Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Glasgow and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,425 in Glasgow, rent and utilities included – about $13,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Glasgow
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Glasgow Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Glasgow

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,425

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,425 per month in Glasgow vs $1,278 in Phuket, rent included.

Glasgow $2,425
Phuket $1,278

A couple spends around $3,706 per month in Glasgow vs $2,216 in Phuket, rent included.

Glasgow $3,706
Phuket $2,216

A family of three spends $4,987 per month in Glasgow vs $3,154 in Phuket, rent included.

Glasgow $4,987
Phuket $3,154

Glasgow costs about 90% more than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Glasgow sits 78% above the global median, while Phuket is 6% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.28 £15.97

$4.47 ฿151

376.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.2 £50.4

$32.41 ฿1,092

107.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.58 £7.94

$8.81 ฿297

20.09%

Cappuccino

$4.81 £3.61

$2.83 ฿95.3

69.96%

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

$2.26 £1.69

$0.87 ฿29.37

159.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 £1.37

$0.49 ฿16.64

273.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.48 £4.11

$2.56 ฿86.2

114.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.63 £4.98

$3.68 ฿124

80.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 £1.25

$1.66 ฿55.9

0.60%

White Bread (500g)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.46 ฿49.25

12.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.00 £1.50

$1.50 ฿50.4

33.33%

Eggs

$4.00 £3.00

$2.09 ฿70.4

91.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.28 £6.96

$19.07 ฿642

-51.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.08 £6.82

$3.30 ฿111

175.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 £12.57

$10.91 ฿368

53.53%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 £2.27

$2.93 ฿98.7

3.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.51 £1.13

$1.69 ฿56.9

-10.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.91 £2.19

$2.25 ฿75.7

29.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.19 £2.39

$2.08 ฿70.0

53.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 £1.45

$1.51 ฿50.9

27.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.55 £1.16

$1.38 ฿46.47

12.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 £0.85

$1.07 ฿35.91

5.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 £1.19

$0.52 ฿17.49

203.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.96 £17.98

$4.20 ฿142

470.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.32 £8.49

$18.79 ฿633

-39.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.37 £2.53

$1.82 ฿61.4

85.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 £2.50

$2.84 ฿95.7

17.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.98 £2.99

$1.45 ฿48.93

174.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$108 £81.1

$56.7 ฿1,909

90.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.75 £4.32

$3.02 ฿102

90.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.14 £0.86

$1.02 ฿34.29

11.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$60.6 £45.48

$3.69 ฿124

1542.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.57

$1.47 ฿49.70

42.18%

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

$39.3K £29.5K

$26.8K ฿902.4K

46.68%

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

$40.6K £30.5K

$26.7K ฿899.5K

52.22%

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

$312 £234

$96.4 ฿3,247

224.29%

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

$20.29 £15.22

$11.26 ฿380

80.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.05 £31.55

$16.85 ฿568

149.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 £28.00

$67.2 ฿2,266

-44.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.73 £15.56

$10.73 ฿361

93.20%

Cinema Ticket

$16.26 £12.20

$7.50 ฿253

116.80%

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

$1,124 £843

$476 ฿16.0K

136.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.6K £16.2K

$11.3K ฿379.6K

91.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$132 £99.0

$62.4 ฿2,102

111.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.81 £34.37

$28.41 ฿957

61.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 £80.0

$94.3 ฿3,178

13.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.4 £70.1

$85.8 ฿2,892

8.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,368 £1,027

$716 ฿24.1K

91.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 £786

$491 ฿16.5K

113.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,770 £2,078

$1,927 ฿64.9K

43.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,080 £1,561

$1,431 ฿48.2K

45.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,035 £3,027

$4,175 ฿140.7K

-3.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,923 £2,193

$3,045 ฿102.6K

-4.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,339 £2,505

$502 ฿16.9K

564.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.79

5.57

-14.00%

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

Last update for Glasgow: October 27, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Glasgow

$1K 43.2%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 53.1% $556

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Glasgow

$375 15.5%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 66.8% $250

Eating Out

Glasgow

$317 13.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 61.6% $195

Groceries & Markets

Glasgow

$311 12.8%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 14.3% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Glasgow

$170 7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 28.3% $48

Getting Around

Glasgow

$135 5.6%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 47.9% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Glasgow

$70 2.9%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 17.8% $12

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,368 in Glasgow 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 Glasgow are about 6.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $67 in Glasgow versus $32 in Phuket. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $311 vs $266 – making Phuket the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Glasgow

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

04:01 4:01 AM

11:01 11:01 AM

7 h ahead of Glasgow

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

606,340

79,308

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.67 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 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.835 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Glasgow Phuket 10,060 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Glasgow
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

Glasgow vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,425 in Glasgow, $1,278 in Phuket – Phuket comes out roughly 47% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,637 per month in Glasgow 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 $1,368 in Glasgow.

Kindergarten costs $1,124 per month in Glasgow and $476 in Phuket. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 17% more in Glasgow, 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 Glasgow at $2,425. In Phuket it covers expenses comfortably, while in Glasgow it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Phuket has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,278 in Phuket to $2,425 in Glasgow. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Phuket. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Glasgow makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.