Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lowestoft and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,625 in Lowestoft, rent and utilities included – about $16,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

126

Cost of Living Index in Lowestoft
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Lowestoft Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Lowestoft

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,625

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,625 in Lowestoft versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Lowestoft $2,625
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,865 in Lowestoft versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Lowestoft $3,865
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,105 in Lowestoft versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Lowestoft $5,105
Phuket $3,154

Living in Lowestoft is roughly 105% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lowestoft is 93% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$27.13 £20.39

$4.47 ฿151

506.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$105 £79.2

$32.41 ฿1,094

224.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.05

$8.81 ฿297

21.57%

Cappuccino

$5.54 £4.16

$2.83 ฿95.5

95.76%

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

$2.92 £2.19

$0.87 ฿29.43

235.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 £1.61

$0.49 ฿16.67

336.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.31 £4.74

$2.56 ฿86.4

146.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.97 £5.99

$3.68 ฿124

116.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 £1.44

$1.66 ฿56.0

15.66%

White Bread (500g)

$2.00 £1.51

$1.46 ฿49.35

36.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.47 £1.86

$1.50 ฿50.6

64.67%

Eggs

$4.95 £3.72

$2.09 ฿70.5

136.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 £9.47

$19.07 ฿644

-33.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.54 £7.92

$3.30 ฿111

219.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.21 £12.94

$10.91 ฿368

57.75%

Apples (1kg)

$3.14 £2.36

$2.93 ฿99.0

7.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 £1.04

$1.69 ฿57.1

-18.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.14 £2.36

$2.25 ฿75.8

39.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.43 £2.57

$2.08 ฿70.1

64.90%

Potato (1kg)

$1.68 £1.27

$1.51 ฿51.0

11.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.72 £1.30

$1.38 ฿46.56

24.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 £1.11

$1.07 ฿35.99

38.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$0.52 ฿17.52

246.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.71 £17.82

$4.20 ฿142

464.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.22 £9.94

$18.79 ฿634

-29.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.19 £2.40

$1.82 ฿61.5

75.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.49 £3.37

$2.84 ฿95.9

58.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.51 £2.64

$1.45 ฿49.03

142.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.2 £71.6

$56.7 ฿1,913

68.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.55 £4.17

$3.02 ฿102

83.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.27 £2.46

$1.02 ฿34.36

220.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.08 £19.60

$3.69 ฿125

606.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.56

$1.47 ฿49.81

40.82%

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

$38.2K £28.7K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

42.73%

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

$40.5K £30.5K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

51.91%

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

$379 £285

$96.4 ฿3,254

293.11%

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

$18.61 £13.99

$11.26 ฿380

65.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.08 £30.87

$16.85 ฿569

143.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.05 £35.36

$67.2 ฿2,270

-30.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$17.91 £13.46

$7.50 ฿253

138.80%

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

$2,861 £2,150

$476 ฿16.1K

501.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$36.0K £27.1K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

219.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.4

$62.4 ฿2,106

86.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.0 £41.36

$28.41 ฿959

93.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$126 £94.5

$94.3 ฿3,184

33.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$162 £122

$85.8 ฿2,898

88.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,226 £921

$716 ฿24.2K

71.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,031 £775

$491 ฿16.6K

109.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,125 £1,597

$1,927 ฿65.1K

10.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,632 £1,227

$1,431 ฿48.3K

14.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,020 £3,773

$4,175 ฿141.0K

20.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,878 £2,914

$3,045 ฿102.8K

27.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

5.57

-14.90%

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

Last update for Lowestoft: 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

Lowestoft

$1K 39.3%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 52.4% $540

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lowestoft

$438 16.7%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 71.6% $314

Eating Out

Lowestoft

$383 14.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 68.3% $262

Groceries & Markets

Lowestoft

$352 13.4%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 24.4% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Lowestoft

$207 7.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 41% $85

Getting Around

Lowestoft

$131 5%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 46.2% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Lowestoft

$83 3.2%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 0.8% $0.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,226 in Lowestoft and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $105 in Lowestoft vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $352 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Lowestoft

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

14:01 2:01 PM

21:01 9:01 PM

7 h ahead of Lowestoft

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

64,358

79,308

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 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 = 0.752 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.836 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

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Between locations

Lowestoft Phuket 9,760 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Lowestoft
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

Lowestoft vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 105% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $3,938 in Lowestoft and $1,917 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: $1,226 in Lowestoft versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,861 in Lowestoft 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 32% higher in Lowestoft. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,625 in Lowestoft, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Lowestoft. 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, Lowestoft 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 51% less than in Lowestoft. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.