Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Durbanville and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Durbanville: $1,153 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

56

Cost of Living Index in Durbanville
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Durbanville Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Durbanville

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,153

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,153 per month in Durbanville vs $1,278 in Phuket, rent included.

Durbanville $1,153
Phuket $1,278

A couple spends around $1,834 per month in Durbanville vs $2,216 in Phuket, rent included.

Durbanville $1,834
Phuket $2,216

A family of three spends $2,516 per month in Durbanville vs $3,154 in Phuket, rent included.

Durbanville $2,516
Phuket $3,154

Durbanville is about 10% cheaper than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Durbanville and Phuket are more affordable than the global median – Durbanville 15% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.29 R 204

$4.47 ฿151

174.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.72 R 777

$32.41 ฿1,094

44.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.00 R 99.8

$8.81 ฿297

-31.90%

Cappuccino

$2.46 R 40.93

$2.83 ฿95.5

-13.07%

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

$0.94 R 15.68

$0.87 ฿29.43

8.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.63 R 10.53

$0.49 ฿16.67

28.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.40 R 39.94

$2.56 ฿86.4

-6.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.80 R 46.52

$3.68 ฿124

-23.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 R 22.08

$1.66 ฿56.0

-19.88%

White Bread (500g)

$1.23 R 20.38

$1.46 ฿49.35

-15.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.16 R 35.98

$1.50 ฿50.6

44.00%

Eggs

$3.24 R 53.9

$2.09 ฿70.5

55.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.97 R 149

$19.07 ฿644

-52.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.85 R 114

$3.30 ฿111

107.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.69 R 161

$10.91 ฿368

-11.18%

Apples (1kg)

$1.91 R 31.74

$2.93 ฿99.0

-34.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.92 R 32.02

$1.69 ฿57.1

13.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.45

$2.25 ฿75.8

-21.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.16 R 36.00

$2.08 ฿70.1

3.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.72

$1.51 ฿51.0

2.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.77

$1.38 ฿46.56

7.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.65

$1.07 ฿35.99

21.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 R 19.18

$0.52 ฿17.52

121.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.5

$4.20 ฿142

-14.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.95 R 98.9

$18.79 ฿634

-68.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 R 23.45

$1.82 ฿61.5

-22.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 R 36.48

$2.84 ฿95.9

-22.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.54 R 25.56

$1.45 ฿49.03

6.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.79

$3.02 ฿102

-80.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.48

$1.02 ฿34.36

50.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.12 R 85.2

$3.69 ฿125

38.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.61 R 26.74

$1.47 ฿49.81

9.52%

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

$35.5K R 590.7K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

32.58%

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

$34.4K R 571.5K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

28.71%

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

$116 R 1,928

$96.4 ฿3,254

20.29%

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

$29.03 R 483

$11.26 ฿380

157.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.89 R 680

$16.85 ฿569

142.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.91 R 531

$67.2 ฿2,270

-52.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.78 R 179

$10.73 ฿362

0.47%

Cinema Ticket

$9.19 R 153

$7.50 ฿253

22.53%

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

$266 R 4,428

$476 ฿16.1K

-44.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,797 R 113.1K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-39.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.6 R 925

$62.4 ฿2,106

-10.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.11 R 534

$28.41 ฿959

13.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 R 1,997

$94.3 ฿3,184

27.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,784

$85.8 ฿2,898

24.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$390 R 6,496

$716 ฿24.2K

-45.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$364 R 6,063

$491 ฿16.6K

-25.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$735 R 12.2K

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-61.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$732 R 12.2K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-48.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$866 R 14.4K

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-79.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$683 R 11.4K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-77.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,033 R 17.2K

$502 ฿17.0K

105.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

5.57

96.95%

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

Last update for Durbanville: 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

Durbanville

$364 31.6%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 34.7% $126

Groceries & Markets

Durbanville

$226 19.6%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 17.6% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Durbanville

$186 16.1%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 33% $61

Eating Out

Durbanville

$170 14.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 28.3% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Durbanville

$142 12.3%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 14% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Durbanville

$50 4.4%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 63.5% $32

Getting Around

Durbanville

$14 * 1.3%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 391% $56

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $390 in Durbanville versus $716 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 in Durbanville are about 2.1 times higher, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Durbanville versus $32 in Phuket. Groceries tell a different story – $226 in Durbanville vs $266 in Phuket – so Durbanville wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Durbanville

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

14:13 2:13 PM

19:13 7:13 PM

5 h ahead of Durbanville

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

40,000

79,308

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.01 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.64 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.01 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 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 ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Durbanville Phuket 9,560 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Durbanville
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

Durbanville vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket costs about 11% more than Durbanville, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,729 per month in Durbanville and $1,917 in Phuket. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Durbanville, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $390 there versus $716 in Phuket.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,153 in Durbanville and $1,278 in Phuket. That’s a gap of about 11%.

Kindergarten costs $266 per month in Durbanville and $476 in Phuket. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,153 in Durbanville and $1,278 in Phuket. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Durbanville – 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.