Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Edinburgh and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,645 in Edinburgh, rent and utilities included – about $16,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

128

Cost of Living Index in Edinburgh
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Edinburgh Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Edinburgh

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,645

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,645 per month in Edinburgh vs $1,278 in Phuket, rent included.

Edinburgh $2,645
Phuket $1,278

A couple spends around $4,021 per month in Edinburgh vs $2,216 in Phuket, rent included.

Edinburgh $4,021
Phuket $2,216

A family of three spends $5,397 per month in Edinburgh vs $3,154 in Phuket, rent included.

Edinburgh $5,397
Phuket $3,154

Edinburgh costs about 107% more than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Edinburgh sits 94% above the global median, while Phuket is 6% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.35 £18.18

$4.47 ฿151

444.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$105 £78.6

$32.41 ฿1,093

224.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.47 £7.81

$8.81 ฿297

18.84%

Cappuccino

$5.02 £3.75

$2.83 ฿95.4

77.39%

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

$2.41 £1.80

$0.87 ฿29.41

177.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 £1.64

$0.49 ฿16.65

346.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.04 £6.00

$2.56 ฿86.3

214.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.91 £5.91

$3.68 ฿124

114.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.75 £1.31

$1.66 ฿55.9

5.42%

White Bread (500g)

$2.33 £1.74

$1.46 ฿49.31

59.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 £1.75

$1.50 ฿50.5

56.67%

Eggs

$5.13 £3.83

$2.09 ฿70.5

145.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.05 £6.76

$19.07 ฿643

-52.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.26 £6.92

$3.30 ฿111

180.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.17 £12.08

$10.91 ฿368

48.21%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 £2.28

$2.93 ฿98.9

4.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.87 £1.40

$1.69 ฿57.0

10.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.35 £2.50

$2.25 ฿75.8

48.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.75 £2.80

$2.08 ฿70.0

80.29%

Potato (1kg)

$2.05 £1.53

$1.51 ฿51.0

35.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.53 £1.14

$1.38 ฿46.52

10.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.33 £1.00

$1.07 ฿35.96

24.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 £1.41

$0.52 ฿17.51

263.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.87 £17.82

$4.20 ฿142

468.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.96 £8.18

$18.79 ฿634

-41.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.16 £2.36

$1.82 ฿61.5

73.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 £2.40

$2.84 ฿95.8

13.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.13 £2.34

$1.45 ฿48.98

115.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$99.8 £74.5

$56.7 ฿1,912

76.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.45 £4.07

$3.02 ฿102

80.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.90 £1.42

$1.02 ฿34.33

86.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.50 £21.28

$3.69 ฿125

672.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 £1.54

$1.47 ฿49.76

40.14%

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

$38.2K £28.5K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

42.79%

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

$39.7K £29.7K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

48.80%

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

$329 £246

$96.4 ฿3,251

241.70%

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

$16.81 £12.55

$11.26 ฿380

49.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.13 £32.20

$16.85 ฿568

155.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.84 £31.24

$67.2 ฿2,268

-37.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.33 £17.42

$10.73 ฿362

117.43%

Cinema Ticket

$14.67 £10.95

$7.50 ฿253

95.60%

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

$1,901 £1,419

$476 ฿16.1K

299.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.8K £19.2K

$11.3K ฿380.0K

128.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$82.2 £61.4

$62.4 ฿2,104

31.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.0 £37.34

$28.41 ฿958

75.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 £78.9

$94.3 ฿3,181

12.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 £86.0

$85.8 ฿2,895

34.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,691 £1,263

$716 ฿24.2K

136.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,205 £900

$491 ฿16.6K

145.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,959 £2,209

$1,927 ฿65.0K

53.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,184 £1,631

$1,431 ฿48.3K

52.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,388 £4,769

$4,175 ฿140.9K

52.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,514 £3,370

$3,045 ฿102.7K

48.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,632 £2,712

$502 ฿16.9K

623.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.77

5.57

-14.36%

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

Last update for Edinburgh: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Edinburgh

$1.2K 45.6%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 59.3% $714

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Edinburgh

$389 14.7%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 68% $265

Eating Out

Edinburgh

$361 13.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 66.3% $239

Groceries & Markets

Edinburgh

$333 12.6%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 20% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Edinburgh

$159 6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 23.3% $37

Getting Around

Edinburgh

$127 4.8%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 44.6% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Edinburgh

$71 2.7%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 15.5% $11

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,691 in Edinburgh 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 Edinburgh are about 7.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $105 in Edinburgh versus $32 in Phuket. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $333 vs $266 – making Phuket the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Edinburgh

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

19:07 7:07 PM

02:07 2:07 AM

7 h ahead of Edinburgh

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

488,050

79,308

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 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 November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Edinburgh Phuket 9,990 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Edinburgh
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

Edinburgh vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Edinburgh is pricier by about 107%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,968 per month in Edinburgh 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 Phuket, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $716 there versus $1,691 in Edinburgh.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $105 in Edinburgh and $32 in Phuket. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,645 in Edinburgh and $1,278 in Phuket. That makes Phuket about 52% cheaper.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Phuket, where all-in costs run around $1,278, than in Edinburgh at $2,645. In Phuket it covers expenses comfortably, while in Edinburgh 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 cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with Phuket. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Edinburgh makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.