Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Besancon

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,754 in Besancon, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
85

Cost of Living Index in Besancon
Learn more

Besancon Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Besancon

🇫🇷 France

$1,754

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Besancon

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,754 in Besancon.

Phuket $1,278
Besancon $1,754

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,541 in Besancon.

Phuket $2,216
Besancon $2,541

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $3,328 in Besancon.

Phuket $3,154
Besancon $3,328

Living in Phuket costs roughly 27% less than in Besancon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Besancon is 29% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$16.79 €15.04

-73.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$54.9 €49.15

-40.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$11.06 €9.91

-20.34%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$3.00 €2.69

-5.67%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$2.32 €2.08

-62.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$1.58 €1.41

-68.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$6.60 €5.92

-61.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$5.72 €5.13

-35.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.27 €1.14

30.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$1.64 €1.47

-10.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$2.14 €1.91

-29.91%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$4.54 €4.07

-53.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$20.49 €18.36

-6.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$11.11 €9.96

-70.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$18.32 €16.42

-40.45%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$2.67 €2.39

9.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.19 €1.96

-22.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.84 €2.55

-20.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$2.48 €2.22

-16.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.44 €2.18

-38.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$2.42 €2.17

-42.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$1.38 €1.23

-22.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$1.12 €1.00

-53.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$14.18 €12.71

-70.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$9.47 €8.49

98.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$4.76 €4.27

-61.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$3.25 €2.91

-12.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

$1.75 €1.57

-17.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$43.76 €39.21

29.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.12 €2.79

-3.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

$2.09 €1.87

-51.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$30.39 €27.23

-87.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$2.08 €1.87

-29.33%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$35.3K €31.6K

-24.11%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$38.5K €34.5K

-30.65%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$228 €204

-57.69%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$14.33 €12.84

-21.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$34.37 €30.80

-50.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$26.49 €23.74

153.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$19.74 €17.69

-45.64%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$10.97 €9.83

-31.63%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$333 €298

43.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

$7,365 €6,600

52.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$96.6 €86.5

-35.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$38.88 €34.84

-26.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$93.0 €83.3

1.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$123 €110

-30.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$658 €590

8.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$585 €524

-16.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$982 €880

96.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$807 €723

77.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$2,858 €2,561

46.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$2,234 €2,002

36.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$2,139 €1,917

-76.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.62

53.87%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Besancon: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Besancon

$585 33.4% 19.2% $94

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Besancon

$358 20.4% 34.6% $92

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Besancon

$276 15.8% 122% $152

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Besancon

$158 9% 29.7% $36

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Besancon

$264 15% 117% $142

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Besancon

$48 2.8% 41.1% $34

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Besancon

$64 3.7% 8.9% $6.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $658 in Besancon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Besancon pays about 4.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $55 in Besancon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $358 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇫🇷 Besancon

🕒 Local time

18:08 6:08 PM

12:08 12:08 PM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

119,198

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD 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 = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Besancon 9,540 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Besancon

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 Besancon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 27% lower than in Besancon. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 77% 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 $658 in Besancon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Besancon runs roughly 23% less than in Phuket. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $333 in Besancon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,754 in Besancon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Besancon. 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 Besancon are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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