Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Emmen and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,892 in Emmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

91

Cost of Living Index in Emmen
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Emmen Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Emmen

🇳🇱 Netherlands

$1,892

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,892 per month in Emmen vs $1,278 in Phuket, rent included.

Emmen $1,892
Phuket $1,278

A couple spends around $2,917 per month in Emmen vs $2,216 in Phuket, rent included.

Emmen $2,917
Phuket $2,216

A family of three spends $3,942 per month in Emmen vs $3,154 in Phuket, rent included.

Emmen $3,942
Phuket $3,154

Emmen costs about 48% more than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Emmen sits 39% above the global median, while Phuket is 6% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.22 €19.85

$4.47 ฿151

397.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$82.1 €73.3

$32.41 ฿1,092

153.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.56 €12.11

$8.81 ฿297

53.92%

Cappuccino

$3.41 €3.04

$2.83 ฿95.3

20.49%

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

$3.37 €3.01

$0.87 ฿29.37

287.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.38 €3.02

$0.49 ฿16.64

589.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.72 €5.11

$2.56 ฿86.2

123.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.90

$3.68 ฿124

18.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.03 €0.92

$1.66 ฿55.9

-37.95%

White Bread (500g)

$2.21 €1.97

$1.46 ฿49.25

51.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.75 €2.45

$1.50 ฿50.4

83.33%

Eggs

$4.35 €3.89

$2.09 ฿70.4

108.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.94 €10.66

$19.07 ฿642

-37.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.73 €11.37

$3.30 ฿111

285.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.42 €14.67

$10.91 ฿368

50.50%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 €2.33

$2.93 ฿98.7

-10.92%

Banana (1kg)

$2.43 €2.17

$1.69 ฿56.9

43.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.80 €1.61

$2.25 ฿75.7

-20.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.20 €2.86

$2.08 ฿70.0

53.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.81 €1.62

$1.51 ฿50.9

19.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.85 €1.65

$1.38 ฿46.47

34.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 €1.06

$1.07 ฿35.91

11.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 €0.62

$0.52 ฿17.49

34.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.34 €11.02

$4.20 ฿142

193.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.52 €5.82

$18.79 ฿633

-65.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 €1.13

$1.82 ฿61.4

-30.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.35

$2.84 ฿95.7

-7.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.19 €1.95

$1.45 ฿48.93

51.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,909

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$8.33 €7.44

$3.02 ฿102

175.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.99 €1.78

$1.02 ฿34.29

95.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.02 €19.67

$3.69 ฿124

496.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.36 €2.11

$1.47 ฿49.70

60.54%

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

$42.0K €37.5K

$26.8K ฿902.4K

56.77%

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

$39.8K €35.5K

$26.7K ฿899.5K

48.94%

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

$166 €148

$96.4 ฿3,247

72.32%

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

$18.60 €16.62

$11.26 ฿380

65.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.8 €48.99

$16.85 ฿568

225.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.08 €36.69

$67.2 ฿2,266

-38.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.11 €19.75

$10.73 ฿361

106.06%

Cinema Ticket

$13.21 €11.80

$7.50 ฿253

76.13%

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

$2,653 €2,369

$476 ฿16.0K

457.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,951 €7,102

$11.3K ฿379.6K

-29.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$77.3 €69.0

$62.4 ฿2,102

23.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.60 €36.26

$28.41 ฿957

42.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.2 €78.8

$94.3 ฿3,178

-6.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 €91.2

$85.8 ฿2,892

18.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$878 €784

$716 ฿24.1K

22.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$789 €705

$491 ฿16.5K

60.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 €1,495

$1,927 ฿64.9K

-13.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,367 €1,221

$1,431 ฿48.2K

-4.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,753 €2,459

$502 ฿16.9K

448.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.65

5.57

-34.47%

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

Last update for Emmen: 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

Emmen

$789 41.7%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 37.8% $298

Eating Out

Emmen

$324 17.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 62.4% $202

Groceries & Markets

Emmen

$307 16.2%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 13.3% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Emmen

$239 12.7%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 48% $115

Clothing & Footwear

Emmen

$139 7.3%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 12.1% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Emmen

$68 3.6%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 21.8% $15

Getting Around

Emmen

$27 * 1.4%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 161% $44

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $878 in Emmen 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 Emmen are about 5.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $82 in Emmen versus $32 in Phuket. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $307 vs $266 – making Phuket the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇳🇱 Emmen

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

02:47 2:47 AM

08:47 8:47 AM

6 h ahead of Emmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

108,765

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Emmen Phuket 9,410 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Emmen
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

Emmen vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,892 in Emmen, $1,278 in Phuket – Phuket comes out roughly 32% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,839 per month in Emmen 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 $878 in Emmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $82 in Emmen and $32 in Phuket. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 15% more in Emmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Phuket, where all-in costs run around $1,278, than in Emmen at $1,892. In Phuket it covers expenses comfortably, while in Emmen 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, Emmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.