Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Livingston and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,109 in Livingston, rent and utilities included – about $10,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

101

Cost of Living Index in Livingston
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Livingston Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Livingston

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,109

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,109 in Livingston versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Livingston $2,109
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,288 in Livingston versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Livingston $3,288
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,467 in Livingston versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Livingston $4,467
Phuket $3,154

Living in Livingston is roughly 65% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Livingston is 55% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.94 £15.01

$4.47 ฿151

346.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$100 £75.5

$32.41 ฿1,094

209.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.45 £7.86

$8.81 ฿297

18.62%

Cappuccino

$5.24 £3.94

$2.83 ฿95.5

85.16%

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

$2.72 £2.04

$0.87 ฿29.43

212.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 £1.70

$0.49 ฿16.67

361.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.77 £5.10

$2.56 ฿86.4

164.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.70 £5.04

$3.68 ฿124

82.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 £1.08

$1.66 ฿56.0

-13.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.94 £1.46

$1.46 ฿49.35

32.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.22 £1.67

$1.50 ฿50.6

48.00%

Eggs

$3.66 £2.76

$2.09 ฿70.5

75.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.00 £6.77

$19.07 ฿644

-52.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.86 £6.67

$3.30 ฿111

168.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.53 £10.94

$10.91 ฿368

33.18%

Apples (1kg)

$2.91 £2.19

$2.93 ฿99.0

-0.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.82 £1.37

$1.69 ฿57.1

7.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 £2.16

$2.25 ฿75.8

27.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.41 £2.57

$2.08 ฿70.1

63.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.71 £1.29

$1.51 ฿51.0

13.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 £1.04

$1.38 ฿46.56

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 £0.91

$1.07 ฿35.99

13.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 £1.18

$0.52 ฿17.52

200.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.78 £15.64

$4.20 ฿142

394.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.81 £8.14

$18.79 ฿634

-42.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.06 £2.31

$1.82 ฿61.5

68.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.23 £2.43

$2.84 ฿95.9

13.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.49 £2.62

$1.45 ฿49.03

140.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.2 £71.7

$56.7 ฿1,913

68.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.29 £3.98

$3.02 ฿102

75.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.61 £1.21

$1.02 ฿34.36

57.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.76 £20.89

$3.69 ฿125

652.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.56

$1.47 ฿49.81

40.82%

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

$38.8K £29.2K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

44.83%

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

$40.0K £30.1K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

49.72%

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

$321 £242

$96.4 ฿3,254

233.40%

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

$16.94 £12.75

$11.26 ฿380

50.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.06 £30.90

$16.85 ฿569

143.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.04 £34.65

$67.2 ฿2,270

-31.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$10.51 £7.91

$7.50 ฿253

40.13%

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

$1,245 £937

$476 ฿16.1K

161.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.5K £13.2K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

55.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$92.2 £69.4

$62.4 ฿2,106

47.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.80 £35.98

$28.41 ฿959

68.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 £81.6

$94.3 ฿3,184

14.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.1 £72.4

$85.8 ฿2,898

12.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$852 £641

$716 ฿24.2K

18.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$763 £574

$491 ฿16.6K

55.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,930 £1,453

$1,927 ฿65.1K

0.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,502 £1,131

$1,431 ฿48.3K

5.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,998 £3,762

$4,175 ฿141.0K

19.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,861 £2,906

$3,045 ฿102.8K

26.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,972 £2,989

$502 ฿17.0K

690.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.15

5.57

-7.54%

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

Last update for Livingston: 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

Livingston

$763 36.2%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 35.6% $272

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Livingston

$379 18%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 67.2% $255

Eating Out

Livingston

$321 15.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 62.1% $199

Groceries & Markets

Livingston

$301 14.3%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 11.6% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Livingston

$155 7.4%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 21.4% $33

Getting Around

Livingston

$123 5.8%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 42.4% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Livingston

$67 3.2%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 22.6% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $852 in Livingston and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Livingston pays about 7.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $100 in Livingston vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $301 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Livingston

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

22:55 10:55 PM

05:55 5:55 AM

7 h ahead of Livingston

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

56,840

79,308

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.753 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.838 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Livingston Phuket 10,010 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Livingston
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

Livingston vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 39% lower than in Livingston. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Livingston is about 7.9 times higher, 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: $852 in Livingston versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,245 in Livingston versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 13% higher in Livingston. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,109 in Livingston, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Livingston. 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.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 39% less than in Livingston. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.