Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Busto Arsizio

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $1,828 in Busto Arsizio, rent and utilities included – about $7,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Busto Arsizio
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Busto Arsizio Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Busto Arsizio

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,828

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Busto Arsizio

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,828 in Busto Arsizio.

Phuket $1,208
Busto Arsizio $1,828

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $2,845 in Busto Arsizio.

Phuket $2,027
Busto Arsizio $2,845

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $3,863 in Busto Arsizio.

Phuket $2,845
Busto Arsizio $3,863

Living in Phuket costs roughly 34% less than in Busto Arsizio, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Busto Arsizio is 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$22.53 €20.04

-80.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$90.8 €80.7

-64.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$11.20 €9.96

-21.79%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$2.24 €1.99

26.34%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$3.31 €2.94

-72.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$1.42 €1.26

-66.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$6.69 €5.95

-61.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$6.00 €5.33

-36.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$1.54 €1.37

12.34%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$2.35 €2.09

-37.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$3.40 €3.02

-55.59%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$4.91 €4.36

-55.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$17.70 €15.74

11.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$13.86 €12.33

-75.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$22.01 €19.58

-49.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$2.76 €2.45

3.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$1.89 €1.69

-10.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$2.50 €2.22

-12.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$3.26 €2.90

-37.12%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$1.65 €1.46

-12.12%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$2.04 €1.82

-32.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$1.16 €1.04

-7.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$0.65 €0.58

-21.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$7.74 €6.89

-44.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$5.03 €4.48

269.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$1.53 €1.36

16.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$1.60 €1.42

78.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$1.72 €1.53

31.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

$42.93 €38.18

-48.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$4.01 €3.56

-24.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$2.26 €2.01

-53.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$39.57 €35.19

-90.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$2.11 €1.88

-31.28%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$35.9K €31.9K

-26.57%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$34.7K €30.9K

-22.41%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$198 €176

-51.34%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$12.01 €10.68

-8.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$27.37 €24.35

-37.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$31.00 €27.57

68.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$11.18 €9.94

-30.14%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$902 €802

-38.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$7,092 €6,309

63.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$90.1 €80.2

-28.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$28.02 €24.93

2.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$108 €96.1

-11.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$137 €122

-35.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$1,279 €1,138

-42.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$649 €577

-28.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$1,961 €1,744

6.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$1,086 €966

10.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$2,535 €2,255

37.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$1,576 €1,402

60.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

$2,194 €1,952

-77.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.65

52.60%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Busto Arsizio: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Busto Arsizio

$649 35.5% 40.4% $187

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Busto Arsizio

$354 19.4% 31.9% $86

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Busto Arsizio

$237 13% 90.6% $113

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Busto Arsizio

$163 8.9% 31.5% $39

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Busto Arsizio

$305 16.7% 152% $184

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Busto Arsizio

$53 2.9% 21.3% $14

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Busto Arsizio

$65 3.6% 65.1% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $737 in Phuket and $1,279 in Busto Arsizio. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Busto Arsizio pays 338% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $91.0 in Busto Arsizio for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $354 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇮🇹 Busto Arsizio

🕒 Local time

15:06 3:06 PM

10:06 10:06 AM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

83,094

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 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 October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Busto Arsizio 9,350 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Busto Arsizio

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 Busto Arsizio: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket and Busto Arsizio differ by about 51% in total monthly costs ($1,208 vs $1,828 including rent). Phuket is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 338% lower in Busto Arsizio. 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: $737 in Phuket versus $1,279 in Busto Arsizio. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $91.0 in Busto Arsizio. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,208 per month in Phuket versus $1,828 in Busto Arsizio – a 51% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,828 in Busto Arsizio, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Busto Arsizio. 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 Busto Arsizio 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 Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 51% less than in Busto Arsizio. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.