Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Middelburg, South Africa and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Middelburg: $1,099 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

52

Cost of Living Index in Middelburg
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Middelburg Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Middelburg

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,099

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,099 in Middelburg versus $1,294 in Phuket.

Middelburg $1,099
Phuket $1,294

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,695 in Middelburg versus $2,204 in Phuket.

Middelburg $1,695
Phuket $2,204

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,291 in Middelburg versus $3,115 in Phuket.

Middelburg $2,291
Phuket $3,115

Living in Middelburg costs roughly 15% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Middelburg 19% lower, Phuket 4% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.53 R 157

$4.39 ฿148

117.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.98 R 592

$32.31 ฿1,086

11.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.87 R 96.5

$8.70 ฿293

-32.53%

Cappuccino

$1.29 R 21.26

$2.72 ฿91.6

-52.57%

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

$0.83 R 13.58

$0.93 ฿31.28

-10.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.64 R 10.54

$0.50 ฿16.79

28.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.17 R 19.28

$2.53 ฿85.1

-53.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.52 R 25.01

$3.63 ฿122

-58.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 R 19.20

$1.74 ฿58.5

-32.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 R 17.14

$1.45 ฿48.77

-28.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.46 R 24.09

$1.50 ฿50.5

-2.67%

Eggs

$1.70 R 28.00

$2.17 ฿73.0

-21.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.76 R 94.8

$19.09 ฿642

-69.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.96 R 81.6

$3.40 ฿114

45.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.60 R 109

$10.90 ฿366

-39.45%

Apples (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.35

$2.94 ฿98.9

-43.54%

Banana (1kg)

$1.08 R 17.79

$1.69 ฿56.9

-36.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.12 R 18.42

$2.19 ฿73.8

-48.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.24 R 20.35

$2.12 ฿71.4

-41.51%

Potato (1kg)

$1.73 R 28.38

$1.46 ฿49.03

18.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.23 R 20.27

$1.37 ฿45.99

-10.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 R 20.37

$1.08 ฿36.17

14.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 R 17.10

$0.55 ฿18.34

89.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.39 R 39.37

$4.43 ฿149

-46.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.80 R 78.9

$18.25 ฿614

-73.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 R 28.99

$1.77 ฿59.6

-0.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 R 33.85

$2.88 ฿96.8

-28.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.42 R 23.40

$1.45 ฿48.66

-2.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$42.88 R 705

$54.9 ฿1,845

-21.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.94 R 15.45

$1.51 ฿50.9

-37.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.74 R 12.24

$0.78 ฿26.08

-5.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.57 R 190

$3.84 ฿129

201.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 R 21.95

$1.49 ฿50.0

-10.74%

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

$34.3K R 563.7K

$26.9K ฿903.7K

27.47%

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

$31.9K R 525.0K

$26.3K ฿885.7K

21.14%

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

$151 R 2,487

$97.8 ฿3,288

54.55%

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

$35.28 R 580

$11.29 ฿380

212.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.41 R 615

$17.19 ฿578

117.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.36 R 532

$68.3 ฿2,297

-52.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.35 R 203

$10.92 ฿367

13.10%

Cinema Ticket

$6.25 R 103

$7.43 ฿250

-15.88%

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

$236 R 3,879

$530 ฿17.8K

-55.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,077 R 100.0K

$18.8K ฿631.4K

-67.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.1 R 874

$61.7 ฿2,073

-13.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.79 R 523

$28.25 ฿950

12.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.9 R 1,626

$96.0 ฿3,228

2.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 R 1,427

$86.8 ฿2,919

-0.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$398 R 6,546

$721 ฿24.2K

-44.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$361 R 5,944

$509 ฿17.1K

-28.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$719 R 11.8K

$1,950 ฿65.6K

-63.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$728 R 12.0K

$1,397 ฿47.0K

-47.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$757 R 12.5K

$4,192 ฿140.9K

-81.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$670 R 11.0K

$3,298 ฿110.9K

-79.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,193 R 19.6K

$492 ฿16.5K

142.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.92

5.57

96.05%

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

Last update for Middelburg: October 31, 2026

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Middelburg

$361 32.9%

Phuket

$509 39.3% 40.8% $148

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Middelburg

$224 20.4%

Phuket

$126 9.8% 43.6% $98

Groceries & Markets

Middelburg

$170 15.4%

Phuket

$267 20.6% 57.3% $97

Eating Out

Middelburg

$124 11.3%

Phuket

$120 9.2% 3.7% $4.6

Clothing & Footwear

Middelburg

$122 11.1%

Phuket

$123 9.5% 0.8% $1

Getting Around

Middelburg

$53 4.8%

Phuket

$66 5.1% 24.1% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Middelburg

$45 4.1%

Phuket

$83 6.4% 85.5% $38

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $398 in Middelburg and $721 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Middelburg pays about 2.4 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $36 in Middelburg vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $170 vs $267, with Middelburg cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Middelburg

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

14:01 2:01 PM

19:01 7:01 PM

5 h ahead of Middelburg

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

87,348

79,308

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.08 USD

100 ZAR = 5.42 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 16.45 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.08 USD). 1 EUR = 18.44 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.42 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.69 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Middelburg Phuket 8,330 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Middelburg
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

Middelburg vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Middelburg wins on cost – living expenses run 15% lower than in Phuket. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Middelburg the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Middelburg is about 2.4 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: $398 in Middelburg versus $721 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Middelburg runs roughly 22% less than in Phuket. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $236 in Middelburg versus $530 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Middelburg is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.