Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Dumfries

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,754 in Dumfries, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
85

Cost of Living Index in Dumfries
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Dumfries Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Dumfries

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,754

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Dumfries

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,754 in Dumfries.

Phuket $1,278
Dumfries $1,754

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,716 in Dumfries.

Phuket $2,216
Dumfries $2,716

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $3,678 in Dumfries.

Phuket $3,154
Dumfries $3,678

Living in Phuket costs roughly 27% less than in Dumfries, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Dumfries is 29% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$14.71 £10.99

-69.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$79.6 £59.4

-59.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$8.15 £6.08

8.10%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$4.51 £3.37

-37.25%

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

$0.87 ฿29.41

$2.52 £1.88

-65.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$1.33 £0.99

-63.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$5.56 £4.15

-53.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$6.03 £4.50

-38.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.51 £1.13

9.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.31

$1.70 £1.27

-14.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$2.77 £2.07

-45.85%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$4.36 £3.25

-52.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$7.39 £5.52

158.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$9.26 £6.91

-64.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$15.46 £11.55

-29.43%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$2.45 £1.83

19.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.28 £1.70

-25.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.31 £1.72

-2.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$2.86 £2.14

-27.27%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$3.10 £2.31

-51.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.52

$2.09 £1.56

-33.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.96

$1.71 £1.28

-37.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$1.94 £1.45

-73.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$24.02 £17.94

-82.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$12.10 £9.04

55.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$3.34 £2.49

-45.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$3.23 £2.41

-12.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

$4.16 £3.10

-65.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$97.6 £72.8

-41.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$4.71 £3.52

-35.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.33

$0.95 £0.71

7.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$11.77 £8.79

-68.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.76

$1.85 £1.38

-20.54%

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

$26.8K ฿903.4K

$37.7K £28.2K

-28.98%

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

$26.7K ฿900.5K

$41.0K £30.6K

-34.83%

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

$96.4 ฿3,251

$238 £178

-59.58%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$22.51 £16.81

-49.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$43.02 £32.12

-60.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$51.4 £38.36

30.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$26.75 £19.97

-59.89%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$13.52 £10.09

-44.53%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$1,948 £1,454

-75.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

$22.5K £16.8K

-50.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,104

$83.3 £62.2

-25.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$52.3 £39.05

-45.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,181

$121 £90.3

-22.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,895

$89.6 £66.9

-4.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$631 £471

13.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$525 £392

-6.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,017 £759

89.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$944 £705

51.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$4,954 £3,699

-15.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$3,808 £2,844

-20.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$3,436 £2,566

-85.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.41

2.96%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Dumfries: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Dumfries

$525 29.9% 6.9% $34

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Dumfries

$316 18% 18.7% $50

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Dumfries

$304 17.3% 144% $179

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Dumfries

$156 8.9% 27.8% $34

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Dumfries

$251 14.3% 107% $130

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Dumfries

$78 4.5% 4.7% $3.8

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Dumfries

$124 7.1% 75.2% $53

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $631 in Dumfries. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dumfries pays about 6.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $80 in Dumfries for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $316 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇬🇧 Dumfries

🕒 Local time

04:13 4:13 AM

21:13 9:13 PM

7 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

39,080

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 GBP = 1.34 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 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Dumfries 10,040 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Dumfries

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 Dumfries: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 27% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, transport, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 85% 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 $631 in Dumfries. 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 $80 in Dumfries. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,278 per month in Phuket versus $1,754 in Dumfries – Phuket is about 27% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,754 in Dumfries, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Dumfries. 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.

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