Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kirkwall and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $2,121 in Kirkwall, rent and utilities included – about $11,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

103

Cost of Living Index in Kirkwall
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Kirkwall Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Kirkwall

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,121

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,121 in Kirkwall versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Kirkwall $2,121
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,026 in Kirkwall versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Kirkwall $3,026
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,931 in Kirkwall versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Kirkwall $3,931
Phuket $2,845

Living in Kirkwall is roughly 76% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kirkwall is 57% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.63 £17.73

$4.40 ฿147

437.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$94.8 £71.1

$32.26 ฿1,078

193.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.57 £7.93

$8.76 ฿293

20.66%

Cappuccino

$3.92 £2.94

$2.83 ฿94.5

38.52%

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

$3.26 £2.44

$0.90 ฿30.14

262.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 £0.98

$0.47 ฿15.56

178.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.20 £4.65

$2.55 ฿85.2

143.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.47 £6.36

$3.83 ฿128

121.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.79 £0.59

$1.73 ฿57.7

-54.34%

White Bread (500g)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.47 ฿49.11

7.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.05 £1.54

$1.51 ฿50.6

35.76%

Eggs

$3.22 £2.42

$2.17 ฿72.7

48.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.59 £4.95

$19.70 ฿658

-66.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.97 £6.73

$3.34 ฿112

168.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.90 £11.92

$11.16 ฿373

42.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 £1.65

$2.85 ฿95.1

-22.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 £1.48

$1.70 ฿56.9

15.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 £1.18

$2.19 ฿73.3

-28.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.32 £0.99

$2.05 ฿68.4

-35.61%

Potato (1kg)

$1.11 £0.83

$1.45 ฿48.57

-23.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 £0.82

$1.38 ฿46.16

-21.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 £0.58

$1.07 ฿35.69

-28.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 £0.81

$0.51 ฿16.91

111.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.10 £15.08

$4.26 ฿142

371.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.18 £6.89

$18.58 ฿621

-50.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.71 £2.03

$1.78 ฿59.7

52.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 £2.16

$2.85 ฿95.2

1.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$10.51 £7.89

$2.26 ฿75.6

365.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$107 £80.4

$22.10 ฿738

384.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.19 £3.90

$3.01 ฿101

72.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.58 £1.93

$1.06 ฿35.34

143.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.06 £20.30

$3.86 ฿129

601.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.05 £1.54

$1.45 ฿48.45

41.38%

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

$37.8K £28.4K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

43.75%

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

$41.2K £30.9K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

52.74%

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

$282 £212

$96.4 ฿3,221

193.07%

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

$30.12 £22.60

$11.04 ฿369

172.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.04 £24.79

$17.14 ฿573

92.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.73 £31.31

$52.2 ฿1,744

-20.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

Cinema Ticket

$11.46 £8.60

$7.81 ฿261

46.73%

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

$1,237 £928

$556 ฿18.6K

122.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.5 £68.7

$64.2 ฿2,146

42.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.72 £32.80

$28.69 ฿959

52.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.0 £71.3

$95.4 ฿3,187

-0.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$138 £103

$88.0 ฿2,940

56.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$935 £701

$737 ฿24.6K

26.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$792 £594

$462 ฿15.5K

71.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,182 £887

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-43.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$966 £725

$1,201 ฿40.1K

-19.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,914 £1,436

$501 ฿16.7K

282.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.07

5.57

-8.98%

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

Last update for Kirkwall: October 19, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kirkwall

$792 37.3%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 41.6% $329

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kirkwall

$346 16.3%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 64% $221

Eating Out

Kirkwall

$334 15.8%

Phuket

$121 10% 63.7% $213

Groceries & Markets

Kirkwall

$252 11.9%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 6.6% $17

Getting Around

Kirkwall

$167 7.9%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 76.4% $128

Clothing & Footwear

Kirkwall

$165 7.8%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 24.9% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Kirkwall

$65 3.1%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 4.9% $3.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $935 in Kirkwall and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kirkwall pays 282% 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: $95.0 in Kirkwall vs $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $252 vs $269, with Kirkwall cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Kirkwall

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

18:48 6:48 PM

00:48 12:48 AM

6 h ahead of Kirkwall

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,500

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 22, 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 22, 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 →

On the map

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Between locations

Kirkwall Phuket 9,900 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Kirkwall
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

Kirkwall vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kirkwall and Phuket differ by about 76% in total monthly costs ($2,121 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 282% higher in Kirkwall, 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: $935 in Kirkwall versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $95.0 in Kirkwall. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,121 per month in Kirkwall versus $1,208 in Phuket – a 76% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,121 in Kirkwall, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Kirkwall. 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, Kirkwall 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 76% less than in Kirkwall. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.