Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Ashford

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $2,427 in Ashford, rent and utilities included – about $14,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Ashford
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Ashford Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Ashford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,427

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Ashford

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Phuket and in Ashford actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,427 in Ashford.

Phuket $1,207
Ashford $2,427

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $3,351 in Ashford.

Phuket $2,037
Ashford $3,351

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $4,276 in Ashford.

Phuket $2,867
Ashford $4,276

Living in Phuket costs roughly 50% less than in Ashford, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Ashford is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ฿153

$20.96 £15.73

-78.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.48 ฿1,086

$79.9 £60.0

-59.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿286

$10.49 £7.87

-18.49%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.0

$5.74 £4.30

-52.61%

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

$0.94 ฿31.25

$2.74 £2.05

-65.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.39

$1.82 £1.37

-73.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$3.89 £2.92

-33.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$7.09 £5.32

-45.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$1.48 £1.11

17.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿47.82

$1.32 £0.99

8.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.0

$1.69 £1.26

-9.47%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$3.00 £2.25

-27.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.15 ฿640

$5.22 £3.92

266.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿110

$6.91 £5.18

-52.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿372

$14.39 £10.79

-22.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ฿98.5

$3.28 £2.46

-10.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.1

$1.44 £1.08

16.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 ฿76.8

$2.67 £2.01

-13.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ฿71.3

$3.17 £2.38

-32.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.1

$1.67 £1.25

-8.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.55

$1.46 £1.09

-6.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.44

$1.44 £1.08

-22.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$1.42 £1.07

-61.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$18.83 £14.13

-77.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿608

$9.24 £6.93

96.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$2.67 £2.00

-34.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.3

$3.63 £2.73

-23.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

$3.89 £2.92

-42.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

$146 £110

-84.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 ฿97.3

$6.11 £4.58

-52.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.79

$1.68 £1.26

-39.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

$21.44 £16.08

-82.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.85

$2.07 £1.55

-28.02%

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

$26.7K ฿891.6K

$35.0K £26.2K

-23.69%

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

$26.7K ฿892.7K

$41.1K £30.9K

-35.05%

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

$99.4 ฿3,321

$244 £183

-59.23%

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

$11.28 ฿377

$24.30 £18.23

-53.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.36 ฿580

$38.52 £28.90

-54.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,747

$61.3 £45.99

-14.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

$18.74 £14.06

-42.10%

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ฿253

$21.45 £16.10

-64.71%

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

$558 ฿18.7K

$1,076 £808

-48.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

$19.8K £14.9K

-42.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,102

$69.5 £52.1

-9.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿955

$31.50 £23.63

-9.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 ฿3,213

$76.7 £57.6

25.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,943

$100 £75.1

-12.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

$1,115 £836

-34.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

$1,133 £850

-59.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

$1,708 £1,282

22.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

$1,425 £1,069

-14.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

$6,328 £4,748

-45.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

$4,671 £3,504

-46.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

$2,452 £1,840

-79.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.91

13.44%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Last update for Ashford: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$460 38.1%

Ashford

$1.1K 46.7% 146% $673

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.2%

Ashford

$262 10.8% 2.3% $6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$128 10.6%

Ashford

$307 12.6% 140% $179

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Ashford

$125 5.2% 0.8% $1

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10.1%

Ashford

$320 13.2% 164% $199

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$67 5.6%

Ashford

$104 4.3% 54.6% $37

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.2%

Ashford

$176 7.3% 354% $138

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $729 in Phuket and $1,115 in Ashford. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ashford pays 397% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $80.0 in Ashford. Groceries flip the comparison at $268 vs $262, with Ashford cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇬🇧 Ashford

🕒 Local time

06:51 6:51 AM

00:51 12:51 AM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

58,936

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Ashford 9,840 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Ashford

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

Phuket vs Ashford: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in clothing, eating out, and leisure. The 101% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 397% lower in Ashford. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $729 in Phuket versus $1,115 in Ashford. 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 $32.00 versus $80.0 in Ashford. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,207 per month in Phuket versus $2,427 in Ashford – a 101% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,427 in Ashford, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Ashford. 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 Ashford, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Ashford are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 101% less than in Ashford. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.