Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Cholpon-Ata

For one person, living is cheaper in Cholpon-Ata: $499 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 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
24

Cost of Living Index in Cholpon-Ata
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Cholpon-Ata Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Cholpon-Ata

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan

$499

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Cholpon-Ata

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 Cholpon-Ata actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,278 per month in Phuket vs $499 in Cholpon-Ata, rent included.

Phuket $1,278
Cholpon-Ata $499

A couple spends around $2,216 per month in Phuket vs $829 in Cholpon-Ata, rent included.

Phuket $2,216
Cholpon-Ata $829

A family of three spends $3,154 per month in Phuket vs $1,160 in Cholpon-Ata, rent included.

Phuket $3,154
Cholpon-Ata $1,160

Phuket costs about 156% more than Cholpon-Ata, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Phuket and Cholpon-Ata are more affordable than the global median – Phuket 6% lower, Cholpon-Ata 63% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$6.82 KGS 597

-34.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$28.62 KGS 2,504

13.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$5.93 KGS 519

48.57%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$2.40 KGS 210

17.92%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$0.75 KGS 65.8

16.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.37 KGS 32.65

32.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$1.33 KGS 116

92.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$1.98 KGS 173

85.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.03 KGS 89.8

61.17%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$0.42 KGS 36.63

247.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.74 KGS 152

-13.79%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.77 KGS 155

18.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$7.48 KGS 654

154.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$4.49 KGS 393

-26.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$8.89 KGS 777

22.72%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$1.40 KGS 122

109.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.82 KGS 159

-7.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.03 KGS 177

10.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$1.60 KGS 140

30.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.61 KGS 53.6

147.54%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$0.51 KGS 44.41

170.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$0.75 KGS 65.6

42.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$0.57 KGS 50.2

-8.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$2.10 KGS 184

100.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$9.36 KGS 819

100.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.38 KGS 120

31.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$1.91 KGS 168

48.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$0.22 KGS 19.24

559.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$0.83 KGS 73.0

263.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$0.44 KGS 38.41

131.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$5.80 KGS 507

-36.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.02 KGS 89.1

44.12%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$30.0K KGS 2.6M

-10.75%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$33.5K KGS 2.9M

-20.37%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$49.93 KGS 4,367

92.97%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$2.94 KGS 257

282.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$11.77 KGS 1,030

43.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$5.69 KGS 498

31.81%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$223 KGS 19.5K

112.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$7,905 KGS 691.4K

42.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$54.5 KGS 4,770

14.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$43.02 KGS 3,763

-33.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$92.1 KGS 8,053

2.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$91.3 KGS 7,988

-6.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

20.1

-72.29%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Cholpon-Ata: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Cholpon-Ata

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Cholpon-Ata

$176 35.3% 33.8% $90

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Cholpon-Ata

$65 13% 48.1% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Cholpon-Ata

$126 25.3% 3.7% $4.5

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Cholpon-Ata

$116 23.3% 4.5% $5.5

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Cholpon-Ata

$11 * 2.3% 86.2% $71

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Cholpon-Ata

$3.9 * 0.8% 94.5% $67

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32 in Phuket versus $29 in Cholpon-Ata. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $266 vs $176 – making Cholpon-Ata the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇰🇬 Cholpon-Ata

🕒 Local time

01:47 1:47 AM

00:47 12:47 AM

1 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

14,200

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Kyrgyzstani Som KGS сом

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 KGS = 1.14 USD

100 KGS = 1.03 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KGS, 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 = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Kyrgyzstani Som exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 87.47 KGS (100 KGS = 1.14 USD). 1 EUR = 97.37 KGS (100 KGS = 1.03 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Cholpon-Ata 4,390 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Cholpon-Ata

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 Cholpon-Ata: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,278 in Phuket, $499 in Cholpon-Ata – roughly 156% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,917 per month in Phuket and $748 in Cholpon-Ata. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32 in Phuket and $29 in Cholpon-Ata. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 51% more in Phuket, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Cholpon-Ata, where all-in costs run around $499, than in Phuket at $1,278. In Cholpon-Ata it covers expenses comfortably, while in Phuket it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Phuket has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $499 in Cholpon-Ata to $1,278 in Phuket. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.