Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Durham

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,190 a month against $2,073 in Durham, rent and utilities included – about $10,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
100

Cost of Living Index in Durham
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Durham Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,190

/mo nomad

Durham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,073

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Durham

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,190 in Phuket versus $2,073 in Durham.

Phuket $1,190
Durham $2,073

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,006 in Phuket versus $3,286 in Durham.

Phuket $2,006
Durham $3,286

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,822 in Phuket versus $4,498 in Durham.

Phuket $2,822
Durham $4,498

Living in Phuket costs roughly 43% less than in Durham, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Durham is 55% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.35 ฿146

$19.57 £14.79

-77.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.45 ฿1,087

$93.4 £70.6

-65.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.42 ฿282

$11.40 £8.61

-26.14%

Cappuccino

$2.81 ฿94.0

$4.56 £3.44

-38.38%

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

$0.87 ฿29.29

$2.54 £1.92

-65.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.46 ฿15.39

$2.04 £1.54

-77.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$6.08 £4.59

-57.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.64 ฿122

$5.33 £4.03

-31.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 ฿57.2

$1.95 £1.47

-12.31%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.42

$1.54 £1.17

-5.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.56 ฿52.3

$3.03 £2.29

-48.51%

Eggs

$2.10 ฿70.3

$4.37 £3.30

-51.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.53 ฿654

$10.02 £7.57

94.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$8.86 £6.69

-61.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿373

$21.35 £16.13

-47.82%

Apples (1kg)

$2.83 ฿94.8

$2.93 £2.21

-3.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 ฿54.3

$2.53 £1.91

-35.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 ฿74.5

$2.75 £2.08

-19.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.15 ฿71.9

$5.08 £3.84

-57.68%

Potato (1kg)

$1.49 ฿49.95

$1.56 £1.18

-4.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.33 ฿44.40

$1.70 £1.29

-21.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.72

$1.06 £0.80

0.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.01

$1.88 £1.42

-72.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 ฿147

$23.61 £17.84

-81.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.77 ฿629

$10.64 £8.04

76.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.3

$3.31 £2.50

-47.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿92.9

$3.15 £2.38

-11.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.17 ฿72.6

$3.23 £2.44

-32.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.28 ฿746

$86.9 £65.7

-74.37%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿101

$6.39 £4.83

-52.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.43

$1.93 £1.46

-45.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.71 ฿124

$23.68 £17.89

-84.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 ฿47.88

$1.88 £1.42

-23.94%

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

$26.3K ฿882.1K

$37.8K £28.6K

-30.38%

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

$26.2K ฿877.3K

$41.1K £31.1K

-36.25%

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

$96.7 ฿3,236

$265 £200

-63.46%

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

$11.41 ฿382

$15.21 £11.49

-24.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.11 ฿573

$42.95 £32.45

-60.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.8 ฿1,768

$46.78 £35.35

12.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.07 ฿371

Cinema Ticket

$7.65 ฿256

$12.51 £9.45

-38.85%

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

$555 ฿18.6K

$1,300 £982

-57.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿377.7K

$25.2K £19.1K

-55.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.4 ฿2,123

$106 £80.3

-40.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.61 ฿958

$71.4 £53.9

-59.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.7 ฿3,238

$114 £86.1

-15.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 ฿2,967

$97.2 £73.5

-8.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$735 ฿24.6K

$1,539 £1,163

-52.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$458 ฿15.3K

$743 £562

-38.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,102 ฿70.4K

$2,661 £2,011

-21.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 ฿39.7K

$1,565 £1,183

-24.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,493 ฿116.9K

$5,034 £3,804

-30.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,491 ฿83.4K

$3,862 £2,919

-35.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.8K

$2,064 £1,559

-75.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.18

7.53%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 4, 2026

Last update for Durham: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$458 38.1%

Durham

$743 35.7% 62.3% $285

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.3%

Durham

$348 16.7% 29.9% $80

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.4%

Durham

$323 15.5% 158% $198

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$125 10.4%

Durham

$175 8.4% 40.2% $50

Eating Out

Phuket

$119 9.9%

Durham

$305 14.6% 156% $186

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.7%

Durham

$72 3.5% 5.4% $3.7

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Durham

$116 5.6% 195% $77

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $735 in Phuket and $1,539 in Durham. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Durham pays 312% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $93.0 in Durham for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $348 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇬🇧 Durham

🕒 Local time

13:42 1:42 PM

07:42 7:42 AM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

42,100

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 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 October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.55 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Durham 9,920 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Durham

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 Durham: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket and Durham differ by about 74% in total monthly costs ($1,190 vs $2,073 including rent). Phuket is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 312% lower in Durham. 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: $735 in Phuket versus $1,539 in Durham. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,190 per month in Phuket versus $2,073 in Durham – a 74% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 290% less than in Durham. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,190 in Phuket versus $2,073 in Durham, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Durham. 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 Durham are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 74% less than in Durham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.