Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kimberley and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Kimberley: $1,128 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $950 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

55

Cost of Living Index in Kimberley
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Kimberley Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Kimberley

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,128

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,128 per month in Kimberley vs $1,207 in Phuket, rent included.

Kimberley $1,128
Phuket $1,207

A couple spends around $1,905 per month in Kimberley vs $2,037 in Phuket, rent included.

Kimberley $1,905
Phuket $2,037

A family of three spends $2,683 per month in Kimberley vs $2,867 in Phuket, rent included.

Kimberley $2,683
Phuket $2,867

Kimberley is about 7% cheaper than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Kimberley and Phuket are more affordable than the global median – Kimberley 16% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.22 R 201

$4.58 ฿153

166.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.40 R 600

$32.48 ฿1,086

12.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.91 R 97.3

$8.55 ฿286

-30.88%

Cappuccino

$3.02 R 49.76

$2.72 ฿91.0

11.03%

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

$1.32 R 21.67

$0.94 ฿31.25

40.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 R 20.96

$0.49 ฿16.39

159.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.78 R 45.76

$2.59 ฿86.6

7.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 R 45.40

$3.83 ฿128

-27.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 R 25.08

$1.74 ฿58.1

-12.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.16 R 19.09

$1.43 ฿47.82

-18.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.01 R 49.58

$1.53 ฿51.0

96.73%

Eggs

$2.88 R 47.44

$2.17 ฿72.7

32.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.60 R 109

$19.15 ฿640

-65.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.84 R 96.2

$3.30 ฿110

76.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.62 R 142

$11.14 ฿372

-22.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 R 36.86

$2.95 ฿98.5

-24.07%

Banana (1kg)

$2.46 R 40.59

$1.68 ฿56.1

46.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 R 29.02

$2.30 ฿76.8

-23.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.33 R 54.9

$2.13 ฿71.3

56.34%

Potato (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.20

$1.53 ฿51.1

-3.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.42 R 23.42

$1.36 ฿45.55

4.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 R 22.03

$1.12 ฿37.44

19.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.86 R 14.25

$0.55 ฿18.24

56.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.09 R 50.9

$4.26 ฿142

-27.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.51 R 107

$18.19 ฿608

-64.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.21 R 36.48

$1.74 ฿58.2

27.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 R 45.98

$2.79 ฿93.3

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 R 24.97

$2.22 ฿74.1

-31.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$33.35 R 549

$22.06 ฿737

51.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.58 R 9.57

$2.91 ฿97.3

-80.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.88 R 14.57

$1.01 ฿33.79

-12.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.59 R 191

$3.83 ฿128

202.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.88

$1.49 ฿49.85

-6.71%

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

$35.2K R 579.7K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

31.88%

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

$31.7K R 522.0K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

18.61%

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

$105 R 1,734

$99.4 ฿3,321

5.91%

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

$34.81 R 573

$11.28 ฿377

208.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.50 R 700

$17.36 ฿580

144.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.96 R 378

$52.3 ฿1,747

-56.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.87 R 179

$10.85 ฿362

0.18%

Cinema Ticket

$7.27 R 120

$7.57 ฿253

-3.96%

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

$242 R 3,985

$558 ฿18.7K

-56.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,516 R 90.9K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-51.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.9 R 871

$62.9 ฿2,102

-15.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.01 R 544

$28.58 ฿955

15.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.7 R 1,626

$96.1 ฿3,213

2.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.3 R 1,438

$88.1 ฿2,943

-0.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$266 R 4,378

$729 ฿24.4K

-63.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$332 R 5,472

$460 ฿15.4K

-27.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$640 R 10.5K

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-69.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$940 R 15.5K

$1,222 ฿40.8K

-23.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$888 R 14.6K

$3,459 ฿115.6K

-74.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$649 R 10.7K

$2,489 ฿83.2K

-73.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$935 R 15.4K

$493 ฿16.5K

89.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

5.57

96.41%

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

Last update for Kimberley: October 11, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kimberley

$332 29.5%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 38.5% $128

Groceries & Markets

Kimberley

$228 20.2%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 17.6% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kimberley

$183 16.2%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 29.9% $55

Eating Out

Kimberley

$181 16.1%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 33.1% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Kimberley

$122 10.9%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 1.4% $1.7

Getting Around

Kimberley

$44 3.9%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 12.4% $5.5

Sport & Entertainment

Kimberley

$38 3.3%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 79.8% $30

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $266 in Kimberley versus $729 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 run about 90% higher in Kimberley, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $36.00 in Kimberley versus $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries tell a different story – $228 in Kimberley vs $268 in Phuket – so Kimberley wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Kimberley

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

11:16 11:16 AM

16:16 4:16 PM

5 h ahead of Kimberley

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

225,160

79,308

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Kimberley Phuket 8,860 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Kimberley
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

Kimberley vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Phuket is pricier by about 7%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,692 per month in Kimberley and $1,811 in Phuket. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kimberley, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,128 in Kimberley and $1,207 in Phuket. That's a gap of about 7%.

Public transport costs about 51% less in Kimberley. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Kimberley, where all-in costs run around $1,128, than in Phuket at $1,207. In Kimberley it covers expenses comfortably, while in Phuket it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Kimberley – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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