Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Harlow

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $2,330 in Harlow, rent and utilities included – about $13,500 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
113

Cost of Living Index in Harlow
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Harlow Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Harlow

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,330

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Harlow

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,330 in Harlow.

Phuket $1,208
Harlow $2,330

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $3,407 in Harlow.

Phuket $2,027
Harlow $3,407

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $4,483 in Harlow.

Phuket $2,845
Harlow $4,483

Living in Phuket costs roughly 48% less than in Harlow, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Harlow is 72% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$21.01 £15.76

-79.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$91.7 £68.8

-64.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$10.47 £7.86

-16.33%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$5.47 £4.11

-48.26%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$2.63 £1.97

-65.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$1.85 £1.39

-74.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$6.81 £5.11

-62.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$6.87 £5.15

-44.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$1.30 £0.98

33.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$1.41 £1.06

4.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$1.11 £0.84

36.04%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$2.38 £1.79

-8.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$6.83 £5.12

188.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$6.05 £4.54

-44.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$6.45 £4.84

73.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$2.05 £1.54

39.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$1.23 £0.92

38.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$1.15 £0.87

90.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$2.02 £1.52

1.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$1.63 £1.22

-11.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$1.34 £1.01

2.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$1.34 £1.01

-20.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$1.43 £1.07

-64.34%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$21.29 £15.97

-79.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$9.33 £7.00

99.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$2.70 £2.02

-34.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$2.04 £1.53

39.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$2.73 £2.04

-17.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$5.84 £4.38

-48.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$1.68 £1.26

-36.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$21.15 £15.87

-81.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$1.92 £1.44

-24.48%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$39.0K £29.2K

-32.46%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$40.1K £30.1K

-32.88%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$226 £169

-57.34%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$11.95 £8.97

-7.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$28.54 £21.41

-39.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$47.10 £35.34

10.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

$8.06 £6.05

38.46%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$12.56 £9.42

-37.82%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$1,061 £796

-47.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$19.7K £14.8K

-41.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$68.8 £51.6

-6.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$32.19 £24.15

-10.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$77.0 £57.8

23.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$39.33 £29.51

123.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$1,403 £1,053

-47.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$1,328 £996

-65.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$2,276 £1,708

-7.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$2,182 £1,637

-44.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

$3,013 £2,260

-83.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.91

13.44%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Harlow: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Harlow

$1.3K 57% 187% $865

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Harlow

$210 9% 21.9% $59

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Harlow

$266 11.4% 114% $142

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Harlow

$98 4.2% 21.3% $27

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Harlow

$331 14.2% 173% $210

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Harlow

$72 3.1% 6.5% $4.4

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Harlow

$25 * 1.1% 36.2% $14

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $737 in Phuket and $1,403 in Harlow. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Harlow pays 502% 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 $92.0 in Harlow. Groceries flip the comparison at $269 vs $210, with Harlow cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇬🇧 Harlow

🕒 Local time

03:29 3:29 AM

21:29 9:29 PM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

86,191

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 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 24, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Harlow 9,880 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Harlow

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 Harlow: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket and Harlow differ by about 93% in total monthly costs ($1,208 vs $2,330 including rent). Phuket is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 502% lower in Harlow. 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: $737 in Phuket versus $1,403 in Harlow. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Harlow pay roughly 28% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,208 per month in Phuket versus $2,330 in Harlow – a 93% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,330 in Harlow, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Harlow. 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 Harlow 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 93% less than in Harlow. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.