Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Balzers

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $3,201 in Balzers, rent and utilities included – about $23,100 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
155

Cost of Living Index in Balzers
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Balzers Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Balzers

🇱🇮 Liechtenstein

$3,201

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Balzers

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $3,201 in Balzers.

Phuket $1,278
Balzers $3,201

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $5,015 in Balzers.

Phuket $2,216
Balzers $5,015

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $6,828 in Balzers.

Phuket $3,154
Balzers $6,828

Living in Phuket costs roughly 60% less than in Balzers, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Balzers is 135% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$29.80 CHF 24.44

-85.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$122 CHF 100

-73.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$21.58 CHF 17.71

-59.18%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$5.38 CHF 4.41

-47.40%

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

$0.87 ฿29.40

$5.97 CHF 4.90

-85.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$5.45 CHF 4.47

-91.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$7.16 CHF 5.87

-64.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$7.46 CHF 6.12

-50.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$2.74 CHF 2.25

-39.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.29

$2.94 CHF 2.41

-50.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$2.80 CHF 2.29

-46.43%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$11.95 CHF 9.80

-82.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$25.34 CHF 20.79

-24.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$23.48 CHF 19.26

-85.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$50.6 CHF 41.52

-78.44%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.8

$3.41 CHF 2.80

-14.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$3.64 CHF 2.99

-53.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.7

$4.08 CHF 3.35

-44.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$2.59 CHF 2.13

-19.69%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.35 CHF 1.93

-35.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.51

$2.14 CHF 1.75

-35.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.95

$2.06 CHF 1.69

-48.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.50

$1.66 CHF 1.36

-68.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$12.08 CHF 9.91

-65.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$13.81 CHF 11.33

36.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.4

$2.02 CHF 1.66

-9.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$1.71 CHF 1.40

66.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.97

$3.51 CHF 2.88

-58.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,911

$81.1 CHF 66.6

-30.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.74 CHF 1.42

73.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.32

$5.90 CHF 4.84

-82.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿124

$8.36 CHF 6.85

-55.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.75

$2.24 CHF 1.84

-34.38%

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

$26.8K ฿903.2K

$34.1K CHF 28.0K

-21.44%

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

$26.7K ฿900.3K

$32.4K CHF 26.6K

-17.60%

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

$96.4 ฿3,250

$212 CHF 174

-54.49%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$40.00 CHF 32.82

-71.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$71.4 CHF 58.5

-76.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$91.1 CHF 74.8

-26.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$24.38 CHF 20.00

-55.99%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$24.13 CHF 19.80

-68.92%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$298 CHF 245

59.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿379.9K

$8,878 CHF 7,283

26.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,103

$127 CHF 105

-51.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$50.4 CHF 41.33

-43.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,180

$174 CHF 143

-45.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,894

$218 CHF 179

-60.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.1K

$987 CHF 809

-27.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$1,282 CHF 1,052

-61.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$2,864 CHF 2,350

-32.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$2,315 CHF 1,899

-38.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.8K

$16.3K CHF 13.4K

-74.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$5,142 CHF 4,218

-40.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$8,481 CHF 6,957

-94.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

7.55

-26.23%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Balzers: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Balzers

$1.3K 40.1% 161% $791

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Balzers

$610 19.1% 129% $344

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Balzers

$323 10.1% 160% $199

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Balzers

$256 8% 110% $134

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Balzers

$464 14.5% 281% $342

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Balzers

$139 4.4% 69.5% $57

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Balzers

$126 4% 79.1% $56

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $987 in Balzers. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Balzers pays about 17 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $122 in Balzers for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $610 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇱🇮 Balzers

🕒 Local time

19:12 7:12 PM

13:12 1:12 PM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

4,600

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 CHF = 1.22 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.64 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.82 CHF (1 CHF = 1.22 USD). 1 EUR = 0.915 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Balzers 9,280 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Balzers

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 Balzers: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 60% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 94% 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 $987 in Balzers. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 129% higher in Balzers. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $122 in Balzers. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $3,201 in Balzers, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Balzers. 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 Balzers are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 60% less than in Balzers. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.