Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Ilmenau

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $2,071 in Ilmenau, rent and utilities included – about $10,400 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 Ilmenau
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Ilmenau Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Ilmenau

🇩🇪 Germany

$2,071

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Ilmenau

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,071 in Ilmenau.

Phuket $1,207
Ilmenau $2,071

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $2,525 in Ilmenau.

Phuket $2,037
Ilmenau $2,525

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $2,980 in Ilmenau.

Phuket $2,867
Ilmenau $2,980

Living in Phuket costs roughly 42% less than in Ilmenau, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Ilmenau is 53% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ฿153

$10.96 €9.75

-58.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.48 ฿1,086

$66.5 €59.2

-51.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿286

$11.27 €10.02

-24.13%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.0

$3.41 €3.04

-20.23%

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

$0.94 ฿31.25

$4.26 €3.79

-77.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.39

$7.97 €7.09

-93.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$4.41 €3.92

-41.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$4.99 €4.44

-23.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$1.13 €1.01

53.98%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿47.82

$2.14 €1.90

-33.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.0

$3.24 €2.88

-52.78%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$3.23 €2.87

-32.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.15 ฿640

$14.33 €12.75

33.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿110

$10.24 €9.11

-67.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿372

$17.76 €15.79

-37.27%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ฿98.5

$2.87 €2.55

2.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.1

$1.40 €1.24

20.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 ฿76.8

$3.50 €3.11

-34.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ฿71.3

$3.82 €3.40

-44.24%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.1

$2.11 €1.88

-27.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.55

$1.36 €1.21

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.44

$1.63 €1.45

-31.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$0.88 €0.78

-37.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$9.22 €8.20

-53.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿608

$6.22 €5.53

192.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$1.11 €0.99

56.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.3

$1.48 €1.32

88.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

$65.3 €58.1

-66.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 ฿97.3

$5.23 €4.65

-44.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.79

$4.21 €3.75

-76.01%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

$43.78 €38.94

-91.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.85

$2.14 €1.90

-30.37%

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

$26.7K ฿891.6K

$32.3K €28.7K

-17.29%

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

$26.7K ฿892.7K

$37.8K €33.6K

-29.27%

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

$99.4 ฿3,321

$675 €600

-85.27%

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

$11.28 ฿377

$27.38 €24.36

-58.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.36 ฿580

$34.08 €30.32

-49.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,747

$48.13 €42.81

8.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ฿253

$13.20 €11.74

-42.65%

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

$558 ฿18.7K

$454 €404

22.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,102

$93.0 €82.8

-32.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿955

$31.50 €28.02

-9.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 ฿3,213

$121 €107

-20.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,943

$113 €101

-22.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

$471 €419

54.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

$455 €404

1.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

$828 €737

153.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

$3,254 €2,894

-84.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.95

41.01%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Last update for Ilmenau: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$460 38.1%

Ilmenau

$455 22% 1.2% $5.4

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.2%

Ilmenau

$309 14.9% 15.5% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$128 10.6%

Ilmenau

$736 35.6% 475% $608

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Ilmenau

$161 7.8% 30% $37

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10.1%

Ilmenau

$243 11.8% 101% $122

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$67 5.6%

Ilmenau

$75 3.6% 10.5% $7.1

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.2%

Ilmenau

$92 * 4.4% 135% $53

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 $729 in Phuket and $471 in Ilmenau. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ilmenau pays 560% 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 $67.0 in Ilmenau for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $309 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇩🇪 Ilmenau

🕒 Local time

18:47 6:47 PM

13:47 1:47 PM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

39,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Ilmenau 9,150 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Ilmenau

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 Ilmenau: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket and Ilmenau differ by about 72% in total monthly costs ($1,207 vs $2,071 including rent). Phuket is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 560% lower in Ilmenau. 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: $729 in Phuket versus $471 in Ilmenau. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,207 per month in Phuket versus $2,071 in Ilmenau – a 72% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 196% less than in Ilmenau. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,071 in Ilmenau, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Ilmenau. 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 Ilmenau 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 72% less than in Ilmenau. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.