Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Krakow and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,190 a month against $1,811 in Krakow, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in Krakow
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Krakow Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

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Krakow

🇵🇱 Poland

$1,811

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,190

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,811 in Krakow versus $1,190 in Phuket.

Krakow $1,811
Phuket $1,190

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,597 in Krakow versus $2,006 in Phuket.

Krakow $2,597
Phuket $2,006

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,383 in Krakow versus $2,822 in Phuket.

Krakow $3,383
Phuket $2,822

Living in Krakow is roughly 52% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Krakow is 35% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.89 zł 46.46

$4.35 ฿146

173.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.2 zł 196

$32.45 ฿1,087

54.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 zł 38.92

$8.42 ฿282

18.29%

Cappuccino

$4.12 zł 16.09

$2.81 ฿94.0

46.62%

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

$2.57 zł 10.05

$0.87 ฿29.29

195.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.44 zł 9.52

$0.46 ฿15.39

430.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.57 zł 17.88

$2.59 ฿86.6

76.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.56 zł 17.84

$3.64 ฿122

25.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.06 zł 4.13

$1.71 ฿57.2

-38.01%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 zł 5.74

$1.45 ฿48.42

1.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 zł 6.62

$1.56 ฿52.3

8.33%

Eggs

$3.95 zł 15.42

$2.10 ฿70.3

88.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.31 zł 36.37

$19.53 ฿654

-52.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.75 zł 30.29

$3.40 ฿114

127.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.20 zł 51.6

$11.14 ฿373

18.49%

Apples (1kg)

$1.34 zł 5.23

$2.83 ฿94.8

-52.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 zł 6.62

$1.62 ฿54.3

4.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 zł 6.86

$2.22 ฿74.5

-20.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.06 zł 11.95

$2.15 ฿71.9

42.33%

Potato (1kg)

$0.92 zł 3.61

$1.49 ฿49.95

-38.26%

Onion (1kg)

$0.98 zł 3.83

$1.33 ฿44.40

-26.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.23 zł 4.81

$1.07 ฿35.72

14.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.80 zł 3.13

$0.51 ฿17.01

56.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.22 zł 24.33

$4.38 ฿147

42.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.30 zł 24.61

$18.77 ฿629

-66.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 zł 4.63

$1.74 ฿58.3

-32.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 zł 6.90

$2.78 ฿92.9

-36.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 zł 5.86

$2.17 ฿72.6

-30.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$33.54 zł 131

$22.28 ฿746

50.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.28 zł 8.91

$3.02 ฿101

-24.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.99 zł 3.88

$1.06 ฿35.43

-6.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.22 zł 47.78

$3.71 ฿124

229.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 zł 6.62

$1.43 ฿47.88

18.18%

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

$30.4K zł 119.0K

$26.3K ฿882.1K

15.57%

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

$28.9K zł 112.9K

$26.2K ฿877.3K

10.26%

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

$333 zł 1,301

$96.7 ฿3,236

244.43%

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

$8.71 zł 34.03

$11.41 ฿382

-23.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.32 zł 67.7

$17.11 ฿573

1.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.70 zł 179

$52.8 ฿1,768

-13.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.11 zł 98.2

$11.07 ฿371

126.83%

Cinema Ticket

$8.69 zł 33.95

$7.65 ฿256

13.59%

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

$463 zł 1,808

$555 ฿18.6K

-16.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,594 zł 37.5K

$11.3K ฿377.7K

-14.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.1 zł 387

$63.4 ฿2,123

56.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.31 zł 158

$28.61 ฿958

40.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.3 zł 353

$96.7 ฿3,238

-6.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 zł 464

$88.6 ฿2,967

34.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$946 zł 3,698

$735 ฿24.6K

28.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 zł 2,804

$458 ฿15.3K

56.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,440 zł 5,629

$2,102 ฿70.4K

-31.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,136 zł 4,439

$1,187 ฿39.7K

-4.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,602 zł 21.9K

$3,493 ฿116.9K

60.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,540 zł 13.8K

$2,491 ฿83.4K

42.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,855 zł 7,250

$501 ฿16.8K

270.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.62

5.57

18.85%

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

Last update for Krakow: October 3, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Krakow

$717 39.8%

Phuket

$458 38.1% 36.2% $259

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Krakow

$359 19.9%

Phuket

$125 10.4% 65.1% $234

Groceries & Markets

Krakow

$235 13%

Phuket

$268 22.3% 14.3% $33

Eating Out

Krakow

$226 12.6%

Phuket

$119 9.9% 47.3% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Krakow

$157 8.7%

Phuket

$125 10.4% 20.4% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Krakow

$63 3.5%

Phuket

$68 5.7% 8% $5

Getting Around

Krakow

$47 2.6%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 16.1% $7.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $946 in Krakow and $735 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Krakow pays 270% 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: $50.0 in Krakow vs $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $235 vs $268, with Krakow cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇱 Krakow

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

15:09 3:09 PM

20:09 8:09 PM

5 h ahead of Krakow

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

806,201

79,308

💱 Currency

Polish Złoty PLN zł

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 PLN = 0.256 USD

1 PLN = 0.228 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to PLN – Polish Złoty Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇱 Polish Złoty (zł)

Polish Złoty exchange rates as of October 11, 2026: 1 USD = 3.91 PLN (1 PLN = 0.256 USD). 1 EUR = 4.38 PLN (1 PLN = 0.228 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 11, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

USD to PLN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Krakow Phuket 8,510 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Krakow
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

Krakow vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 52% lower than in Krakow. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 270% higher in Krakow, 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: $946 in Krakow versus $735 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Krakow pay roughly 14% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $50.0 in Krakow. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,190 in Phuket versus $1,811 in Krakow, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Krakow. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Phuket delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,190 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Phuket hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Krakow 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 52% less than in Krakow. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.