Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Milan and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,555 in Milan, rent and utilities included – about $15,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

122

Cost of Living Index in Milan
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Milan Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Milan

🇮🇹 Italy

$2,555

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,555 in Milan versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Milan $2,555
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,859 in Milan versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Milan $3,859
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,163 in Milan versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Milan $5,163
Phuket $3,154

Living in Milan is roughly 100% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Milan is 88% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.10 €19.85

$4.47 ฿151

394.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$89.0 €80.0

$32.41 ฿1,094

174.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.35 €11.99

$8.81 ฿297

51.53%

Cappuccino

$2.14 €1.92

$2.83 ฿95.5

-24.38%

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

$3.68 €3.31

$0.87 ฿29.43

322.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 €1.75

$0.49 ฿16.67

297.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.96 €6.26

$2.56 ฿86.4

171.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.78 €6.09

$3.68 ฿124

84.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.75 €1.57

$1.66 ฿56.0

5.42%

White Bread (500g)

$3.19 €2.86

$1.46 ฿49.35

118.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.69 €3.31

$1.50 ฿50.6

146.00%

Eggs

$5.02 €4.51

$2.09 ฿70.5

140.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$23.30 €20.94

$19.07 ฿644

22.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.73 €13.24

$3.30 ฿111

346.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.89 €20.57

$10.91 ฿368

109.81%

Apples (1kg)

$2.96 €2.66

$2.93 ฿99.0

1.02%

Banana (1kg)

$2.31 €2.07

$1.69 ฿57.1

36.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.23 €2.90

$2.25 ฿75.8

43.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.30 €3.87

$2.08 ฿70.1

106.73%

Potato (1kg)

$2.26 €2.03

$1.51 ฿51.0

49.67%

Onion (1kg)

$2.00 €1.79

$1.38 ฿46.56

44.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.78 €1.60

$1.07 ฿35.99

66.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 €0.55

$0.52 ฿17.52

17.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.25 €6.51

$4.20 ฿142

72.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.77 €8.78

$18.79 ฿634

-48.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.74

$1.82 ฿61.5

6.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 €2.14

$2.84 ฿95.9

-16.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.45 €2.20

$1.45 ฿49.03

68.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$43.45 €39.04

$56.7 ฿1,913

-23.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.62 €6.85

$3.02 ฿102

152.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.29 €2.06

$1.02 ฿34.36

124.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$65.1 €58.5

$3.69 ฿125

1663.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.47 ฿49.81

49.66%

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

$36.3K €32.7K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

35.74%

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

$37.4K €33.6K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

40.24%

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

$248 €223

$96.4 ฿3,254

157.15%

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

$10.29 €9.25

$11.26 ฿380

-8.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.70 €26.69

$16.85 ฿569

76.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$82.9 €74.4

$67.2 ฿2,270

23.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$33.55 €30.14

$10.73 ฿362

212.67%

Cinema Ticket

$11.38 €10.22

$7.50 ฿253

51.73%

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

$939 €844

$476 ฿16.1K

97.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K €16.8K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

66.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €91.0

$62.4 ฿2,106

62.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.50 €44.48

$28.41 ฿959

74.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 €104

$94.3 ฿3,184

22.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$164 €147

$85.8 ฿2,898

90.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,764 €1,585

$716 ฿24.2K

146.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,164 €1,046

$491 ฿16.6K

137.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,429 €3,081

$1,927 ฿65.1K

77.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,975 €1,774

$1,431 ฿48.3K

38.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$10.6K €9,501

$4,175 ฿141.0K

153.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,220 €4,690

$3,045 ฿102.8K

71.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,162 €1,942

$502 ฿17.0K

330.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.18

5.57

-42.91%

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

Last update for Milan: October 27, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Milan

$1.2K 45.6%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 57.8% $673

Groceries & Markets

Milan

$419 16.4%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 36.4% $152

Eating Out

Milan

$313 12.3%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 61.2% $192

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Milan

$288 11.3%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 56.7% $163

Clothing & Footwear

Milan

$194 7.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 37% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Milan

$106 4.1%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 22.1% $23

Getting Around

Milan

$72 2.8%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 2.4% $1.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,764 in Milan and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Milan pays about 4.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $89 in Milan vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $419 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Milan

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

08:33 8:33 AM

14:33 2:33 PM

6 h ahead of Milan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,394,798

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Milan Phuket 9,320 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Milan
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

Milan vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 100% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Milan is about 4.3 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: $1,764 in Milan versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $939 in Milan 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 57% higher in Milan. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,555 in Milan, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Milan. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Phuket is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Milan, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Milan 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.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Milan on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.