Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Centurion

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,367 in Centurion, rent and utilities included – about $1,100 less a year. The total is higher in Centurion despite lower rent and utilities.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
66

Cost of Living Index in Centurion
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Centurion Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Centurion

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,367

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Centurion

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,367 in Centurion.

Phuket $1,278
Centurion $1,367

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,206 in Centurion.

Phuket $2,216
Centurion $2,206

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $3,045 in Centurion.

Phuket $3,154
Centurion $3,045

Living in Phuket costs roughly 6% less than in Centurion, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$21.75 R 361

-79.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,092

$40.00 R 664

-18.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$5.75 R 95.5

53.22%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.3

$2.67 R 44.30

5.99%

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

$0.87 ฿29.37

$0.97 R 16.05

-10.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.64

$0.87 R 14.41

-43.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.2

$2.04 R 33.90

25.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.42 R 40.14

52.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.17 R 19.35

41.88%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.25

$1.21 R 20.13

20.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.4

$2.11 R 35.07

-28.91%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.4

$2.93 R 48.73

-28.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿642

$10.09 R 168

89.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$6.63 R 110

-50.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$7.26 R 121

50.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.7

$1.86 R 30.91

57.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.9

$1.86 R 30.93

-9.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.7

$2.14 R 35.49

5.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$2.05 R 34.08

1.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.9

$1.59 R 26.34

-5.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.47

$1.78 R 29.58

-22.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.91

$1.36 R 22.52

-21.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.49

$1.39 R 23.06

-62.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.70 R 61.4

13.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿633

$5.94 R 98.7

216.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.4

$1.58 R 26.26

15.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.7

$2.09 R 34.68

35.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.93

$2.36 R 39.18

-38.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,909

$97.4 R 1,617

-41.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.22 R 20.30

147.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.29

$1.18 R 19.61

-13.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿124

$9.04 R 150

-59.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.70

$1.44 R 23.93

2.08%

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

$26.8K ฿902.4K

$35.7K R 593.0K

-25.00%

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

$26.7K ฿899.5K

$32.9K R 545.8K

-18.77%

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

$96.4 ฿3,247

$136 R 2,263

-29.27%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$29.89 R 497

-62.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$40.20 R 668

-58.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,266

$43.78 R 727

53.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿361

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$10.59 R 176

-29.18%

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

$476 ฿16.0K

$315 R 5,226

51.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿379.6K

$4,416 R 73.4K

155.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,102

$58.5 R 972

6.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿957

$43.25 R 718

-34.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,178

$117 R 1,944

-19.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,892

$102 R 1,696

-15.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.1K

$335 R 5,571

113.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.5K

$369 R 6,124

33.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿64.9K

$581 R 9,643

231.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.2K

$891 R 14.8K

60.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.7K

$527 R 8,757

692.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.6K

$605 R 10.0K

403.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$2,364 R 39.3K

-78.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

10.5

-46.95%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Centurion: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Centurion

$369 27% 24.9% $122

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Centurion

$223 16.3% 16.3% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Centurion

$206 15.1% 65.8% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Centurion

$144 10.6% 18.5% $22

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Centurion

$246 18% 102% $124

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Centurion

$65 4.8% 21% $17

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Centurion

$114 8.3% 61.4% $43

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $335 in Centurion. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Centurion pays about 4.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $40 in Centurion. Groceries flip the comparison at $266 vs $223, with Centurion cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇿🇦 Centurion

🕒 Local time

13:27 1:27 PM

08:27 8:27 AM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

236,580

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 16.61 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.02 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Centurion 8,450 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Centurion

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 Centurion: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 6% lower than in Centurion. 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 79% 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 $335 in Centurion. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 42% less than in Centurion. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $315 in Centurion. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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 Centurion are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Centurion on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.