Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lerwick and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $2,368 in Lerwick, rent and utilities included – about $13,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

114

Cost of Living Index in Lerwick
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Lerwick Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Lerwick

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,368

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,368 in Lerwick versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Lerwick $2,368
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,415 in Lerwick versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Lerwick $3,415
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,462 in Lerwick versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Lerwick $4,462
Phuket $2,845

Living in Lerwick is roughly 96% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lerwick is 75% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.15 £15.11

$4.40 ฿147

357.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$98.5 £73.9

$32.26 ฿1,078

205.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 £7.76

$8.76 ฿293

18.15%

Cappuccino

$5.40 £4.05

$2.83 ฿94.5

90.81%

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

$2.25 £1.69

$0.90 ฿30.14

150.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 £1.23

$0.47 ฿15.56

248.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.45 £4.84

$2.55 ฿85.2

152.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.86 £4.40

$3.83 ฿128

53.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 £1.16

$1.73 ฿57.7

-10.40%

White Bread (500g)

$1.69 £1.27

$1.47 ฿49.11

14.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.21 £1.66

$1.51 ฿50.6

46.36%

Eggs

$4.02 £3.02

$2.17 ฿72.7

85.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.37 £7.03

$19.70 ฿658

-52.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.57 £6.43

$3.34 ฿112

156.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 £10.84

$11.16 ฿373

29.39%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.27

$2.85 ฿95.1

6.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.51 £1.13

$1.70 ฿56.9

-11.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.76 £2.07

$2.19 ฿73.3

26.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.28 £2.46

$2.05 ฿68.4

60.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.83 £1.37

$1.45 ฿48.57

26.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 £1.28

$1.38 ฿46.16

23.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.26 £0.95

$1.07 ฿35.69

17.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 £1.16

$0.51 ฿16.91

203.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$24.02 £18.02

$4.26 ฿142

463.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.48 £7.86

$18.58 ฿621

-43.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.00 £2.25

$1.78 ฿59.7

68.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 £2.46

$2.85 ฿95.2

14.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.07 £2.30

$2.26 ฿75.6

35.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$83.1 £62.3

$22.10 ฿738

275.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.23 £3.18

$3.01 ฿101

40.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.35 £1.76

$1.06 ฿35.34

121.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.03 £18.03

$3.86 ฿129

522.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.34 £1.75

$1.45 ฿48.45

61.38%

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

$38.9K £29.2K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

47.67%

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

$34.5K £25.9K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

27.93%

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

$309 £232

$96.4 ฿3,221

221.09%

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

$19.33 £14.50

$11.04 ฿369

75.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.26 £33.95

$17.14 ฿573

164.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.8 £39.61

$52.2 ฿1,744

1.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

Cinema Ticket

$13.32 £9.99

$7.81 ฿261

70.55%

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

$1,392 £1,045

$556 ฿18.6K

150.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.5K £18.4K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

111.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.7 £66.5

$64.2 ฿2,146

38.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.6 £37.93

$28.69 ฿959

76.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.1 £66.8

$95.4 ฿3,187

-6.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 £82.8

$88.0 ฿2,940

25.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,112 £834

$737 ฿24.6K

50.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,036 £777

$462 ฿15.5K

124.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,395 £1,797

$2,095 ฿70.0K

14.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,523 £1,143

$1,201 ฿40.1K

26.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,646 £3,486

$3,488 ฿116.6K

33.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,438 £2,579

$2,523 ฿84.3K

36.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.09

5.57

-8.62%

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

Last update for Lerwick: October 18, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lerwick

$1K 43.7%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 55.4% $573

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lerwick

$374 15.8%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 66.7% $250

Eating Out

Lerwick

$317 13.4%

Phuket

$121 10% 61.7% $195

Groceries & Markets

Lerwick

$298 12.6%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 9.9% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Lerwick

$152 6.4%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 18.4% $28

Getting Around

Lerwick

$111 4.7%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 64.6% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Lerwick

$79 3.4%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 14.7% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,112 in Lerwick and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $99.0 in Lerwick vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $298 vs $269 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Lerwick

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

17:23 5:23 PM

23:23 11:23 PM

6 h ahead of Lerwick

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,000

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

Lerwick Phuket 9,770 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Lerwick
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

Lerwick vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 96% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $3,552 in Lerwick and $1,813 in Phuket to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,112 in Lerwick versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,368 per month in Lerwick versus $1,208 in Phuket – a 96% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 276% less than in Lerwick. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,368 in Lerwick, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Lerwick. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Lerwick 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 96% less than in Lerwick. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.