Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Fourways

For one person, living is cheaper in Fourways: $1,031 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Fourways
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Fourways Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Fourways

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,031

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Fourways

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

A single person spends $1,278 per month in Phuket vs $1,031 in Fourways, rent included.

Phuket $1,278
Fourways $1,031

A couple spends around $2,216 per month in Phuket vs $1,591 in Fourways, rent included.

Phuket $2,216
Fourways $1,591

A family of three spends $3,154 per month in Phuket vs $2,151 in Fourways, rent included.

Phuket $3,154
Fourways $2,151

Phuket costs about 24% more than Fourways, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Phuket and Fourways are more affordable than the global median – Phuket 6% lower, Fourways 24% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$9.11 R 152

-50.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$36.79 R 613

-11.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$5.32 R 88.6

65.60%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$2.18 R 36.32

29.82%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$1.02 R 17.04

-14.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.81 R 13.43

-39.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$2.35 R 39.20

8.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.74 R 45.67

34.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.16 R 19.40

43.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$1.12 R 18.70

30.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.67 R 27.78

-10.18%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.40 R 40.02

-12.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$7.56 R 126

152.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$4.35 R 72.6

-24.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$7.02 R 117

55.41%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$1.38 R 23.07

112.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.59 R 26.54

6.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$1.76 R 29.35

27.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$1.54 R 25.68

35.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.12 R 18.68

34.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$1.21 R 20.19

14.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$1.22 R 20.36

-12.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$1.09 R 18.18

-52.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.19 R 53.2

31.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$5.01 R 83.5

275.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.52 R 25.41

19.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$1.96 R 32.65

44.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$0.29 R 4.77

941.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$0.80 R 13.36

27.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$14.28 R 238

-74.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.56 R 25.95

-5.77%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$28.7K R 478.2K

-6.68%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$26.7K R 444.9K

-0.04%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$87.3 R 1,454

10.43%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$36.98 R 616

-69.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$36.87 R 614

-54.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$32.58 R 543

106.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$16.27 R 271

-34.05%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$7.12 R 119

5.34%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$256 R 4,266

85.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$7,815 R 130.2K

44.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$53.0 R 884

17.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$31.76 R 529

-10.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$77.2 R 1,287

22.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$84.3 R 1,405

1.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$386 R 6,429

85.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$387 R 6,446

26.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$740 R 12.3K

160.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$704 R 11.7K

103.08%

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

$1,572 R 26.2K

-68.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

11.34

-50.88%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Fourways: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Fourways

$387 37.5% 21.2% $104

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Fourways

$181 17.6% 31.9% $85

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Fourways

$161 15.6% 29.4% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Fourways

$111 10.8% 9.1% $11

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Fourways

$140 13.5% 14.6% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Fourways

$47 4.5% 43.1% $35

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Fourways

$4.3 * 0.4% 93.9% $66

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $716 in Phuket versus $386 in Fourways. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Fourways are about 3.1 times higher, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32 in Phuket versus $37 in Fourways. Groceries tell a different story – $266 in Phuket vs $181 in Fourways – so Fourways wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇿🇦 Fourways

🕒 Local time

20:00 8:00 PM

15:00 3:00 PM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, 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 = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Fourways 8,470 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Fourways

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 Fourways: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket costs about 24% more than Fourways, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,917 per month in Phuket and $1,546 in Fourways. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Fourways, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $386 there versus $716 in Phuket.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32 in Phuket and $37 in Fourways. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 47% more in Phuket, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,278 in Phuket and $1,031 in Fourways. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Fourways costs $1,031 versus $1,278 in Phuket. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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.