Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Howick and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Howick: $1,081 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

52

Cost of Living Index in Howick
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Howick Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Howick

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,081

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,081 in Howick versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Howick $1,081
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,676 in Howick versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Howick $1,676
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,271 in Howick versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Howick $2,271
Phuket $3,154

Living in Howick costs roughly 15% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Howick 21% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.03 R 133

$4.47 ฿151

79.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.85 R 645

$32.41 ฿1,092

19.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.50 R 91.3

$8.81 ฿297

-37.57%

Cappuccino

$2.66 R 44.23

$2.83 ฿95.3

-6.01%

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

$1.09 R 18.19

$0.87 ฿29.37

25.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.92 R 15.32

$0.49 ฿16.64

87.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.39 R 39.69

$2.56 ฿86.2

-6.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 R 41.80

$3.68 ฿124

-31.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.21 R 20.08

$1.66 ฿55.9

-27.11%

White Bread (500g)

$0.98 R 16.30

$1.46 ฿49.25

-32.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.56 R 25.92

$1.50 ฿50.4

4.00%

Eggs

$2.34 R 38.88

$2.09 ฿70.4

11.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.23 R 137

$19.07 ฿642

-56.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.28 R 87.7

$3.30 ฿111

60.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.20 R 120

$10.91 ฿368

-34.01%

Apples (1kg)

$1.99 R 33.03

$2.93 ฿98.7

-32.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 31.24

$1.69 ฿56.9

11.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 R 31.86

$2.25 ฿75.7

-14.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.70 R 28.22

$2.08 ฿70.0

-18.27%

Potato (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.76

$1.51 ฿50.9

-1.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.46 R 24.33

$1.38 ฿46.47

5.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 R 20.17

$1.07 ฿35.91

13.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.78

$0.52 ฿17.49

128.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.68 R 61.1

$4.20 ฿142

-12.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.84 R 80.4

$18.79 ฿633

-74.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 R 24.15

$1.82 ฿61.4

-20.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 R 31.23

$2.84 ฿95.7

-33.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.54 R 25.52

$1.45 ฿48.93

6.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,909

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.45 R 7.49

$3.02 ฿102

-85.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.75 R 12.41

$1.02 ฿34.29

-26.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.56 R 126

$3.69 ฿124

104.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 R 22.68

$1.47 ฿49.70

-6.80%

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

$36.1K R 600.3K

$26.8K ฿902.4K

34.97%

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

$33.1K R 550.2K

$26.7K ฿899.5K

24.10%

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

$150 R 2,491

$96.4 ฿3,247

55.64%

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

$15.25 R 253

$11.26 ฿380

35.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.18 R 667

$16.85 ฿568

138.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.93 R 530

$67.2 ฿2,266

-52.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 183

$10.73 ฿361

2.42%

Cinema Ticket

$7.09 R 118

$7.50 ฿253

-5.47%

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

$309 R 5,141

$476 ฿16.0K

-34.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,814 R 129.8K

$11.3K ฿379.6K

-30.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.1 R 899

$62.4 ฿2,102

-13.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.61 R 508

$28.41 ฿957

7.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 R 1,636

$94.3 ฿3,178

4.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.3 R 1,400

$85.8 ฿2,892

-1.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$395 R 6,567

$716 ฿24.1K

-44.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$366 R 6,078

$491 ฿16.5K

-25.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$735 R 12.2K

$1,927 ฿64.9K

-61.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$734 R 12.2K

$1,431 ฿48.2K

-48.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$868 R 14.4K

$4,175 ฿140.7K

-79.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$675 R 11.2K

$3,045 ฿102.6K

-77.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.78

5.57

111.49%

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

Last update for Howick: 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

Howick

$366 33.9%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 34.2% $125

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Howick

$205 19%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 39.4% $81

Groceries & Markets

Howick

$195 18%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 36.6% $71

Eating Out

Howick

$138 12.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 11.7% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Howick

$120 11.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 1.3% $1.5

Sport & Entertainment

Howick

$46 4.3%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 78.3% $36

Getting Around

Howick

$10 * 1%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 583% $60

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $395 in Howick and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $39 in Howick vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $195 vs $266, with Howick cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Howick

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

10:17 10:17 AM

15:17 3:17 PM

5 h ahead of Howick

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

32,453

79,308

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.66 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 October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 16.61 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.02 USD). 1 EUR = 18.54 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.61 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Howick Phuket 8,380 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Howick
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

Howick vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Howick is about 15% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,621 in Howick and $1,917 in Phuket to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $395 in Howick versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $309 in Howick versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $39 in Howick. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Howick 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, Howick and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.