Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ostend and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,840 in Ostend, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in Ostend
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Ostend Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Ostend

🇧🇪 Belgium

$1,840

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,840 in Ostend versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Ostend $1,840
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,725 in Ostend versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Ostend $2,725
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,611 in Ostend versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Ostend $3,611
Phuket $3,154

Living in Ostend is roughly 44% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ostend is 35% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.11 €19.80

$4.47 ฿151

394.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$77.6 €69.5

$32.41 ฿1,093

139.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.50 €12.09

$8.81 ฿297

53.23%

Cappuccino

$4.20 €3.76

$2.83 ฿95.4

48.41%

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

$2.91 €2.60

$0.87 ฿29.41

234.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.61 €2.34

$0.49 ฿16.65

432.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.54 €4.06

$2.56 ฿86.3

77.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.90

$3.68 ฿124

18.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 €1.06

$1.66 ฿55.9

-28.31%

White Bread (500g)

$2.69 €2.41

$1.46 ฿49.31

84.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.00 €1.79

$1.50 ฿50.5

33.33%

Eggs

$3.88 €3.47

$2.09 ฿70.5

85.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.65 €10.44

$19.07 ฿643

-38.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.86 €10.62

$3.30 ฿111

259.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.65 €12.22

$10.91 ฿368

25.11%

Apples (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.93 ฿98.9

-7.85%

Banana (1kg)

$2.06 €1.84

$1.69 ฿57.0

21.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.16 €1.93

$2.25 ฿75.8

-4.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.22 €1.99

$2.08 ฿70.0

6.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.58

$1.51 ฿51.0

17.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.68 €1.51

$1.38 ฿46.52

21.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 €1.11

$1.07 ฿35.96

15.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.95 €0.85

$0.52 ฿17.51

82.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.11 €9.05

$4.20 ฿142

140.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.65 €5.96

$18.79 ฿634

-64.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.99 €1.78

$1.82 ฿61.5

9.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.67

$2.84 ฿95.8

-34.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.30 €2.96

$1.45 ฿48.98

127.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$39.48 €35.35

$56.7 ฿1,912

-30.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.44 €3.08

$3.02 ฿102

13.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.18 €1.95

$1.02 ฿34.33

113.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.61 €22.93

$3.69 ฿125

594.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.95 €1.74

$1.47 ฿49.76

32.65%

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

$35.2K €31.6K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

31.64%

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

$31.3K €28.0K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

17.19%

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

$178 €159

$96.4 ฿3,251

84.76%

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

$18.03 €16.14

$11.26 ฿380

60.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 €48.04

$16.85 ฿568

218.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.64 €32.82

$67.2 ฿2,268

-45.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.33 €10.15

$10.73 ฿362

5.59%

Cinema Ticket

$14.59 €13.06

$7.50 ฿253

94.53%

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

$379 €339

$476 ฿16.1K

-20.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.4K €14.7K

$11.3K ฿380.0K

45.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.0 €88.7

$62.4 ฿2,104

58.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.65 €22.97

$28.41 ฿958

-9.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.0 €79.7

$94.3 ฿3,181

-5.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €109

$85.8 ฿2,895

41.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$800 €716

$716 ฿24.2K

11.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$690 €618

$491 ฿16.6K

40.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,250 €1,120

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-35.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$992 €888

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-30.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,798 €3,402

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-9.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,973 €1,767

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-35.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,053 €2,734

$502 ฿16.9K

507.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.33

5.57

-40.22%

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

Last update for Ostend: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ostend

$690 37.5%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 28.9% $199

Eating Out

Ostend

$321 17.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 62.1% $200

Groceries & Markets

Ostend

$295 16%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 9.8% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ostend

$250 13.6%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 50.1% $125

Clothing & Footwear

Ostend

$151 8.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 19.1% $29

Getting Around

Ostend

$67 3.6%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 5.3% $3.6

Sport & Entertainment

Ostend

$66 3.6%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 25% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $800 in Ostend and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ostend pays about 6.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $78 in Ostend vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $295 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇪 Ostend

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

21:17 9:17 PM

03:17 3:17 AM

6 h ahead of Ostend

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

70,600

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Ostend Phuket 9,700 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Ostend
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

Ostend vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,840 in Ostend and $1,278 in Phuket, so Phuket is about 31% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Ostend is about 6.1 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: $800 in Ostend versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $78 in Ostend. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,840 per month in Ostend versus $1,278 in Phuket – Phuket is about 31% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,840 in Ostend, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Ostend. 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, Ostend and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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