1.49 ฿49.98

8.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.35 £1.02

$1.33 ฿44.43

1.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 £1.11

$1.07 ฿35.74

37.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 £1.23

$0.51 ฿17.02

219.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.32 £17.61

$4.38 ฿147

432.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.74 £8.87

$18.77 ฿629

-37.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.36 £1.78

$1.74 ฿58.3

35.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.28 £2.48

$2.78 ฿93.0

17.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.37 £2.55

$2.17 ฿72.6

55.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$134 £101

$22.28 ฿746

501.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.79 £5.13

$3.02 ฿101

124.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.26 £2.46

$1.06 ฿35.45

207.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$53.5 £40.40

$3.71 ฿124

1341.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.43 ฿47.91

42.66%

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

$38.5K £29.1K

$26.3K ฿882.6K

46.19%

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

$40.6K £30.6K

$26.2K ฿877.8K

54.76%

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

$331 £250

$96.7 ฿3,238

242.00%

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

$18.18 £13.73

$11.41 ฿382

59.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.47 £30.57

$17.11 ฿573

136.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.89 £26.35

$52.8 ฿1,769

-33.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.24 £10.00

$11.07 ฿371

19.60%

Cinema Ticket

$12.97 £9.80

$7.65 ฿256

69.54%

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

$1,787 £1,350

$555 ฿18.6K

222.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.4K £22.2K

$11.3K ฿377.9K

160.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$75.9 £57.4

$63.4 ฿2,124

19.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 £41.00

$28.61 ฿958

89.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.4 £68.3

$96.7 ฿3,240

-6.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$150 £113

$88.6 ฿2,968

69.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,837 £1,388

$735 ฿24.6K

150.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,609 £1,216

$458 ฿15.3K

251.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,517 £1,901

$2,102 ฿70.4K

19.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,255 £1,703

$1,187 ฿39.8K

89.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,691 £6,565

$3,493 ฿117.0K

148.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,838 £5,165

$2,491 ฿83.5K

174.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,413 £3,334

$501 ฿16.8K

781.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

-10.23%

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

Last update for Croydon: October 3, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Croydon

$1.6K 52.5%

Phuket

$458 38.1% 71.5% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Croydon

$389 12.7%

Phuket

$125 10.4% 67.8% $264

Eating Out

Croydon

$374 12.2%

Phuket

$119 9.9% 68.1% $254

Groceries & Markets

Croydon

$296 9.7%

Phuket

$268 22.3% 9.4% $28

Getting Around

Croydon

$171 5.6%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 77% $131

Clothing & Footwear

Croydon

$167 5.4%

Phuket

$125 10.4% 25.2% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Croydon

$61 2%

Phuket

$68 5.7% 12% $7.3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,837 in Croydon versus $735 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 781% higher in Croydon, 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 $93.0 in Croydon versus $32.00 in Phuket. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $296 vs $268 – making Phuket the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Croydon

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

06:45 6:45 AM

12:45 12:45 PM

6 h ahead of Croydon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

173,314

79,308

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 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 12, 2026: 1 USD = 0.755 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.846 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 12, 2026: 1 USD = 33.5 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.54 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Croydon Phuket 9,910 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Croydon
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

Croydon vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Croydon is pricier by about 156%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,561 per month in Croydon and $1,785 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.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,041 in Croydon and $1,190 in Phuket. That's a gap of about 156%.

Public transport costs about 501% less in Phuket. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Phuket, where all-in costs run around $1,190, than in Croydon at $3,041. In Phuket it covers expenses comfortably, while in Croydon it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Phuket – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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, Croydon makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.