Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Ballito

For one person, living is cheaper in Ballito: $618 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
30

Cost of Living Index in Ballito
Learn more

Ballito Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Ballito

🇿🇦 South Africa

$618

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Ballito

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $618 in Ballito.

Phuket $1,278
Ballito $618

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $972 in Ballito.

Phuket $2,216
Ballito $972

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $1,327 in Ballito.

Phuket $3,154
Ballito $1,327

Living in Phuket is roughly 107% more expensive than in Ballito, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Ballito 55% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$6.02 R 101

-25.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$39.25 R 656

-17.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$5.85 R 97.7

50.60%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$2.66 R 44.42

6.39%

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

$0.87 ฿29.41

$1.13 R 18.91

-23.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$0.90 R 15.00

-45.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$1.98 R 33.04

29.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.49 R 41.68

47.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.00 R 16.68

66.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.31

$0.93 R 15.58

56.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.47 R 24.63

2.04%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.44 R 40.75

-14.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$7.21 R 120

164.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$4.83 R 80.8

-31.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$7.30 R 122

49.45%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$1.53 R 25.50

91.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$1.86 R 31.11

-9.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$1.46 R 24.32

54.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$1.72 R 28.71

20.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.02 R 17.11

48.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.52

$1.39 R 23.22

-0.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.96

$1.21 R 20.22

-11.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$1.20 R 20.05

-56.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.51 R 58.6

19.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$4.85 R 81.1

287.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.41 R 23.63

29.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$1.83 R 30.65

55.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$0.41 R 6.84

636.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.33

$0.76 R 12.65

34.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$7.37 R 123

-49.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.76

$1.30 R 21.75

13.08%

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

$26.8K ฿903.4K

$35.1K R 586.6K

-23.74%

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

$26.7K ฿900.5K

$33.5K R 559.9K

-20.35%

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

$96.4 ฿3,251

$147 R 2,448

-34.24%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$22.16 R 370

-49.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$35.37 R 591

-52.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$6.16 R 103

21.75%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$306 R 5,118

55.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

$7,455 R 124.6K

51.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,104

$41.38 R 691

50.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$29.89 R 499

-4.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,181

$59.0 R 986

59.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,895

$82.4 R 1,376

4.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$448 R 7,478

59.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,506 R 25.2K

27.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$1,479 R 24.7K

-66.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

11.78

-52.72%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Ballito: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Ballito

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Ballito

$181 29.3% 31.9% $85

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Ballito

$204 33% 63.9% $80

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Ballito

$96 15.5% 21.5% $26

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Ballito

$121 19.5% 0.9% $1.1

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Ballito

$12 * 2% 85% $70

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Ballito

$4.2 * 0.7% 94% $66

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $448 in Ballito. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ballito pays about 2.9 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $39 in Ballito. Groceries flip the comparison at $266 vs $181, with Ballito cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇿🇦 Ballito

🕒 Local time

04:28 4:28 AM

23:28 11:28 PM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

27,718

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.36 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 16.71 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.36 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Ballito 8,290 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Ballito

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 Ballito: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ballito is about 52% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 66% 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 $448 in Ballito. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $306 in Ballito. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $39 in Ballito. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $618 in Ballito versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ballito but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Ballito 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 Ballito are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.