Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Bursa

For one person, living is cheaper in Bursa: $1,047 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 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
51

Cost of Living Index in Bursa
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Bursa Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Bursa

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,047

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Bursa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,047 in Bursa.

Phuket $1,278
Bursa $1,047

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,654 in Bursa.

Phuket $2,216
Bursa $1,654

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,260 in Bursa.

Phuket $3,154
Bursa $2,260

Living in Phuket is roughly 22% more expensive than in Bursa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Bursa 23% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$9.79 ₺488

-54.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$30.03 ₺1,496

7.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$7.75 ₺386

13.68%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$3.65 ₺182

-22.47%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$1.06 ₺52.7

-17.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.38 ₺18.69

28.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$2.29 ₺114

11.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.93 ₺146

25.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$0.96 ₺47.89

72.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$0.80 ₺39.96

82.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$2.26 ₺112

-33.63%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.28 ₺114

-8.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$10.26 ₺511

85.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$4.90 ₺244

-32.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$18.96 ₺945

-42.46%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$1.66 ₺82.9

76.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.96 ₺97.7

-13.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$1.04 ₺52.0

116.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$1.30 ₺64.7

60.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.58 ₺28.79

160.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$0.39 ₺19.64

253.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$0.73 ₺36.46

46.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$0.72 ₺35.84

-27.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$2.07 ₺103

102.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$14.15 ₺705

32.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$2.08 ₺103

-12.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.25 ₺112

26.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$0.98 ₺48.92

47.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$36.23 ₺1,805

56.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.03 ₺51.2

193.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$0.87 ₺43.11

17.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$6.89 ₺343

-46.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.37 ₺68.2

7.30%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$44.3K ₺2.2M

-39.54%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$38.9K ₺1.9M

-31.44%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$75.9 ₺3,784

26.88%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$10.92 ₺544

3.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$14.81 ₺738

13.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$61.2 ₺3,047

9.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$23.04 ₺1,148

-53.43%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$5.88 ₺293

27.55%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$548 ₺27.3K

-13.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$10.9K ₺542.7K

3.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$44.43 ₺2,213

40.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$34.51 ₺1,719

-17.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$78.4 ₺3,906

20.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$92.6 ₺4,613

-7.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$401 ₺20.0K

78.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$310 ₺15.5K

58.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$723 ₺36.0K

166.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$607 ₺30.2K

135.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$1,191 ₺59.4K

250.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$1,217 ₺60.6K

150.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$1,028 ₺51.2K

-51.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

42.67

-86.95%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Bursa: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Bursa

$310 29.6% 36.8% $180

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Bursa

$236 22.5% 11.4% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Bursa

$102 9.7% 18.3% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Bursa

$112 10.7% 7.7% $9.4

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Bursa

$168 16.1% 38.3% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Bursa

$73 7% 11.3% $9.3

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Bursa

$46 4.4% 35.5% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $401 in Bursa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bursa pays about 2 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $30 in Bursa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $236 per month, with Bursa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇹🇷 Bursa

🕒 Local time

18:54 6:54 PM

14:54 2:54 PM

4 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

3,238,618

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 TRY = 2.01 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 49.82 TRY (100 TRY = 2.01 USD). 1 EUR = 55.45 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Bursa 7,690 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Bursa

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 Bursa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bursa is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and clothing. The 22% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 51% 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 $401 in Bursa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 13% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Bursa – a meal for two runs $30 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Bursa gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 Bursa 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 Bursa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 18% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.