Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Bitola

For one person, living is cheaper in Bitola: $856 a month against $1,190 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Bitola
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Bitola Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,190

/mo nomad

Bitola

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$856

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Bitola

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,190 in Phuket versus $856 in Bitola.

Phuket $1,190
Bitola $856

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,006 in Phuket versus $1,271 in Bitola.

Phuket $2,006
Bitola $1,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,822 in Phuket versus $1,686 in Bitola.

Phuket $2,822
Bitola $1,686

Living in Phuket is roughly 39% more expensive than in Bitola, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Bitola 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.35 ฿146

$5.13 MKD 281

-15.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.45 ฿1,087

$27.02 MKD 1,480

20.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.42 ฿282

$5.27 MKD 289

59.77%

Cappuccino

$2.81 ฿94.0

$1.89 MKD 103

48.68%

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

$0.87 ฿29.29

$1.79 MKD 98.3

-51.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.46 ฿15.39

$1.40 MKD 76.9

-67.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$2.14 MKD 118

21.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.64 ฿122

$2.49 MKD 136

46.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 ฿57.2

$1.38 MKD 75.4

23.91%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.42

$0.70 MKD 38.37

107.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.56 ฿52.3

$1.66 MKD 91.1

-6.02%

Eggs

$2.10 ฿70.3

$2.00 MKD 109

5.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.53 ฿654

$9.75 MKD 534

100.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$7.18 MKD 393

-52.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿373

$13.03 MKD 714

-14.50%

Apples (1kg)

$2.83 ฿94.8

$1.00 MKD 54.7

183.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 ฿54.3

$1.38 MKD 75.9

17.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 ฿74.5

$1.23 MKD 67.6

80.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.15 ฿71.9

$1.53 MKD 83.7

40.52%

Potato (1kg)

$1.49 ฿49.95

$0.89 MKD 48.86

67.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.33 ฿44.40

$1.30 MKD 71.4

2.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.72

$0.53 MKD 29.01

101.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.01

$0.52 MKD 28.51

-1.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 ฿147

$3.25 MKD 178

34.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.77 ฿629

$5.92 MKD 324

217.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.3

$0.98 MKD 54.0

77.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿92.9

$1.77 MKD 96.9

57.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.17 ฿72.6

$0.52 MKD 28.75

317.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.28 ฿746

$16.10 MKD 882

38.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿101

$1.10 MKD 60.3

174.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.43

$0.61 MKD 33.25

73.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.71 ฿124

$6.21 MKD 340

-40.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 ฿47.88

$1.51 MKD 82.9

-5.30%

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

$26.3K ฿882.1K

$30.8K MKD 1.7M

-14.52%

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

$26.2K ฿877.3K

$32.4K MKD 1.8M

-19.16%

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

$96.7 ฿3,236

$145 MKD 7,950

-33.37%

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

$11.41 ฿382

$13.90 MKD 762

-17.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.11 ฿573

$13.01 MKD 713

31.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.8 ฿1,768

$21.40 MKD 1,173

146.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.07 ฿371

$6.28 MKD 344

76.27%

Cinema Ticket

$7.65 ฿256

$4.49 MKD 246

70.38%

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

$555 ฿18.6K

$211 MKD 11.5K

163.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿377.7K

$1,146 MKD 62.8K

884.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.4 ฿2,123

$75.3 MKD 4,128

-15.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.61 ฿958

$46.55 MKD 2,551

-38.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.7 ฿3,238

$72.0 MKD 3,943

34.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 ฿2,967

$112 MKD 6,111

-20.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$735 ฿24.6K

$264 MKD 14.5K

178.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$458 ฿15.3K

$185 MKD 10.2K

146.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,102 ฿70.4K

$397 MKD 21.8K

429.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 ฿39.7K

$295 MKD 16.2K

302.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,493 ฿116.9K

$1,707 MKD 93.5K

104.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,491 ฿83.4K

$1,180 MKD 64.6K

111.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.8K

$755 MKD 41.4K

-33.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

6.45

-13.64%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 4, 2026

Last update for Bitola: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$458 38.1%

Bitola

$185 21.7% 59.5% $273

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.3%

Bitola

$199 23.3% 25.6% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.4%

Bitola

$172 20.1% 37.4% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$125 10.4%

Bitola

$137 16.1% 10.1% $13

Eating Out

Phuket

$119 9.9%

Bitola

$108 12.6% 9.5% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.7%

Bitola

$30 3.6% 55.4% $38

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Bitola

$22 2.6% 43.1% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $735 in Phuket and $264 in Bitola. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bitola pays 51% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $27.00 in Bitola for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $199 per month, with Bitola cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇲🇰 Bitola

🕒 Local time

16:41 4:41 PM

11:41 11:41 AM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

74,550

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

100 MKD = 1.82 USD

100 MKD = 1.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MKD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 54.8 MKD (100 MKD = 1.82 USD). 1 EUR = 61.41 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Bitola 8,350 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Bitola

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 Bitola: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket and Bitola differ by about 39% in total monthly costs ($1,190 vs $856 including rent). Bitola is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 51% lower in Bitola. 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: $735 in Phuket versus $264 in Bitola. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 34% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Bitola – a meal for two runs $27.00 versus $32.00 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $856 in Bitola versus $1,190 in Phuket, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bitola but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Bitola 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 Bitola are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Bitola gentler on the wallet – expenses run 39% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.