Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Cluj-Napoca

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,423 in Cluj-Napoca, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 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
68

Cost of Living Index in Cluj-Napoca
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Cluj-Napoca Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Cluj-Napoca

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,423

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Cluj-Napoca

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 Cluj-Napoca actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,423 in Cluj-Napoca.

Phuket $1,278
Cluj-Napoca $1,423

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,126 in Cluj-Napoca.

Phuket $2,216
Cluj-Napoca $2,126

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,830 in Cluj-Napoca.

Phuket $3,154
Cluj-Napoca $2,830

Living in Phuket costs roughly 10% less than in Cluj-Napoca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Cluj-Napoca is 5% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$12.58 RON 60.5

-64.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$54.8 RON 263

-40.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$9.59 RON 46.11

-8.13%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$3.78 RON 18.15

-25.13%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$2.30 RON 11.07

-62.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$2.22 RON 10.68

-77.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$3.32 RON 15.94

-22.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$4.20 RON 20.17

-12.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.60 RON 7.70

3.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$1.44 RON 6.93

1.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.69 RON 8.14

-11.24%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$3.76 RON 18.05

-44.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$9.07 RON 43.57

110.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$7.14 RON 34.30

-53.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$11.46 RON 55.1

-4.80%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$1.39 RON 6.66

110.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.58 RON 7.60

6.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$1.88 RON 9.04

19.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$2.37 RON 11.38

-12.24%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.92 RON 4.43

64.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$0.90 RON 4.32

53.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$0.90 RON 4.34

18.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$1.01 RON 4.84

-48.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$6.42 RON 30.86

-34.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$7.41 RON 35.62

153.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.25 RON 5.98

45.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$1.73 RON 8.31

64.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$0.76 RON 3.65

90.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$44.23 RON 213

28.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$0.84 RON 4.01

259.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$0.96 RON 4.62

6.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$8.27 RON 39.74

-55.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.94 RON 9.32

-24.23%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$28.3K RON 136.1K

-5.48%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$24.7K RON 118.9K

7.89%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$151 RON 725

-36.13%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$8.44 RON 40.55

33.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$9.16 RON 44.04

83.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$47.36 RON 228

41.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$22.01 RON 106

-51.25%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$9.35 RON 44.95

-19.79%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$577 RON 2,774

-17.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$9,450 RON 45.4K

19.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$87.1 RON 419

-28.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$44.26 RON 213

-35.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$98.8 RON 475

-4.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$107 RON 513

-19.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$668 RON 3,212

7.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$536 RON 2,575

-8.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$1,227 RON 5,895

57.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$807 RON 3,881

77.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$4,568 RON 22.0K

-8.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$3,342 RON 16.1K

-8.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$1,241 RON 5,962

-59.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

6.65

-16.24%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Cluj-Napoca: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Cluj-Napoca

$536 37.7% 9.1% $45

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Cluj-Napoca

$230 16.2% 13.6% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Cluj-Napoca

$168 11.8% 35.3% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Cluj-Napoca

$152 10.7% 24.4% $30

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Cluj-Napoca

$218 15.3% 79% $96

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Cluj-Napoca

$66 4.6% 19.7% $16

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Cluj-Napoca

$53 3.7% 25% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $668 in Cluj-Napoca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cluj-Napoca pays about 2.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $55 in Cluj-Napoca. Groceries flip the comparison at $266 vs $230, with Cluj-Napoca cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇷🇴 Cluj-Napoca

🕒 Local time

00:44 12:44 AM

19:44 7:44 PM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

324,576

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, 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).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.81 RON (1 RON = 0.208 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Cluj-Napoca 8,210 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Cluj-Napoca

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 Cluj-Napoca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out and clothing. The 11% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 60% 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 $668 in Cluj-Napoca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Cluj-Napoca runs roughly 22% less than in Phuket. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $577 in Cluj-Napoca. 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 Cluj-Napoca are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

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