Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Cromwell

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,011 in Cromwell, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 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
97

Cost of Living Index in Cromwell
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Cromwell Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Cromwell

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,011

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Cromwell

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,011 in Cromwell.

Phuket $1,278
Cromwell $2,011

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,881 in Cromwell.

Phuket $2,216
Cromwell $2,881

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $3,751 in Cromwell.

Phuket $3,154
Cromwell $3,751

Living in Phuket costs roughly 36% less than in Cromwell, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Cromwell is 48% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$14.42 NZ$25.61

-69.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$62.5 NZ$111

-48.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$11.51 NZ$20.43

-23.46%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$3.26 NZ$5.79

-13.19%

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

$0.87 ฿29.41

$2.15 NZ$3.81

-59.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$2.05 NZ$3.65

-76.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$6.68 NZ$11.86

-61.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$6.29 NZ$11.16

-41.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$2.11 NZ$3.75

-21.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.31

$1.94 NZ$3.45

-24.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.69 NZ$3.01

-11.24%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$5.81 NZ$10.31

-64.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$8.65 NZ$15.36

120.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$9.37 NZ$16.64

-64.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$16.61 NZ$29.48

-34.32%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$3.07 NZ$5.45

-4.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.32 NZ$4.12

-27.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$3.18 NZ$5.64

-29.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$5.02 NZ$8.91

-58.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.85 NZ$3.29

-18.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.52

$1.81 NZ$3.21

-23.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.96

$2.28 NZ$4.05

-53.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$0.60 NZ$1.06

-13.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$21.12 NZ$37.50

-80.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$8.94 NZ$15.87

110.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$3.15 NZ$5.59

-42.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$1.21 NZ$2.15

134.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

$1.88 NZ$3.33

-22.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$93.3 NZ$166

-39.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$2.22 NZ$3.94

36.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.33

$2.09 NZ$3.71

-51.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$28.85 NZ$51.2

-87.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.76

$1.83 NZ$3.25

-19.67%

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

$26.8K ฿903.4K

$28.2K NZ$50.0K

-4.95%

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

$26.7K ฿900.5K

$22.8K NZ$40.5K

17.07%

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

$96.4 ฿3,251

$110 NZ$195

-12.47%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$28.58 NZ$50.7

-60.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$52.9 NZ$93.9

-68.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$39.41 NZ$70.0

70.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$7.00 NZ$12.43

53.29%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$8.35 NZ$14.82

-10.18%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$796 NZ$1,413

-40.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

$12.4K NZ$22.1K

-9.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,104

$59.8 NZ$106

4.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$35.97 NZ$63.9

-21.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,181

$90.7 NZ$161

4.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,895

$134 NZ$237

-35.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$1,013 NZ$1,798

-29.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$932 NZ$1,655

-47.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,638 NZ$2,908

17.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,292 NZ$2,293

10.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$4,771 NZ$8,470

-12.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$3,354 NZ$5,955

-9.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$3,034 NZ$5,387

-83.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

6.6

-15.61%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Cromwell: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Cromwell

$932 46.4% 89.9% $441

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Cromwell

$322 16% 20.9% $56

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Cromwell

$192 9.5% 53.9% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Cromwell

$144 7.2% 18.2% $22

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Cromwell

$252 12.5% 107% $130

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Cromwell

$56 2.8% 31.8% $26

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Cromwell

$113 5.6% 60.7% $43

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $1,013 in Cromwell. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cromwell pays about 6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $63 in Cromwell for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $322 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇳🇿 Cromwell

🕒 Local time

07:54 7:54 AM

13:54 1:54 PM

6 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

5,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.563 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Cromwell 9,160 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Cromwell

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 Cromwell: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 36% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 83% 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 $1,013 in Cromwell. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 21% higher in Cromwell. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $63 in Cromwell. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,011 in Cromwell, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Cromwell. 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 Cromwell 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 36% less than in Cromwell. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.