Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kaluga and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Kaluga: $1,021 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Kaluga
Learn more

Kaluga Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Kaluga

🇷🇺 Russia

$1,021

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,021 in Kaluga versus $1,294 in Phuket.

Kaluga $1,021
Phuket $1,294

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,594 in Kaluga versus $2,204 in Phuket.

Kaluga $1,594
Phuket $2,204

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,168 in Kaluga versus $3,115 in Phuket.

Kaluga $2,168
Phuket $3,115

Living in Kaluga costs roughly 21% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Kaluga 25% lower, Phuket 4% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.25 ₽840

$4.39 ฿148

133.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.27 ₽3,055

$32.31 ฿1,086

15.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.96 ₽407

$8.70 ฿293

-42.99%

Cappuccino

$2.62 ₽215

$2.72 ฿91.6

-3.68%

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

$0.92 ₽75.3

$0.93 ฿31.28

-1.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.58 ₽47.85

$0.50 ฿16.79

16.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.44 ₽118

$2.53 ฿85.1

-43.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.82 ₽149

$3.63 ฿122

-49.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 ₽103

$1.74 ฿58.5

-27.59%

White Bread (500g)

$0.99 ₽81.5

$1.45 ฿48.77

-31.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 ₽198

$1.50 ฿50.5

61.33%

Eggs

$2.05 ₽168

$2.17 ฿73.0

-5.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.66 ₽1,120

$19.09 ฿642

-28.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.81 ₽558

$3.40 ฿114

100.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.45 ₽1,185

$10.90 ฿366

32.57%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 ₽150

$2.94 ฿98.9

-37.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 ₽141

$1.69 ฿56.9

1.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.71 ₽140

$2.19 ฿73.8

-21.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.86 ₽234

$2.12 ฿71.4

34.91%

Potato (1kg)

$0.54 ₽44.61

$1.46 ฿49.03

-63.01%

Onion (1kg)

$0.56 ₽45.61

$1.37 ฿45.99

-59.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 ₽122

$1.08 ฿36.17

37.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 ₽67.1

$0.55 ฿18.34

49.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.18 ₽261

$4.43 ฿149

-28.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.61 ₽705

$18.25 ฿614

-52.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 ₽99.4

$1.77 ฿59.6

-31.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 ₽224

$2.88 ฿96.8

-5.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.45 ₽36.53

$1.45 ฿48.66

-68.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.83 ₽1,544

$54.9 ฿1,845

-65.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.95 ₽77.5

$1.51 ฿50.9

-37.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿26.08

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.71 ₽550

$3.84 ฿129

74.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.86 ₽70.3

$1.49 ฿50.0

-42.28%

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

$53.1K ₽4.4M

$26.9K ฿903.7K

97.58%

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

$41.8K ₽3.4M

$26.3K ฿885.7K

58.63%

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

$126 ₽10.3K

$97.8 ฿3,288

29.08%

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

$6.13 ₽503

$11.29 ฿380

-45.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.38 ₽769

$17.19 ฿578

-45.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.75 ₽4,078

$68.3 ฿2,297

-27.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.64 ₽2,019

$10.92 ฿367

125.64%

Cinema Ticket

$3.65 ₽299

$7.43 ฿250

-50.87%

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

$341 ₽28.0K

$530 ฿17.8K

-35.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿631.4K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$97.7 ₽8,004

$61.7 ฿2,073

58.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.38 ₽3,064

$28.25 ฿950

32.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$184 ₽15.0K

$96.0 ฿3,228

91.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.5 ₽7,744

$86.8 ฿2,919

8.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$302 ₽24.8K

$721 ฿24.2K

-58.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$223 ₽18.2K

$509 ฿17.1K

-56.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$627 ₽51.4K

$1,950 ฿65.6K

-67.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$367 ₽30.1K

$1,397 ฿47.0K

-73.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,541 ₽126.3K

$4,192 ฿140.9K

-63.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,302 ₽106.7K

$3,298 ฿110.9K

-60.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$662 ₽54.2K

$492 ฿16.5K

34.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

23.12

5.57

315.08%

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

Last update for Kaluga: October 31, 2026

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kaluga

$247 24.2%

Phuket

$267 20.6% 8.2% $20

Accommodation & Living

Kaluga

$223 21.8%

Phuket

$509 39.3% 129% $286

Clothing & Footwear

Kaluga

$186 18.2%

Phuket

$123 9.5% 34% $63

Eating Out

Kaluga

$145 14.2%

Phuket

$120 9.2% 17.6% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kaluga

$142 13.9%

Phuket

$126 9.8% 10.9% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Kaluga

$57 5.6%

Phuket

$83 6.4% 45.8% $26

Getting Around

Kaluga

$22 * 2.1%

Phuket

$66 5.1% 206% $45

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 $302 in Kaluga and $721 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kaluga pays 35% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37 in Kaluga vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $247 vs $267, with Kaluga cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇺 Kaluga

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

06:49 6:49 AM

10:49 10:49 AM

4 h ahead of Kaluga

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

331,842

79,308

💱 Currency

Russian Ruble RUB ₽

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 RUB = 1.22 USD

100 RUB = 1.08 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to RUB – Russian Ruble Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇺 Russian Ruble (₽)

Russian Ruble exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 81.97 RUB (100 RUB = 1.22 USD). 1 EUR = 92.27 RUB (100 RUB = 1.08 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.85 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

USD to RUB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kaluga Phuket 7,520 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Kaluga
Phuket

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Kaluga vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,021 in Kaluga and $1,294 in Phuket, so Kaluga is about 21% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 35% higher in Kaluga, 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: $302 in Kaluga versus $721 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Kaluga runs roughly 66% less than in Phuket. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $341 in Kaluga versus $530 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Kaluga 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, Kaluga and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.