Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Hilversum

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,915 in Hilversum, rent and utilities included – about $19,600 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
140

Cost of Living Index in Hilversum
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Hilversum Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Hilversum

🇳🇱 Netherlands

$2,915

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Hilversum

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,915 in Hilversum.

Phuket $1,278
Hilversum $2,915

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $4,247 in Hilversum.

Phuket $2,216
Hilversum $4,247

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $5,579 in Hilversum.

Phuket $3,154
Hilversum $5,579

Living in Phuket costs roughly 56% less than in Hilversum, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Hilversum is 114% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$28.34 €25.46

-84.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$77.5 €69.6

-58.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$17.08 €15.34

-48.42%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$4.29 €3.85

-34.03%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$4.02 €3.61

-78.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$3.00 €2.69

-83.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$5.48 €4.92

-53.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$5.61 €5.04

-34.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.68 €1.51

-1.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$2.19 €1.97

-33.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$3.10 €2.78

-51.61%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$5.06 €4.54

-58.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$13.89 €12.48

37.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$14.50 €13.02

-77.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$16.70 €15.01

-34.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$2.45 €2.20

19.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$2.77 €2.49

-38.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.02 €1.82

11.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$4.44 €3.99

-53.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.78 €1.59

-15.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$2.01 €1.80

-31.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$1.50 €1.35

-28.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$1.11 €1.00

-53.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$12.17 €10.93

-65.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$6.72 €6.04

179.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.43 €1.28

27.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.60 €2.33

9.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$3.61 €3.24

-59.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$67.8 €60.9

-16.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$5.57 €5.01

-45.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$3.42 €3.07

-70.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$22.70 €20.39

-83.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$2.46 €2.21

-40.24%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$41.9K €37.7K

-36.16%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$42.2K €37.9K

-36.70%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$262 €235

-63.18%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$29.44 €26.44

-61.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$63.6 €57.2

-73.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$67.5 €60.6

-0.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$34.64 €31.12

-69.02%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$16.51 €14.83

-54.57%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$700 €628

-31.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$15.5K €14.0K

-27.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$112 €101

-44.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$47.96 €43.08

-40.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$92.2 €82.8

2.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$145 €131

-40.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$1,667 €1,497

-57.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$1,430 €1,285

-65.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$2,731 €2,453

-29.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$2,323 €2,087

-38.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$6,907 €6,205

-39.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$5,239 €4,706

-41.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$4,008 €3,601

-87.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.3

29.53%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Hilversum: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Hilversum

$1.4K 49.1% 191% $939

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Hilversum

$349 12% 31.2% $83

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Hilversum

$355 12.2% 185% $230

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Hilversum

$179 6.1% 46.8% $57

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Hilversum

$396 13.6% 226% $274

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Hilversum

$101 3.5% 22.2% $18

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Hilversum

$105 3.6% 48.7% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $1,667 in Hilversum. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hilversum pays about 8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $77 in Hilversum for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $349 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇳🇱 Hilversum

🕒 Local time

06:46 6:46 AM

00:46 12:46 AM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

93,345

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD 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 = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Hilversum 9,530 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Hilversum

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 Hilversum: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,278 in Phuket and $2,915 in Hilversum, so Phuket is about 56% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 87% 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 $1,667 in Hilversum. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 16% less than in Hilversum. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $700 in Hilversum. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,915 in Hilversum, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Hilversum. 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 Hilversum 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 56% less than in Hilversum. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.