Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Cardiff

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,294 a month against $2,503 in Cardiff, rent and utilities included – about $14,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
120

Cost of Living Index in Cardiff
Learn more

Cardiff Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Cardiff

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,503

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Cardiff

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $2,503 in Cardiff.

Phuket $1,294
Cardiff $2,503

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $3,495 in Cardiff.

Phuket $2,204
Cardiff $3,495

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $4,488 in Cardiff.

Phuket $3,115
Cardiff $4,488

Living in Phuket costs roughly 48% less than in Cardiff, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 4% below, Cardiff is 85% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿147

$20.04 £14.89

-78.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,080

$86.1 £64.0

-62.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿291

$10.89 £8.10

-20.11%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.1

$4.68 £3.48

-41.88%

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

$0.93 ฿31.11

$3.25 £2.41

-71.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.70

$2.04 £1.52

-75.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿84.6

$7.87 £5.85

-67.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿121

$6.26 £4.66

-42.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$1.80 £1.34

-3.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.51

$1.43 £1.06

1.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.2

$2.16 £1.61

-30.56%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.6

$3.82 £2.84

-43.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿638

$9.19 £6.83

107.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$8.52 £6.33

-60.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿364

$16.06 £11.94

-32.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿98.3

$2.84 £2.11

3.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.6

$1.50 £1.11

12.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.4

$3.01 £2.24

-27.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿71.0

$3.59 £2.67

-40.95%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿48.77

$1.96 £1.46

-25.51%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.74

$1.56 £1.16

-12.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿35.98

$1.07 £0.80

0.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$1.65 £1.22

-66.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿148

$23.35 £17.35

-81.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿610

$11.03 £8.20

65.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.3

$3.03 £2.25

-41.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿96.3

$3.20 £2.38

-10.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.40

$3.29 £2.45

-55.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,835

$80.8 £60.0

-32.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$4.72 £3.50

-68.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿25.94

$1.74 £1.30

-55.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿128

$36.00 £26.75

-89.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.74

$2.15 £1.60

-30.70%

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

$26.9K ฿898.9K

$39.0K £29.0K

-31.16%

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

$26.3K ฿881.0K

$40.3K £29.9K

-34.60%

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

$97.8 ฿3,271

$348 £258

-71.85%

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

$11.29 ฿378

$26.30 £19.54

-57.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿575

$45.28 £33.65

-62.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,285

$36.60 £27.20

86.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿365

$11.88 £8.83

-8.08%

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿248

$10.83 £8.05

-31.39%

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

$530 ฿17.7K

$2,229 £1,656

-76.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿628.1K

$27.5K £20.4K

-31.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,062

$99.9 £74.2

-38.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿945

$48.38 £35.95

-41.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,210

$122 £90.4

-21.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,903

$99.5 £73.9

-12.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.1K

$1,292 £960

-44.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.0K

$1,125 £836

-54.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.2K

$2,129 £1,582

-8.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿46.7K

$1,547 £1,149

-9.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿140.2K

$5,337 £3,966

-21.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.3K

$3,503 £2,603

-5.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.4K

$3,642 £2,707

-86.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.11

9.00%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Cardiff: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Cardiff

$1.1K 45% 121% $617

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Cardiff

$304 12.2% 14.1% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Cardiff

$419 16.7% 232% $293

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Cardiff

$166 6.6% 35.4% $43

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Cardiff

$322 12.9% 170% $203

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Cardiff

$58 2.3% 30% $25

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Cardiff

$107 4.3% 62.5% $41

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Phuket and $1,292 in Cardiff. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cardiff pays about 7.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $86 in Cardiff for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $304 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇬🇧 Cardiff

🕒 Local time

09:38 9:38 AM

02:38 2:38 AM

7 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

346,100

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 GBP = 1.35 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 33.44 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.54 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.743 GBP (1 GBP = 1.35 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Cardiff 10,110 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Cardiff

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 Cardiff: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,294 in Phuket and $2,503 in Cardiff, so Phuket is about 48% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 87% 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: $721 in Phuket versus $1,292 in Cardiff. 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 versus $86 in Cardiff. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,294 per month in Phuket versus $2,503 in Cardiff – Phuket is about 48% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,294 in Phuket versus $2,503 in Cardiff, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Cardiff. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Phuket is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Cardiff, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Cardiff 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 48% less than in Cardiff. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.