Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Exeter and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,571 in Exeter, rent and utilities included – about $15,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

123

Cost of Living Index in Exeter
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Exeter Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Exeter

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,571

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,571 in Exeter versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Exeter $2,571
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,846 in Exeter versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Exeter $3,846
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,121 in Exeter versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Exeter $5,121
Phuket $3,154

Living in Exeter is roughly 101% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Exeter is 89% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.92 £14.88

$4.47 ฿151

345.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$97.8 £73.1

$32.41 ฿1,093

201.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.57 £7.15

$8.81 ฿297

8.63%

Cappuccino

$4.96 £3.70

$2.83 ฿95.4

75.27%

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

$3.17 £2.37

$0.87 ฿29.41

264.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 £1.87

$0.49 ฿16.65

412.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.45 £5.57

$2.56 ฿86.3

191.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.16 £4.60

$3.68 ฿124

67.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 £1.14

$1.66 ฿55.9

-8.43%

White Bread (500g)

$1.68 £1.26

$1.46 ฿49.31

15.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 £1.33

$1.50 ฿50.5

18.67%

Eggs

$4.30 £3.21

$2.09 ฿70.5

105.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.70 £6.50

$19.07 ฿643

-54.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.71 £6.51

$3.30 ฿111

163.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$23.73 £17.73

$10.91 ฿368

117.51%

Apples (1kg)

$3.12 £2.33

$2.93 ฿98.9

6.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 £1.07

$1.69 ฿57.0

-15.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.32 £1.74

$2.25 ฿75.8

3.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.19 £2.38

$2.08 ฿70.0

53.37%

Potato (1kg)

$2.27 £1.70

$1.51 ฿51.0

50.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 £1.47

$1.38 ฿46.52

42.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.61 £1.20

$1.07 ฿35.96

50.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 £1.45

$0.52 ฿17.51

275.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.49 £17.54

$4.20 ฿142

459.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.54 £7.13

$18.79 ฿634

-49.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.74 £2.80

$1.82 ฿61.5

105.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 £3.30

$2.84 ฿95.8

55.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.92 £2.93

$1.45 ฿48.98

170.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$112 £83.6

$56.7 ฿1,912

97.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.75 £4.29

$3.02 ฿102

90.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.53 £1.89

$1.02 ฿34.33

148.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.92 £17.86

$3.69 ฿125

548.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.53

$1.47 ฿49.76

38.78%

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

$38.7K £28.9K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

44.51%

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

$40.1K £30.0K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

50.41%

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

$469 £350

$96.4 ฿3,251

386.37%

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

$15.97 £11.93

$11.26 ฿380

41.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.00 £35.10

$16.85 ฿568

178.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.72 £29.66

$67.2 ฿2,268

-40.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.18 £9.84

$10.73 ฿362

22.83%

Cinema Ticket

$12.62 £9.43

$7.50 ฿253

68.27%

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

$2,180 £1,628

$476 ฿16.1K

358.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K £13.2K

$11.3K ฿380.0K

56.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 £50.8

$62.4 ฿2,104

9.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.16 £23.27

$28.41 ฿958

9.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 £78.7

$94.3 ฿3,181

11.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$74.2 £55.4

$85.8 ฿2,895

-13.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,381 £1,031

$716 ฿24.2K

92.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,050 £784

$491 ฿16.6K

113.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,160 £1,613

$1,927 ฿65.0K

12.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,946 £1,454

$1,431 ฿48.3K

36.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,743 £4,289

$4,175 ฿140.9K

37.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,565 £3,409

$3,045 ฿102.7K

49.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,062 £2,287

$502 ฿16.9K

509.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

5.57

-8.26%

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

Last update for Exeter: 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

Exeter

$1K 40.8%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 53.2% $559

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Exeter

$532 20.7%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 76.6% $407

Groceries & Markets

Exeter

$334 13%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 20.2% $68

Eating Out

Exeter

$320 12.4%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 62% $198

Getting Around

Exeter

$146 5.7%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 51.7% $75

Clothing & Footwear

Exeter

$125 4.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 2.8% $3.6

Sport & Entertainment

Exeter

$65 2.5%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 26.6% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,381 in Exeter and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Exeter pays about 6.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $98 in Exeter vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $334 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Exeter

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

16:15 4:15 PM

23:15 11:15 PM

7 h ahead of Exeter

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

130,800

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 October 31, 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 October 31, 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

Exeter Phuket 10,160 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Exeter
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

Exeter vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,571 in Exeter and $1,278 in Phuket, so Phuket is about 50% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Exeter is about 6.1 times higher, 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: $1,381 in Exeter versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $98 in Exeter. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $2,571 per month in Exeter versus $1,278 in Phuket – Phuket is about 50% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,571 in Exeter, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Exeter. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Safety-wise, Exeter and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 50% less than in Exeter. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.