Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Karlovac

For one person, living costs are similar in Phuket and in Karlovac: $1,278 and $1,222 a month, rent and utilities included.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Karlovac
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Karlovac Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Karlovac

🇭🇷 Croatia

$1,222

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Karlovac

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,222 in Karlovac.

Phuket $1,278
Karlovac $1,222

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,821 in Karlovac.

Phuket $2,216
Karlovac $1,821

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,419 in Karlovac.

Phuket $3,154
Karlovac $2,419

Living in Phuket is roughly 5% more expensive than in Karlovac, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Karlovac 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$11.20 €10.06

-60.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$44.46 €39.94

-27.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$7.61 €6.84

15.77%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$1.96 €1.76

44.39%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$2.45 €2.20

-64.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$1.61 €1.45

-69.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$2.43 €2.19

5.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.46 €2.21

49.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.13 €1.02

46.90%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$1.13 €1.02

29.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.53 €1.38

-1.96%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$3.16 €2.84

-33.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$9.05 €8.13

110.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$9.86 €8.86

-66.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$12.02 €10.80

-9.23%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$1.97 €1.77

48.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.84 €1.66

-8.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$1.83 €1.64

22.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$2.01 €1.81

3.48%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.38 €1.24

9.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$1.06 €0.95

30.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$1.63 €1.46

-34.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$1.17 €1.05

-55.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$5.69 €5.11

-26.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$6.67 €5.99

181.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.61 €1.45

13.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.31 €2.07

22.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$3.33 €2.99

-56.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$5.66 €5.09

-46.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$1.09 €0.98

-6.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.69 €1.52

-13.02%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$26.3K €23.6K

1.75%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$24.7K €22.2K

8.04%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$178 €160

-46.01%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$27.68 €24.86

-59.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$38.87 €34.91

-56.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$38.63 €34.70

74.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$18.24 €16.39

-41.17%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$6.55 €5.88

14.50%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$427 €384

11.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$6,876 €6,176

63.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$89.3 €80.2

-30.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$49.51 €44.47

-42.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$88.8 €79.8

6.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$78.3 €70.3

9.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$478 €429

49.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$349 €313

40.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$733 €659

162.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$530 €477

169.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$2,746 €2,467

52.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$2,382 €2,139

27.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$1,399 €1,257

-64.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.72

49.73%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Karlovac: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Karlovac

$349 28.5% 29% $142

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Karlovac

$245 20.1% 7.9% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Karlovac

$245 20.1% 96.8% $121

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Karlovac

$138 11.3% 12.9% $16

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Karlovac

$169 13.9% 39.1% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Karlovac

$52 4.2% 37.1% $31

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Karlovac

$24 * 2% 65.4% $46

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 $716 in Phuket and $478 in Karlovac. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Karlovac pays about 2.8 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $44 in Karlovac. Groceries flip the comparison at $266 vs $245, with Karlovac cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇭🇷 Karlovac

🕒 Local time

01:47 1:47 AM

19:47 7:47 PM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

41,869

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Karlovac 8,830 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Karlovac

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 Karlovac: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Karlovac is cheaper overall, especially in transport, leisure, and groceries. The 5% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 64% 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 $478 in Karlovac. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 9% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,278 per month in Phuket versus $1,222 in Karlovac – a 5% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Karlovac gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 Karlovac are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.