Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ipswich and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $2,348 in Ipswich, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

113

Cost of Living Index in Ipswich
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Ipswich Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Ipswich

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,348

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,348 in Ipswich versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Ipswich $2,348
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,450 in Ipswich versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Ipswich $3,450
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,551 in Ipswich versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Ipswich $4,551
Phuket $2,845

Living in Ipswich is roughly 94% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ipswich is 73% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.87 £15.66

$4.40 ฿147

374.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$106 £79.2

$32.26 ฿1,078

227.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.54 £7.91

$8.76 ฿293

20.32%

Cappuccino

$5.50 £4.12

$2.83 ฿94.5

94.35%

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

$1.68 £1.26

$0.90 ฿30.14

86.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 £1.38

$0.47 ฿15.56

291.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.83 £5.12

$2.55 ฿85.2

167.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.95 £5.22

$3.83 ฿128

81.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.76 £1.32

$1.73 ฿57.7

1.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.69 £1.27

$1.47 ฿49.11

14.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.65 £1.24

$1.51 ฿50.6

9.27%

Eggs

$4.31 £3.24

$2.17 ฿72.7

98.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.43

$19.70 ฿658

-36.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.81 £6.61

$3.34 ฿112

163.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.47 £11.61

$11.16 ฿373

38.62%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 £2.31

$2.85 ฿95.1

8.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.47 £1.10

$1.70 ฿56.9

-13.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.78 £2.09

$2.19 ฿73.3

26.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.23 £2.42

$2.05 ฿68.4

57.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.69 £1.27

$1.45 ฿48.57

16.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.43 £1.07

$1.38 ฿46.16

3.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 £1.10

$1.07 ฿35.69

36.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 £1.10

$0.51 ฿16.91

186.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.41 £17.56

$4.26 ฿142

449.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.87 £8.15

$18.58 ฿621

-41.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.68 £2.01

$1.78 ฿59.7

50.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 £2.76

$2.85 ฿95.2

29.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.81 £2.11

$2.26 ฿75.6

24.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$87.7 £65.8

$22.10 ฿738

296.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.61 £4.21

$3.01 ฿101

86.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.96 £1.47

$1.06 ฿35.34

84.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.41 £25.06

$3.86 ฿129

765.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 £1.47

$1.45 ฿48.45

35.17%

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

$39.3K £29.5K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

49.17%

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

$41.3K £31.0K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

53.28%

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

$375 £281

$96.4 ฿3,221

289.21%

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

$15.89 £11.92

$11.04 ฿369

43.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.34 £30.26

$17.14 ฿573

135.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.29 £24.97

$52.2 ฿1,744

-36.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.97 £5.98

$11.16 ฿373

-28.58%

Cinema Ticket

$17.76 £13.32

$7.81 ฿261

127.40%

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

$1,076 £807

$556 ฿18.6K

93.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.2K £15.1K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

74.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.5 £51.4

$64.2 ฿2,146

6.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.2 £41.39

$28.69 ฿959

92.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.1 £60.1

$95.4 ฿3,187

-15.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.2 £51.9

$88.0 ฿2,940

-21.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,096 £822

$737 ฿24.6K

48.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$972 £729

$462 ฿15.5K

110.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,410 £1,058

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-32.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,540 £1,155

$1,201 ฿40.1K

28.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,009 £3,758

$3,488 ฿116.6K

43.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,015 £3,012

$2,523 ฿84.3K

59.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,990 £2,243

$501 ฿16.7K

497.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

5.57

-14.90%

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

Last update for Ipswich: October 17, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ipswich

$972 41.4%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 52.4% $510

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ipswich

$431 18.4%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 71.1% $307

Eating Out

Ipswich

$327 13.9%

Phuket

$121 10% 62.9% $205

Groceries & Markets

Ipswich

$312 13.3%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 13.8% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Ipswich

$123 5.2%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 1.2% $1.5

Getting Around

Ipswich

$114 4.9%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 65.5% $75

Sport & Entertainment

Ipswich

$69 2.9%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 1.5% $1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,096 in Ipswich and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ipswich pays 497% 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: $106 in Ipswich vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $312 vs $269 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Ipswich

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

06:06 6:06 AM

12:06 12:06 PM

6 h ahead of Ipswich

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

120,000

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 23, 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 23, 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 →

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Between locations

Ipswich Phuket 9,810 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

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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

Ipswich vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ipswich and Phuket differ by about 94% in total monthly costs ($2,348 vs $1,208 including rent). Phuket is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 497% higher in Ipswich, 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: $1,096 in Ipswich versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 297% less than in Ipswich. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $1,076 in Ipswich versus $556 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,348 in Ipswich, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Ipswich. 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, Ipswich 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 94% less than in Ipswich. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.