Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ilmenau and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $2,071 in Ilmenau, rent and utilities included – about $10,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

100

Cost of Living Index in Ilmenau
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Ilmenau Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Ilmenau

🇩🇪 Germany

$2,071

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,071 in Ilmenau versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Ilmenau $2,071
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,525 in Ilmenau versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Ilmenau $2,525
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,980 in Ilmenau versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Ilmenau $2,980
Phuket $2,867

Living in Ilmenau is roughly 72% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ilmenau is 53% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.96 €9.75

$4.58 ฿153

139.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.5 €59.2

$32.48 ฿1,086

104.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.02

$8.55 ฿286

31.81%

Cappuccino

$3.41 €3.04

$2.72 ฿91.0

25.37%

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

$4.26 €3.79

$0.94 ฿31.25

353.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.97 €7.09

$0.49 ฿16.39

1526.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.41 €3.92

$2.59 ฿86.6

70.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.99 €4.44

$3.83 ฿128

30.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 €1.01

$1.74 ฿58.1

-35.06%

White Bread (500g)

$2.14 €1.90

$1.43 ฿47.82

49.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.24 €2.88

$1.53 ฿51.0

111.76%

Eggs

$3.23 €2.87

$2.17 ฿72.7

48.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.33 €12.75

$19.15 ฿640

-25.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.24 €9.11

$3.30 ฿110

210.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.79

$11.14 ฿372

59.43%

Apples (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$2.95 ฿98.5

-2.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 €1.24

$1.68 ฿56.1

-16.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.50 €3.11

$2.30 ฿76.8

52.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.82 €3.40

$2.13 ฿71.3

79.34%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 €1.88

$1.53 ฿51.1

37.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 €1.21

$1.36 ฿45.55

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.63 €1.45

$1.12 ฿37.44

45.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.78

$0.55 ฿18.24

60.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.22 €8.20

$4.26 ฿142

116.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 €5.53

$18.19 ฿608

-65.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.11 €0.99

$1.74 ฿58.2

-36.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.48 €1.32

$2.79 ฿93.3

-46.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.3 €58.1

$22.06 ฿737

195.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.23 €4.65

$2.91 ฿97.3

79.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.21 €3.75

$1.01 ฿33.79

316.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$43.78 €38.94

$3.83 ฿128

1043.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 €1.90

$1.49 ฿49.85

43.62%

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

$32.3K €28.7K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

20.91%

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

$37.8K €33.6K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

41.38%

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

$675 €600

$99.4 ฿3,321

579.11%

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

$27.38 €24.36

$11.28 ฿377

142.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.08 €30.32

$17.36 ฿580

96.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.13 €42.81

$52.3 ฿1,747

-7.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$13.20 €11.74

$7.57 ฿253

74.37%

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

$454 €404

$558 ฿18.7K

-18.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.0 €82.8

$62.9 ฿2,102

47.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.50 €28.02

$28.58 ฿955

10.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 €107

$96.1 ฿3,213

25.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 €101

$88.1 ฿2,943

28.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$471 €419

$729 ฿24.4K

-35.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$455 €404

$460 ฿15.4K

-1.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$828 €737

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-60.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,254 €2,894

$493 ฿16.5K

559.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.95

5.57

-29.08%

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

Last update for Ilmenau: October 11, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ilmenau

$736 35.6%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 82.6% $608

Accommodation & Living

Ilmenau

$455 22%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 1.2% $5.4

Groceries & Markets

Ilmenau

$309 14.9%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 13.4% $41

Eating Out

Ilmenau

$243 11.8%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 50.2% $122

Clothing & Footwear

Ilmenau

$161 7.8%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 23.1% $37

Getting Around

Ilmenau

$92 * 4.4%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 57.5% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Ilmenau

$75 3.6%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 9.5% $7.1

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 $471 in Ilmenau and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ilmenau pays 560% 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: $67.0 in Ilmenau vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $309 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇩🇪 Ilmenau

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

18:45 6:45 PM

23:45 11:45 PM

5 h ahead of Ilmenau

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

39,000

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Ilmenau Phuket 9,150 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Ilmenau
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

Ilmenau vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ilmenau and Phuket differ by about 72% in total monthly costs ($2,071 vs $1,207 including rent). Phuket is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 560% higher in Ilmenau, 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: $471 in Ilmenau versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,071 per month in Ilmenau versus $1,207 in Phuket – a 72% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 196% less than in Ilmenau. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,071 in Ilmenau, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Ilmenau. 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, Ilmenau 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 72% less than in Ilmenau. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.