Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Oban and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $2,142 in Oban, rent and utilities included – about $11,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

103

Cost of Living Index in Oban
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Oban Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Oban

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,142

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,142 per month in Oban vs $1,208 in Phuket, rent included.

Oban $2,142
Phuket $1,208

A couple spends around $3,149 per month in Oban vs $2,027 in Phuket, rent included.

Oban $3,149
Phuket $2,027

A family of three spends $4,156 per month in Oban vs $2,845 in Phuket, rent included.

Oban $4,156
Phuket $2,845

Oban costs about 77% more than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Oban sits 58% above the global median, while Phuket is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.86 £11.90

$4.40 ฿147

260.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$85.5 £64.1

$32.26 ฿1,078

164.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.30 £6.98

$8.76 ฿293

6.16%

Cappuccino

$4.85 £3.64

$2.83 ฿94.5

71.38%

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

$2.24 £1.68

$0.90 ฿30.14

148.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 £1.60

$0.47 ฿15.56

355.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.82 £4.37

$2.55 ฿85.2

128.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.06 £3.80

$3.83 ฿128

32.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 £1.13

$1.73 ฿57.7

-12.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.72 £1.29

$1.47 ฿49.11

17.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.00 £1.50

$1.51 ฿50.6

32.45%

Eggs

$4.56 £3.42

$2.17 ฿72.7

110.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 £6.64

$19.70 ฿658

-55.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.90 £8.93

$3.34 ฿112

256.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.69 £12.52

$11.16 ฿373

49.55%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 £2.20

$2.85 ฿95.1

2.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.33 £1.00

$1.70 ฿56.9

-21.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.75 £2.06

$2.19 ฿73.3

25.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.83 £2.87

$2.05 ฿68.4

86.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.73 £1.30

$1.45 ฿48.57

19.31%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 £1.09

$1.38 ฿46.16

5.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 £0.91

$1.07 ฿35.69

13.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 £1.20

$0.51 ฿16.91

213.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.80 £16.35

$4.26 ฿142

411.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.15 £8.36

$18.58 ฿621

-39.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.80 £2.10

$1.78 ฿59.7

57.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 £2.27

$2.85 ฿95.2

5.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.57 £2.68

$2.26 ฿75.6

57.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$98.0 £73.6

$22.10 ฿738

343.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.88 £2.91

$3.01 ฿101

28.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.38 £1.78

$1.06 ฿35.34

124.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.74 £17.81

$3.86 ฿129

515.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.53

$1.45 ฿48.45

40.69%

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

$38.4K £28.8K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

45.98%

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

$40.4K £30.3K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

49.93%

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

$339 £254

$96.4 ฿3,221

251.94%

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

$28.24 £21.19

$11.04 ฿369

155.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.43 £31.83

$17.14 ฿573

147.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.42 £34.08

$52.2 ฿1,744

-12.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.49 £4.87

$11.16 ฿373

-41.85%

Cinema Ticket

$11.44 £8.58

$7.81 ฿261

46.48%

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

$1,778 £1,334

$556 ฿18.6K

219.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.7K £17.0K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

96.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$97.8 £73.4

$64.2 ฿2,146

52.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.68 £36.52

$28.69 ฿959

69.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 £79.3

$95.4 ฿3,187

10.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 £86.7

$88.0 ฿2,940

31.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,206 £905

$737 ฿24.6K

63.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$778 £584

$462 ฿15.5K

68.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,071 £1,553

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-1.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,231 £924

$1,201 ฿40.1K

2.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,074 £3,806

$3,488 ฿116.6K

45.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,866 £2,900

$2,523 ฿84.3K

53.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,005 £2,254

$501 ฿16.7K

500.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

5.57

-8.26%

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

Last update for Oban: October 19, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Oban

$778 36.4%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 40.6% $316

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Oban

$410 19.1%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 69.6% $285

Groceries & Markets

Oban

$322 15%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 16.5% $53

Eating Out

Oban

$270 12.6%

Phuket

$121 10% 55.1% $149

Clothing & Footwear

Oban

$165 7.7%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 24.9% $41

Getting Around

Oban

$128 6%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 69.2% $89

Sport & Entertainment

Oban

$68 3.2%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 0.7% $0.5

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,206 in Oban versus $737 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 run about 500% higher in Oban, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $85.0 in Oban versus $32.00 in Phuket. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $322 vs $269 – making Phuket the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Oban

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

04:09 4:09 AM

10:09 10:09 AM

6 h ahead of Oban

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,500

79,308

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 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 23, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Oban Phuket 10,120 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Oban
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

Oban vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,142 in Oban, $1,208 in Phuket – roughly 77% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,212 per month in Oban and $1,813 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Groceries cost about 20% more in Oban, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $85.0 in Oban and $32.00 in Phuket. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Phuket, where all-in costs run around $1,208, than in Oban at $2,142. In Phuket it covers expenses comfortably, while in Oban it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Phuket has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,208 in Phuket to $2,142 in Oban. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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