Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ely, Cambridgeshire and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $2,350 in Ely, Cambridgeshire, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Ely, Cambridgeshire
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
$2,350
/mo nomad
Phuket
🇹🇭 Thailand
$1,207
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,350 per month in Ely, Cambridgeshire vs $1,207 in Phuket, rent included.

  • Ely, Cambridgeshire $2,350
  • Phuket $1,207

A couple spends around $3,545 per month in Ely, Cambridgeshire vs $2,037 in Phuket, rent included.

  • Ely, Cambridgeshire $3,545
  • Phuket $2,037

A family of three spends $4,740 per month in Ely, Cambridgeshire vs $2,867 in Phuket, rent included.

  • Ely, Cambridgeshire $4,740
  • Phuket $2,867

Ely, Cambridgeshire costs about 95% more than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Ely, Cambridgeshire sits 74% above the global median, while Phuket is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Ely, Cambridgeshire
Phuket
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$23.60 £17.70
$4.58 ฿153
415.28%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$93.9 £70.5
$32.48 ฿1,086
189.19%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$13.23 £9.93
$8.55 ฿286
54.74%
Cappuccino
$5.04 £3.78
$2.72 ฿91.0
85.29%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.45 £1.84
$0.94 ฿31.25
160.64%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.76 £1.32
$0.49 ฿16.39
259.18%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$5.14 £3.86
$2.59 ฿86.6
98.46%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.31 £2.48
$3.83 ฿128
-13.58%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Ely, Cambridgeshire
Phuket
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.23 £0.93
$1.74 ฿58.1
-29.31%
White Bread (500g)
$1.64 £1.23
$1.43 ฿47.82
14.69%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.66 £1.99
$1.53 ฿51.0
73.86%
Eggs
$3.51 £2.64
$2.17 ฿72.7
61.75%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$10.60 £7.95
$19.15 ฿640
-44.65%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$11.14 £8.35
$3.30 ฿110
237.58%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$16.97 £12.73
$11.14 ฿372
52.33%
Apples (1kg)
$3.99 £2.99
$2.95 ฿98.5
35.25%
Banana (1kg)
$1.31 £0.98
$1.68 ฿56.1
-22.02%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.57 £1.93
$2.30 ฿76.8
11.74%
Tomato (1kg)
$4.23 £3.17
$2.13 ฿71.3
98.59%
Potato (1kg)
$1.61 £1.21
$1.53 ฿51.1
5.23%
Onion (1kg)
$1.62 £1.22
$1.36 ฿45.55
19.12%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.14 £0.86
$1.12 ฿37.44
1.79%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.48 £1.11
$0.55 ฿18.24
169.09%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$20.82 £15.62
$4.26 ฿142
388.73%
Wine (Bottle)
$10.68 £8.01
$18.19 ฿608
-41.29%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.17 £1.63
$1.74 ฿58.2
24.71%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.76 £2.07
$2.79 ฿93.3
-1.08%
🚌 Getting Around
Ely, Cambridgeshire
Phuket
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$5.70 £4.27
$2.22 ฿74.1
156.76%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$56.3 £42.25
$22.06 ฿737
155.26%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.19 £3.14
$2.91 ฿97.3
43.99%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.37 £1.78
$1.01 ฿33.79
134.65%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
-
$3.83 ฿128
-
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.14 £1.60
$1.49 ฿49.85
43.62%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$40.3K £30.2K
$26.7K ฿891.6K
51.12%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$41.7K £31.3K
$26.7K ฿892.7K
56.03%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Ely, Cambridgeshire
Phuket
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$274 £205
$99.4 ฿3,321
175.50%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$16.82 £12.62
$11.28 ฿377
49.11%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$32.97 £24.73
$17.36 ฿580
89.92%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Ely, Cambridgeshire
Phuket
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$43.38 £32.54
$52.3 ฿1,747
-17.04%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$15.58 £11.69
$10.85 ฿362
43.59%
Cinema Ticket
$15.96 £11.97
$7.57 ฿253
110.83%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Ely, Cambridgeshire
Phuket
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$1,716 £1,288
$558 ฿18.7K
207.40%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$14.6K £11.0K
$11.5K ฿383.9K
27.45%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Ely, Cambridgeshire
Phuket
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$95.5 £71.7
$62.9 ฿2,102
51.91%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$55.4 £41.57
$28.58 ฿955
93.91%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$123 £92.6
$96.1 ฿3,213
28.32%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$104 £78.0
$88.1 ฿2,943
17.99%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Ely, Cambridgeshire
Phuket
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,130 £848
$729 ฿24.4K
54.90%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,029 £772
$460 ฿15.4K
123.68%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,860 £1,396
$2,096 ฿70.0K
-11.24%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,753 £1,315
$1,222 ฿40.8K
43.39%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$5,848 £4,387
$3,459 ฿115.6K
69.06%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$5,049 £3,788
$2,489 ฿83.2K
102.87%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Ely, Cambridgeshire
Phuket
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$3,284 £2,464
$493 ฿16.5K
566.13%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
4.62
5.57
-17.06%

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

Last update for Ely, Cambridgeshire: October 10, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Ely, Cambridgeshire
$1K
Phuket
$460 55.3% $569
Eating Out
Ely, Cambridgeshire
$338
Phuket
$121 64.1% $217
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Ely, Cambridgeshire
$324
Phuket
$128 60.4% $196
Groceries & Markets
Ely, Cambridgeshire
$319
Phuket
$268 16.2% $52
Clothing & Footwear
Ely, Cambridgeshire
$170
Phuket
$124 27.1% $46
Getting Around
Ely, Cambridgeshire
$95
Phuket
$39 59.1% $56
Sport & Entertainment
Ely, Cambridgeshire
$75
Phuket
$67 10.5% $7.9

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,130 in Ely, Cambridgeshire versus $729 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 566% higher in Ely, Cambridgeshire, 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 $94.0 in Ely, Cambridgeshire versus $32.00 in Phuket. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $319 vs $268 – making Phuket the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇬🇧 Ely, Cambridgeshire
🇹🇭 Phuket
🕒 Local time
22:08 10:08 PM
04:08 4:08 AM
6 h ahead of Ely, Cambridgeshire
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
20,574
79,308
💱 Currency
Thai Baht THB ฿
Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

British Pound exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Ely, Cambridgeshire Phuket 9,860 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Ely, Cambridgeshire
  • 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
Ely, Cambridgeshire vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Phuket cheaper than Ely, Cambridgeshire?
Yes – Ely, Cambridgeshire is pricier by about 95%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.
What income do you need for each city?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,525 per month in Ely, Cambridgeshire and $1,811 in Phuket. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Which city has lower housing costs?
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.
What are total monthly expenses in Ely, Cambridgeshire and in Phuket?
Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,350 in Ely, Cambridgeshire and $1,207 in Phuket. That's a gap of about 95%.
Which city has cheaper public transport?
Public transport costs about 155% less in Phuket. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Ely, Cambridgeshire or in Phuket?
A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Phuket, where all-in costs run around $1,207, than in Ely, Cambridgeshire at $2,350. In Phuket it covers expenses comfortably, while in Ely, Cambridgeshire it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Is Ely, Cambridgeshire or Phuket more family-friendly?
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.
Which city is safer, Ely, Cambridgeshire or Phuket?
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.
Which city is the better choice to relocate to?
If budget matters most, go with Phuket. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Ely, Cambridgeshire makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.

Ely, Cambridgeshire vs other spots: cost of living compared

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