Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Meilen and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $3,386 in Meilen, rent and utilities included – about $25,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

164

Cost of Living Index in Meilen
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Meilen Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Meilen

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,386

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,386 per month in Meilen vs $1,278 in Phuket, rent included.

Meilen $3,386
Phuket $1,278

A couple spends around $5,977 per month in Meilen vs $2,216 in Phuket, rent included.

Meilen $5,977
Phuket $2,216

A family of three spends $8,568 per month in Meilen vs $3,154 in Phuket, rent included.

Meilen $8,568
Phuket $3,154

Meilen costs about 165% more than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meilen sits 149% above the global median, while Phuket is 6% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$32.96 CHF 27.19

$4.47 ฿151

637.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$120 CHF 98.8

$32.41 ฿1,093

269.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$16.48 CHF 13.60

$8.81 ฿297

87.06%

Cappuccino

$6.36 CHF 5.24

$2.83 ฿95.4

124.73%

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

$5.76 CHF 4.75

$0.87 ฿29.41

562.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.25 CHF 4.33

$0.49 ฿16.65

971.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.63 CHF 7.12

$2.56 ฿86.3

237.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.56 CHF 7.06

$3.68 ฿124

132.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.18 CHF 1.80

$1.66 ฿55.9

31.33%

White Bread (500g)

$3.42 CHF 2.82

$1.46 ฿49.31

134.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.74 CHF 3.08

$1.50 ฿50.5

149.33%

Eggs

$7.85 CHF 6.48

$2.09 ฿70.5

275.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$26.09 CHF 21.52

$19.07 ฿643

36.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$25.84 CHF 21.32

$3.30 ฿111

683.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$39.94 CHF 32.94

$10.91 ฿368

266.09%

Apples (1kg)

$3.49 CHF 2.88

$2.93 ฿98.9

19.11%

Banana (1kg)

$2.11 CHF 1.74

$1.69 ฿57.0

24.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.71 CHF 2.24

$2.25 ฿75.8

20.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.50 CHF 3.71

$2.08 ฿70.0

116.35%

Potato (1kg)

$2.07 CHF 1.71

$1.51 ฿51.0

37.09%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 CHF 1.80

$1.38 ฿46.52

57.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.36 CHF 1.94

$1.07 ฿35.96

120.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 CHF 1.04

$0.52 ฿17.51

142.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.05 CHF 9.12

$4.20 ฿142

163.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.29 CHF 10.96

$18.79 ฿634

-29.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.25 CHF 1.85

$1.82 ฿61.5

23.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 CHF 2.60

$2.84 ฿95.8

10.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.43 CHF 3.65

$1.45 ฿48.98

205.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$102 CHF 84.2

$56.7 ฿1,912

80.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.64 CHF 6.30

$3.02 ฿102

152.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.50 CHF 3.71

$1.02 ฿34.33

341.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$87.5 CHF 72.2

$3.69 ฿125

2272.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 CHF 1.81

$1.47 ฿49.76

48.98%

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

$38.6K CHF 31.9K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

44.33%

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

$39.0K CHF 32.1K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

45.98%

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

$234 CHF 193

$96.4 ฿3,251

142.69%

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

$38.39 CHF 31.67

$11.26 ฿380

240.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$64.6 CHF 53.3

$16.85 ฿568

283.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$90.9 CHF 75.0

$67.2 ฿2,268

35.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$45.64 CHF 37.65

$10.73 ฿362

325.35%

Cinema Ticket

$23.65 CHF 19.51

$7.50 ฿253

215.33%

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

$2,822 CHF 2,328

$476 ฿16.1K

493.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$42.6K CHF 35.2K

$11.3K ฿380.0K

278.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$138 CHF 114

$62.4 ฿2,104

121.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.1 CHF 47.96

$28.41 ฿958

104.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$145 CHF 120

$94.3 ฿3,181

54.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$175 CHF 144

$85.8 ฿2,895

103.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,778 CHF 1,466

$716 ฿24.2K

148.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,463 CHF 1,207

$491 ฿16.6K

197.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,894 CHF 2,388

$1,927 ฿65.0K

50.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,088 CHF 3,372

$1,431 ฿48.3K

185.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$16.4K CHF 13.5K

$4,175 ฿140.9K

292.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$12.6K CHF 10.4K

$3,045 ฿102.7K

314.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$8,262 CHF 6,815

$502 ฿16.9K

1544.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.72

5.57

-69.12%

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

Last update for Meilen: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Meilen

$1.5K 43.2%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 66.4% $972

Groceries & Markets

Meilen

$572 16.9%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 53.5% $306

Eating Out

Meilen

$494 14.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 75.4% $372

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Meilen

$337 10%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 63% $212

Clothing & Footwear

Meilen

$232 6.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 47.5% $110

Getting Around

Meilen

$150 4.4%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 52.9% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Meilen

$138 4.1%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 40.5% $56

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,778 in Meilen versus $716 in Phuket. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Meilen are about 16 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $120 in Meilen versus $32 in Phuket. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $572 vs $266 – making Phuket the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Meilen

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

00:53 12:53 AM

06:53 6:53 AM

6 h ahead of Meilen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,515

79,308

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.825 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.921 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 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 CHF in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Meilen Phuket 9,350 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Meilen
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

Meilen vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Meilen costs about 165% more than Phuket, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $5,079 per month in Meilen and $1,917 in Phuket. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Phuket, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $716 there versus $1,778 in Meilen.

Public transport costs about 44% less in Phuket. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $2,822 per month in Meilen and $476 in Phuket. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Phuket, where all-in costs run around $1,278, than in Meilen at $3,386. In Phuket it covers expenses comfortably, while in Meilen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Phuket – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with Phuket. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Meilen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.