Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kyiv and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Kyiv: $996 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

48

Cost of Living Index in Kyiv
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Kyiv Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Kyiv

🇺🇦 Ukraine

$996

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $996 in Kyiv versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Kyiv $996
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,575 in Kyiv versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Kyiv $1,575
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,153 in Kyiv versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Kyiv $2,153
Phuket $3,154

Living in Kyiv costs roughly 22% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Kyiv 27% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.78 ₴491

$4.47 ฿151

141.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.91 ₴1,499

$32.41 ฿1,093

1.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.54 ₴343

$8.81 ฿297

-14.42%

Cappuccino

$1.81 ₴82.3

$2.83 ฿95.4

-36.04%

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

$0.76 ₴34.82

$0.87 ฿29.41

-12.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.59 ₴26.69

$0.49 ฿16.65

20.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.34 ₴60.9

$2.56 ฿86.3

-47.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.99 ₴90.7

$3.68 ฿124

-45.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 ₴60.9

$1.66 ฿55.9

-19.28%

White Bread (500g)

$0.83 ₴37.70

$1.46 ฿49.31

-43.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.49 ₴67.8

$1.50 ฿50.5

-0.67%

Eggs

$2.03 ₴92.6

$2.09 ฿70.5

-2.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.09 ₴460

$19.07 ฿643

-47.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.11 ₴233

$3.30 ฿111

54.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.65 ₴394

$10.91 ฿368

-20.71%

Apples (1kg)

$1.21 ₴55.2

$2.93 ฿98.9

-58.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 ₴71.1

$1.69 ฿57.0

-7.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.84 ₴83.9

$2.25 ฿75.8

-18.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 ₴123

$2.08 ฿70.0

29.33%

Potato (1kg)

$0.58 ₴26.22

$1.51 ฿51.0

-61.59%

Onion (1kg)

$0.45 ₴20.45

$1.38 ฿46.52

-67.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 ₴67.5

$1.07 ฿35.96

38.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.64 ₴29.25

$0.52 ฿17.51

23.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.35 ₴153

$4.20 ฿142

-20.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.42 ₴247

$18.79 ฿634

-71.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 ₴41.50

$1.82 ฿61.5

-50.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.35 ₴61.5

$2.84 ฿95.8

-52.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 ₴31.24

$1.45 ฿48.98

-52.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.38 ₴564

$56.7 ฿1,912

-78.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.21 ₴100

$3.02 ฿102

-26.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.45 ₴20.69

$1.02 ฿34.33

-55.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.70 ₴214

$3.69 ฿125

27.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 ₴82.7

$1.47 ฿49.76

23.81%

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

$30.9K ₴1.4M

$26.8K ฿903.4K

15.58%

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

$25.2K ₴1.1M

$26.7K ฿900.5K

-5.72%

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

$96.8 ₴4,409

$96.4 ฿3,251

0.50%

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

$6.86 ₴312

$11.26 ฿380

-39.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$6.30 ₴287

$16.85 ฿568

-62.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.13 ₴1,691

$67.2 ฿2,268

-44.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.04 ₴821

$10.73 ฿362

68.13%

Cinema Ticket

$5.60 ₴255

$7.50 ฿253

-25.33%

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

$424 ₴19.3K

$476 ฿16.1K

-10.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.1K ₴688.0K

$11.3K ฿380.0K

34.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$73.2 ₴3,333

$62.4 ฿2,104

17.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.13 ₴1,781

$28.41 ฿958

37.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.9 ₴4,322

$94.3 ฿3,181

0.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 ₴5,378

$85.8 ฿2,895

37.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$647 ₴29.5K

$716 ฿24.2K

-9.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$337 ₴15.3K

$491 ฿16.6K

-31.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,386 ₴63.1K

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-28.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 ₴29.7K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-54.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,590 ₴117.9K

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-37.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,160 ₴52.8K

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-61.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$820 ₴37.3K

$502 ฿16.9K

63.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

17.88

5.57

221.01%

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

Last update for Kyiv: October 24, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kyiv

$337 33.8%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 45.7% $154

Groceries & Markets

Kyiv

$188 18.9%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 41.5% $78

Eating Out

Kyiv

$147 14.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 17% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Kyiv

$146 14.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 16.8% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kyiv

$110 11%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 13.2% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Kyiv

$48 4.9%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 70.2% $34

Getting Around

Kyiv

$20 2%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 260% $51

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $647 in Kyiv and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kyiv pays 63% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $33 in Kyiv vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $188 vs $266, with Kyiv cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇺🇦 Kyiv

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

17:04 5:04 PM

22:04 10:04 PM

5 h ahead of Kyiv

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,908,249 Capital

79,308

💱 Currency

Ukrainian Hryvnia UAH ₴

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 UAH = 2.2 USD

100 UAH = 1.97 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to UAH – Ukrainian Hryvnia Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇺🇦 Ukrainian Hryvnia (₴)

Ukrainian Hryvnia exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 45.53 UAH (100 UAH = 2.2 USD). 1 EUR = 50.84 UAH (100 UAH = 1.97 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to UAH in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Kyiv Phuket 7,770 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Kyiv
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

Kyiv vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kyiv is about 22% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 63% higher in Kyiv, 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: $647 in Kyiv versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 42% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $33 in Kyiv. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

For families, Kyiv is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Phuket, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.