Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Brussels

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,584 in Brussels, rent and utilities included – about $15,700 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
124

Cost of Living Index in Brussels
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Brussels Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Brussels

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,584

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Brussels

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,584 in Brussels.

Phuket $1,278
Brussels $2,584

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $3,923 in Brussels.

Phuket $2,216
Brussels $3,923

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $5,262 in Brussels.

Phuket $3,154
Brussels $5,262

Living in Phuket costs roughly 51% less than in Brussels, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Brussels is 90% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$22.51 €20.17

-80.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$91.2 €81.7

-64.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$15.19 €13.61

-42.00%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$4.55 €4.07

-37.80%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$3.63 €3.26

-76.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$3.02 €2.71

-83.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$5.69 €5.10

-55.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$5.55 €4.97

-33.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.35 €1.21

22.96%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$2.76 €2.47

-47.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$2.84 €2.54

-47.18%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$5.19 €4.65

-59.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$17.84 €15.99

6.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$13.04 €11.68

-74.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$21.85 €19.58

-50.07%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$3.13 €2.80

-6.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.42 €2.17

-30.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.81 €2.52

-19.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$4.03 €3.61

-48.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.46 €2.20

-38.62%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$2.18 €1.95

-36.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$1.86 €1.66

-42.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$1.22 €1.10

-57.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$13.60 €12.19

-69.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$9.57 €8.57

96.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$2.70 €2.42

-32.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$3.00 €2.69

-5.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

$2.76 €2.48

-47.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$61.6 €55.2

-8.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$2.95 €2.65

2.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

$2.24 €2.00

-54.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$40.78 €36.55

-90.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$2.06 €1.85

-28.64%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$34.8K €31.2K

-23.06%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$35.7K €32.0K

-25.18%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$280 €251

-65.60%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$21.20 €19.00

-46.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$52.0 €46.60

-67.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$32.34 €28.98

107.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$27.74 €24.86

-61.32%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$15.88 €14.23

-52.77%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$1,596 €1,430

-70.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

$36.2K €32.5K

-68.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$101 €90.7

-38.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$46.78 €41.92

-39.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$114 €102

-17.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$143 €128

-40.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$1,393 €1,248

-48.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$1,160 €1,039

-57.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$2,518 €2,257

-23.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$2,076 €1,860

-31.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$4,877 €4,371

-14.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$3,718 €3,332

-18.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$3,392 €3,040

-85.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.71

50.13%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Brussels: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Brussels

$1.2K 44.9% 136% $669

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Brussels

$391 15.2% 47% $125

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Brussels

$353 13.7% 184% $229

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Brussels

$182 7.1% 49.5% $60

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Brussels

$346 13.4% 185% $225

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Brussels

$64 2.5% 22% $18

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Brussels

$87 3.4% 23% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $1,393 in Brussels. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Brussels pays about 6.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $91 in Brussels for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $391 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇧🇪 Brussels

🕒 Local time

17:18 5:18 PM

11:18 11:18 AM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

188,137 Capital

💱 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

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Between locations

Phuket Brussels 9,610 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Brussels

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 Brussels: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 51% lower than in Brussels. 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 85% 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 $1,393 in Brussels. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 47% higher in Brussels. 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 $91 in Brussels. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,584 in Brussels, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Brussels. 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 Brussels 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 51% less than in Brussels. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.