Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Barlad

For one person, living is cheaper in Barlad: $975 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 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
47

Cost of Living Index in Barlad
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Barlad Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Barlad

🇷🇴 Romania

$975

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Barlad

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

A single person spends $1,208 per month in Phuket vs $975 in Barlad, rent included.

Phuket $1,208
Barlad $975

A couple spends around $2,027 per month in Phuket vs $1,521 in Barlad, rent included.

Phuket $2,027
Barlad $1,521

A family of three spends $2,845 per month in Phuket vs $2,066 in Barlad, rent included.

Phuket $2,845
Barlad $2,066

Phuket costs about 24% more than Barlad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Phuket and Barlad are more affordable than the global median – Phuket 11% lower, Barlad 28% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$8.96 RON 42.41

-50.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$41.38 RON 196

-22.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$7.20 RON 34.06

21.67%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$2.41 RON 11.40

17.43%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$1.85 RON 8.75

-51.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$1.54 RON 7.27

-69.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$2.17 RON 10.25

17.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$2.69 RON 12.72

42.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$1.34 RON 6.34

29.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$1.12 RON 5.31

31.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$1.40 RON 6.63

7.86%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$3.39 RON 16.02

-35.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$7.51 RON 35.53

162.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$5.22 RON 24.69

-36.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$10.04 RON 47.49

11.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$1.04 RON 4.92

174.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$1.63 RON 7.73

4.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$1.38 RON 6.54

58.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$1.76 RON 8.31

16.48%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$0.79 RON 3.75

83.54%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$0.77 RON 3.65

79.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$0.84 RON 3.99

27.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$0.89 RON 4.20

-42.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$6.64 RON 31.41

-35.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$5.58 RON 26.38

232.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$1.20 RON 5.68

48.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$1.62 RON 7.67

75.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$0.51 RON 2.40

343.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

$19.88 RON 94.0

11.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$0.72 RON 3.42

318.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$0.73 RON 3.46

45.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$6.99 RON 33.08

-44.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$1.75 RON 8.30

-17.14%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$26.5K RON 125.3K

-0.62%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$25.1K RON 118.7K

7.43%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$158 RON 748

-39.03%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$8.87 RON 41.95

24.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$8.36 RON 39.58

105.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$34.02 RON 161

53.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

$18.05 RON 85.4

-38.17%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$6.61 RON 31.28

18.15%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$465 RON 2,202

19.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$7,715 RON 36.5K

50.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$62.0 RON 293

3.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$34.81 RON 165

-17.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$72.7 RON 344

31.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$86.2 RON 408

2.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$407 RON 1,927

81.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$269 RON 1,271

72.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$651 RON 3,081

221.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$505 RON 2,387

138.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$1,755 RON 8,305

98.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$1,263 RON 5,976

99.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

6.97

-20.09%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Barlad: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Barlad

$269 27.6% 41.9% $194

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Barlad

$190 19.5% 29.2% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Barlad

$175 18% 40.7% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Barlad

$115 11.8% 7.4% $9.3

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Barlad

$152 15.6% 25.4% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Barlad

$47 4.9% 30.3% $21

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Barlad

$26 2.7% 33.4% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $737 in Phuket versus $407 in Barlad. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32.00 in Phuket versus $41.00 in Barlad. Groceries tell a different story – $269 in Phuket vs $190 in Barlad – so Barlad wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇷🇴 Barlad

🕒 Local time

21:53 9:53 PM

17:53 5:53 PM

4 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

77,518

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Barlad 7,900 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Barlad

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 Barlad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,208 in Phuket, $975 in Barlad – roughly 24% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,813 per month in Phuket and $1,462 in Barlad. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Barlad, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 11% less in Barlad. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $556 per month in Phuket and $465 in Barlad. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Barlad, where all-in costs run around $975, than in Phuket at $1,208. In Barlad it covers expenses comfortably, while in Phuket it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Phuket has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $975 in Barlad to $1,208 in Phuket. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Barlad. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Phuket makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.