Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between George and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in George: $1,110 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in George
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George Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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George

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,110

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,110 in George versus $1,278 in Phuket.

George $1,110
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,847 in George versus $2,216 in Phuket.

George $1,847
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,584 in George versus $3,154 in Phuket.

George $2,584
Phuket $3,154

Living in George costs roughly 13% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: George 18% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.85 R 181

$4.47 ฿151

142.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.91 R 700

$32.41 ฿1,094

29.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.95 R 82.6

$8.81 ฿297

-43.81%

Cappuccino

$2.13 R 35.57

$2.83 ฿95.4

-24.73%

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

$1.05 R 17.59

$0.87 ฿29.42

20.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 R 12.95

$0.49 ฿16.66

59.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.70 R 45.10

$2.56 ฿86.3

5.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.25 R 54.3

$3.68 ฿124

-11.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 R 19.15

$1.66 ฿56.0

-30.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.01 R 16.92

$1.46 ฿49.32

-30.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 R 25.09

$1.50 ฿50.5

Eggs

$2.79 R 46.63

$2.09 ฿70.5

33.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.68 R 145

$19.07 ฿643

-54.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.29 R 88.2

$3.30 ฿111

60.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.70 R 112

$10.91 ฿368

-38.59%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 R 27.99

$2.93 ฿98.9

-42.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.80

$1.69 ฿57.0

-8.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.86

$2.25 ฿75.8

-33.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.73 R 28.89

$2.08 ฿70.1

-16.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.71 R 28.48

$1.51 ฿51.0

13.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.40 R 23.32

$1.38 ฿46.54

1.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 R 20.82

$1.07 ฿35.97

16.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 R 16.61

$0.52 ฿17.51

90.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.20 R 53.4

$4.20 ฿142

-23.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.97 R 83.0

$18.79 ฿634

-73.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 R 21.44

$1.82 ฿61.5

-29.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 R 29.17

$2.84 ฿95.9

-38.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.48 R 24.63

$1.45 ฿49.00

2.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.91 R 466

$56.7 ฿1,912

-50.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 R 10.67

$3.02 ฿102

-78.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.48 R 7.95

$1.02 ฿34.34

-52.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.64 R 144

$3.69 ฿125

134.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 R 20.87

$1.47 ฿49.78

-14.97%

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

$29.9K R 499.3K

$26.8K ฿903.7K

11.71%

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

$30.0K R 500.5K

$26.7K ฿900.8K

12.32%

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

$123 R 2,052

$96.4 ฿3,252

27.61%

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

$17.56 R 293

$11.26 ฿380

55.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.26 R 772

$16.85 ฿569

174.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.43 R 508

$67.2 ฿2,269

-54.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.78 R 180

$10.73 ฿362

0.47%

Cinema Ticket

$5.93 R 98.9

$7.50 ฿253

-20.93%

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

$139 R 2,324

$476 ฿16.1K

-70.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,219 R 87.1K

$11.3K ฿380.1K

-53.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.1 R 1,203

$62.4 ฿2,105

15.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.64 R 645

$28.41 ฿959

36.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 R 1,864

$94.3 ฿3,182

18.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 R 1,448

$85.8 ฿2,896

1.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$429 R 7,163

$716 ฿24.2K

-40.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$362 R 6,051

$491 ฿16.6K

-26.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$770 R 12.9K

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-60.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$935 R 15.6K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-34.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$855 R 14.3K

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-79.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$690 R 11.5K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-77.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,339 R 22.4K

$502 ฿17.0K

166.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.92

5.57

96.05%

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

Last update for George: October 24, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

George

$362 32.6%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 35.4% $128

Groceries & Markets

George

$188 17%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 41.4% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

George

$187 16.8%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 33.4% $62

Eating Out

George

$155 13.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 21.3% $33

Clothing & Footwear

George

$139 12.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 12.4% $17

Sport & Entertainment

George

$42 3.8%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 94.5% $40

Getting Around

George

$37 3.3%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 91.6% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $429 in George and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

George pays about 2.7 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $42 in George vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $188 vs $266, with George cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇿🇦 George

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

05:19 5:19 AM

10:19 10:19 AM

5 h ahead of George

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

188,580

79,308

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 16.69 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.64 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

George Phuket 9,220 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

George
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

George vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

George is about 13% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in George is about 2.7 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: $429 in George 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 $42 in George. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,110 per month in George versus $1,278 in Phuket – George is about 13% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though George gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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