Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Durres and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Durres: $1,128 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

54

Cost of Living Index in Durres
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Durres Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Durres

🇦🇱 Albania

$1,128

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,128 in Durres versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Durres $1,128
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,732 in Durres versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Durres $1,732
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,336 in Durres versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Durres $2,336
Phuket $3,154

Living in Durres costs roughly 12% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Durres 17% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.48 ALL 849

$4.47 ฿151

134.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.19 ALL 3,013

$32.41 ฿1,092

14.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.37 ALL 840

$8.81 ฿297

17.71%

Cappuccino

$2.07 ALL 168

$2.83 ฿95.3

-26.86%

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

$2.12 ALL 172

$0.87 ฿29.37

143.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.07 ALL 86.9

$0.49 ฿16.64

118.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 ALL 248

$2.56 ฿86.2

19.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.44 ALL 359

$3.68 ฿124

20.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.08 ALL 168

$1.66 ฿55.9

25.30%

White Bread (500g)

$1.03 ALL 83.4

$1.46 ฿49.25

-29.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.29 ALL 185

$1.50 ฿50.4

52.67%

Eggs

$3.86 ALL 312

$2.09 ฿70.4

84.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.69 ALL 1,028

$19.07 ฿642

-33.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.78 ALL 631

$3.30 ฿111

135.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 ALL 1,217

$10.91 ฿368

37.67%

Apples (1kg)

$1.20 ALL 97.4

$2.93 ฿98.7

-59.04%

Banana (1kg)

$2.43 ALL 197

$1.69 ฿56.9

43.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.56 ALL 126

$2.25 ฿75.7

-30.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.32 ALL 107

$2.08 ฿70.0

-36.54%

Potato (1kg)

$0.90 ALL 73.1

$1.51 ฿50.9

-40.40%

Onion (1kg)

$0.95 ALL 77.2

$1.38 ฿46.47

-31.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 ALL 99.1

$1.07 ฿35.91

14.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 ALL 57.4

$0.52 ฿17.49

36.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ALL 359

$4.20 ฿142

5.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.99 ALL 890

$18.79 ฿633

-41.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 ALL 121

$1.82 ฿61.4

-18.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 ALL 169

$2.84 ฿95.7

-26.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.48 ALL 38.50

$1.45 ฿48.93

-66.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.58 ALL 1,586

$56.7 ฿1,909

-65.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.65 ALL 296

$3.02 ฿102

20.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.50 ALL 202

$1.02 ฿34.29

145.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿124

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 ALL 178

$1.47 ฿49.70

49.66%

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

$16.0K ALL 1.3M

$26.8K ฿902.4K

-40.10%

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

$25.6K ALL 2.1M

$26.7K ฿899.5K

-4.12%

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

$90.2 ALL 7,310

$96.4 ฿3,247

-6.34%

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

$18.02 ALL 1,460

$11.26 ฿380

60.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.33 ALL 1,323

$16.85 ฿568

-3.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.02 ALL 3,323

$67.2 ฿2,266

-38.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$61.3 ALL 4,963

$10.73 ฿361

470.92%

Cinema Ticket

$7.52 ALL 610

$7.50 ฿253

0.27%

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

$189 ALL 15.3K

$476 ฿16.0K

-60.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,673 ALL 378.6K

$11.3K ฿379.6K

-58.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$38.78 ALL 3,142

$62.4 ฿2,102

-37.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.46 ALL 3,358

$28.41 ฿957

45.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.1 ALL 7,216

$94.3 ฿3,178

-5.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$162 ALL 13.1K

$85.8 ฿2,892

88.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$451 ALL 36.5K

$716 ฿24.1K

-37.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$321 ALL 26.0K

$491 ฿16.5K

-34.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$703 ALL 57.0K

$1,927 ฿64.9K

-63.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$463 ALL 37.5K

$1,431 ฿48.2K

-67.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,993 ALL 161.5K

$4,175 ฿140.7K

-52.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,302 ALL 105.5K

$3,045 ฿102.6K

-57.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$977 ALL 79.1K

$502 ฿16.9K

94.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.25

5.57

-5.75%

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

Last update for Durres: 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

Durres

$321 28.5%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 52.9% $170

Groceries & Markets

Durres

$263 23.3%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 1.4% $3.6

Eating Out

Durres

$177 15.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 31.2% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Durres

$149 13.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 18.2% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Durres

$125 11.1%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 0.1% $0.1

Sport & Entertainment

Durres

$56 5%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 46.7% $26

Getting Around

Durres

$38 3.3%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 87.7% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $451 in Durres and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Durres pays 94% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37 in Durres vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $263 vs $266, with Durres cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇱 Durres

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

06:14 6:14 AM

12:14 12:14 PM

6 h ahead of Durres

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

175,110

79,308

💱 Currency

Albanian Lek ALL L

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 ALL = 1.23 USD

100 ALL = 1.1 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to ALL – Albanian Lek Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇱 Albanian Lek (L)

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 81.01 ALL (100 ALL = 1.23 USD). 1 EUR = 90.8 ALL (100 ALL = 1.1 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.77 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to ALL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Durres Phuket 8,510 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Durres
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

Durres vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Durres wins on cost – living expenses run 12% lower than in Phuket. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Durres the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 94% higher in Durres, 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: $451 in Durres versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Durres runs roughly 65% less than in Phuket. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $1,128 per month in Durres versus $1,278 in Phuket – Durres is about 12% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Durres is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.