Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London, Canada and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,342 in London, rent and utilities included – about $12,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

112

Cost of Living Index in London
Learn more

London Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

London

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,342

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,342 in London versus $1,278 in Phuket.

London $2,342
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,356 in London versus $2,216 in Phuket.

London $3,356
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,370 in London versus $3,154 in Phuket.

London $4,370
Phuket $3,154

Living in London is roughly 83% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: London is 72% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.44 CA$29.96

$4.47 ฿151

379.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.9 CA$90.6

$32.41 ฿1,093

100.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.45 CA$17.40

$8.81 ฿297

41.32%

Cappuccino

$3.75 CA$5.24

$2.83 ฿95.4

32.51%

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

$2.21 CA$3.09

$0.87 ฿29.41

154.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 CA$2.98

$0.49 ฿16.65

334.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.26 CA$8.74

$2.56 ฿86.3

144.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.40 CA$8.94

$3.68 ฿124

73.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.89 CA$2.64

$1.66 ฿55.9

13.86%

White Bread (500g)

$2.67 CA$3.73

$1.46 ฿49.31

82.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.07 CA$5.68

$1.50 ฿50.5

171.33%

Eggs

$3.69 CA$5.15

$2.09 ฿70.5

76.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.02 CA$14.00

$19.07 ฿643

-47.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.75 CA$16.41

$3.30 ฿111

256.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.92 CA$20.85

$10.91 ฿368

36.76%

Apples (1kg)

$4.38 CA$6.11

$2.93 ฿98.9

49.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.21 CA$1.68

$1.69 ฿57.0

-28.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.79 CA$5.29

$2.25 ฿75.8

68.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.21 CA$5.88

$2.08 ฿70.0

102.40%

Potato (1kg)

$3.20 CA$4.47

$1.51 ฿51.0

111.92%

Onion (1kg)

$3.07 CA$4.30

$1.38 ฿46.52

122.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.52 CA$3.53

$1.07 ฿35.96

135.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 CA$2.16

$0.52 ฿17.51

196.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.01 CA$16.78

$4.20 ฿142

185.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.68 CA$17.72

$18.79 ฿634

-32.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.55 CA$3.57

$1.82 ฿61.5

40.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.91 CA$4.07

$2.84 ฿95.8

2.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.55 CA$3.56

$1.45 ฿48.98

75.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$80.3 CA$112

$56.7 ฿1,912

41.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.45 CA$3.42

$3.02 ฿102

-18.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.64 CA$2.29

$1.02 ฿34.33

60.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.15 CA$30.95

$3.69 ฿125

500.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 CA$1.74

$1.47 ฿49.76

-14.97%

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

$26.8K CA$37.5K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

0.11%

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

$23.2K CA$32.4K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

-13.21%

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

$139 CA$194

$96.4 ฿3,251

44.18%

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

$39.22 CA$54.8

$11.26 ฿380

248.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.6 CA$79.1

$16.85 ฿568

235.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.95 CA$50.2

$67.2 ฿2,268

-46.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.81 CA$40.25

$10.73 ฿362

168.50%

Cinema Ticket

$10.83 CA$15.14

$7.50 ฿253

44.40%

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

$419 CA$586

$476 ฿16.1K

-11.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.8K CA$29.1K

$11.3K ฿380.0K

84.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.2 CA$75.7

$62.4 ฿2,104

-13.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.94 CA$54.4

$28.41 ฿958

37.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.1 CA$113

$94.3 ฿3,181

-14.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.4 CA$128

$85.8 ฿2,895

6.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,323 CA$1,849

$716 ฿24.2K

84.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,149 CA$1,606

$491 ฿16.6K

134.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,099 CA$2,932

$1,927 ฿65.0K

8.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 CA$2,349

$1,431 ฿48.3K

17.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,124 CA$5,762

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-1.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,452 CA$4,823

$3,045 ฿102.7K

13.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,052 CA$4,265

$502 ฿16.9K

507.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.72

5.57

-15.26%

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

Last update for London: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$1.1K 49.1%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 57.3% $659

Groceries & Markets

London

$364 15.5%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 26.8% $98

Eating Out

London

$315 13.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 61.4% $194

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$235 10%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 47% $110

Clothing & Footwear

London

$119 5.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 2% $2.4

Getting Around

London

$101 4.3%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 30.2% $31

Sport & Entertainment

London

$58 2.5%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 42.7% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,323 in London and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays about 6.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $65 in London vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $364 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 London

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

03:41 3:41 AM

15:41 3:41 PM

12 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

383,822

79,308

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.716 USD

1 CAD = 0.641 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.716 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.641 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 CAD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Phuket 14,360 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

London
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

London vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 45% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in London is about 6.1 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: $1,323 in London versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $2,342 per month in London versus $1,278 in Phuket – Phuket is about 45% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 29% less than in London. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,342 in London, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in London. 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, London and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 45% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.