Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Ashgabat

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $3,400 in Ashgabat, rent and utilities included – about $25,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
163

Cost of Living Index in Ashgabat
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Ashgabat Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Ashgabat

🇹🇲 Turkmenistan

$3,400

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Ashgabat

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 Ashgabat actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $3,400 in Ashgabat.

Phuket $1,278
Ashgabat $3,400

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $5,109 in Ashgabat.

Phuket $2,216
Ashgabat $5,109

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $6,818 in Ashgabat.

Phuket $3,154
Ashgabat $6,818

Living in Phuket costs roughly 62% less than in Ashgabat, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Ashgabat is 150% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$30.91 TMT 104

-85.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$87.1 TMT 292

-62.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$12.81 TMT 42.92

-31.23%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$6.98 TMT 23.40

-59.46%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$1.56 TMT 5.21

-44.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$0.82 TMT 2.75

-40.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$5.60 TMT 18.76

-54.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$13.68 TMT 45.84

-73.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$4.49 TMT 15.03

-63.03%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$2.01 TMT 6.72

-27.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$5.77 TMT 19.34

-74.00%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$6.04 TMT 20.23

-65.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$36.95 TMT 124

-48.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$19.67 TMT 65.9

-83.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$23.60 TMT 79.1

-53.77%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$5.10 TMT 17.10

-42.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$8.63 TMT 28.91

-80.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$7.32 TMT 24.53

-69.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$3.67 TMT 12.30

-43.32%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.31 TMT 7.75

-34.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$1.39 TMT 4.65

-0.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$2.63 TMT 8.81

-59.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$1.08 TMT 3.62

-51.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$25.92 TMT 86.8

-83.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$41.19 TMT 138

-54.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$5.08 TMT 17.01

-64.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.84 TMT 9.51

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

$0.15 TMT 0.49

866.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$9.81 TMT 32.85

477.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$2.80 TMT 9.39

7.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

$0.87 TMT 2.92

17.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$8.75 TMT 29.33

-57.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$0.41 TMT 1.37

258.54%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$44.6K TMT 149.3K

-39.93%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$57.0K TMT 190.8K

-53.14%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$576 TMT 1,930

-83.28%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$58.3 TMT 195

-80.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$103 TMT 347

-83.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$197 TMT 659

-65.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$43.87 TMT 147

-75.54%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$8.80 TMT 29.47

-14.77%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$23.22 TMT 77.8

1949.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

$25.2K TMT 84.5K

-55.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$56.8 TMT 190

9.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$116 TMT 390

-75.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$371 TMT 1,242

-74.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$194 TMT 650

-55.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$1,396 TMT 4,675

-48.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$1,000 TMT 3,349

-50.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$2,244 TMT 7,519

-14.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,931 TMT 6,470

-25.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$3,614 TMT 12.1K

15.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$2,901 TMT 9,717

4.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$748 TMT 2,507

-32.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

9.5

-41.37%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Ashgabat: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Ashgabat

$1,000 29.4% 104% $509

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Ashgabat

$664 19.5% 149% $398

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Ashgabat

$738 21.7% 493% $614

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Ashgabat

$332 9.8% 173% $210

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Ashgabat

$434 12.8% 257% $313

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Ashgabat

$214 6.3% 161% $132

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Ashgabat

$18 0.5% 75.1% $53

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $1,396 in Ashgabat. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ashgabat pays 49% 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 in Phuket vs $87 in Ashgabat for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $664 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇹🇲 Ashgabat

🕒 Local time

08:43 8:43 AM

06:43 6:43 AM

2 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

909,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Turkmenistani Manat TMT m

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 TMT = 0.299 USD

1 TMT = 0.267 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TMT, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Turkmenistani Manat exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3.35 TMT (1 TMT = 0.299 USD). 1 EUR = 3.74 TMT (1 TMT = 0.267 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Ashgabat 5,220 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Ashgabat

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 Ashgabat: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,278 in Phuket and $3,400 in Ashgabat, so Phuket is about 62% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 33% lower in Phuket. 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: $716 in Phuket versus $1,396 in Ashgabat. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $23 in Ashgabat. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 149% higher in Ashgabat. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $3,400 in Ashgabat, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Ashgabat. 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, Phuket and Ashgabat are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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