Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Fort William and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $2,455 in Fort William, rent and utilities included – about $15,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

119

Cost of Living Index in Fort William
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Fort William Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Fort William

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,455

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,455 in Fort William versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Fort William $2,455
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,592 in Fort William versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Fort William $3,592
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,730 in Fort William versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Fort William $4,730
Phuket $2,845

Living in Fort William is roughly 103% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Fort William is 81% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.26 £15.20

$4.40 ฿147

360.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$98.3 £73.8

$32.26 ฿1,078

204.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.59 £7.95

$8.76 ฿293

20.89%

Cappuccino

$4.63 £3.47

$2.83 ฿94.5

63.60%

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

$2.73 £2.05

$0.90 ฿30.14

203.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.96 £1.47

$0.47 ฿15.56

317.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.03 £5.28

$2.55 ฿85.2

175.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.81 £5.86

$3.83 ฿128

103.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 £1.11

$1.73 ฿57.7

-14.45%

White Bread (500g)

$1.73 £1.30

$1.47 ฿49.11

17.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.03 £1.52

$1.51 ฿50.6

34.44%

Eggs

$3.49 £2.61

$2.17 ฿72.7

60.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.00 £6.75

$19.70 ฿658

-54.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.71 £8.03

$3.34 ฿112

220.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.56 £11.67

$11.16 ฿373

39.43%

Apples (1kg)

$2.86 £2.15

$2.85 ฿95.1

0.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 £0.98

$1.70 ฿56.9

-23.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.06 £1.54

$2.19 ฿73.3

-5.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.80 £2.85

$2.05 ฿68.4

85.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.16 £0.87

$1.45 ฿48.57

-20.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.35 £1.01

$1.38 ฿46.16

-2.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.07 ฿35.69

12.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 £1.20

$0.51 ฿16.91

213.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.80 £16.36

$4.26 ฿142

411.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.96 £8.23

$18.58 ฿621

-41.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.71 £2.03

$1.78 ฿59.7

52.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 £2.32

$2.85 ฿95.2

8.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.66 £2.75

$2.26 ฿75.6

61.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$108 £80.9

$22.10 ฿738

388.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.04 £3.03

$3.01 ฿101

34.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.44 £1.83

$1.06 ฿35.34

130.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.80 £17.86

$3.86 ฿129

516.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.15 £1.62

$1.45 ฿48.45

48.28%

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

$38.6K £28.9K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

46.52%

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

$39.8K £29.9K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

47.77%

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

$378 £284

$96.4 ฿3,221

292.64%

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

$27.94 £20.96

$11.04 ฿369

153.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.04 £32.29

$17.14 ฿573

151.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.86 £35.16

$52.2 ฿1,744

-10.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.75 £5.06

$11.16 ฿373

-39.52%

Cinema Ticket

$11.56 £8.67

$7.81 ฿261

48.02%

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

$1,792 £1,345

$556 ฿18.6K

222.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.5K £17.6K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

102.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$96.2 £72.2

$64.2 ฿2,146

49.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.12 £36.10

$28.69 ฿959

67.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 £77.8

$95.4 ฿3,187

8.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 £86.4

$88.0 ฿2,940

30.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,213 £910

$737 ฿24.6K

64.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 £759

$462 ฿15.5K

118.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,161 £1,621

$2,095 ฿70.0K

3.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,628 £1,221

$1,201 ฿40.1K

35.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,096 £3,823

$3,488 ฿116.6K

46.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,553 £2,666

$2,523 ฿84.3K

40.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,973 £1,480

$501 ฿16.7K

294.10%

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 Fort William: October 19, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Fort William

$1K 41.2%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 54.3% $549

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Fort William

$449 18.3%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 72.3% $325

Eating Out

Fort William

$319 13%

Phuket

$121 10% 62% $198

Groceries & Markets

Fort William

$303 12.3%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 11.2% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Fort William

$163 6.7%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 24% $39

Getting Around

Fort William

$139 5.7%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 71.6% $99

Sport & Entertainment

Fort William

$70 2.9%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 3.1% $2.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,213 in Fort William and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Fort William pays 294% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $98.0 in Fort William vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $303 vs $269 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Fort William

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

18:13 6:13 PM

00:13 12:13 AM

6 h ahead of Fort William

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

10,000

79,308

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 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 22, 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 22, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Fort William Phuket 10,080 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Fort William
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

Fort William vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 103% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 294% higher in Fort William, 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: $1,213 in Fort William versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 13% higher in Fort William. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $98.0 in Fort William. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,455 in Fort William, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Fort William. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Phuket is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Fort William, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Fort William and Phuket are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 103% less than in Fort William. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.