Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Karlovy Vary

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $1,447 in Karlovy Vary, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 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
70

Cost of Living Index in Karlovy Vary
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Karlovy Vary Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Karlovy Vary

🇨🇿 Czech Republic

$1,447

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Karlovy Vary

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,447 in Karlovy Vary.

Phuket $1,207
Karlovy Vary $1,447

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $2,407 in Karlovy Vary.

Phuket $2,037
Karlovy Vary $2,407

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $3,367 in Karlovy Vary.

Phuket $2,867
Karlovy Vary $3,367

Living in Phuket costs roughly 17% less than in Karlovy Vary, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Karlovy Vary is 7% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ฿153

$9.12 Kč 197

-49.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.48 ฿1,086

$45.32 Kč 980

-28.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿286

$8.63 Kč 187

-0.93%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.0

$2.92 Kč 63.1

-6.85%

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

$0.94 ฿31.25

$1.64 Kč 35.40

-42.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.39

$1.35 Kč 29.28

-63.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$2.02 Kč 43.64

28.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$1.92 Kč 41.42

99.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$1.16 Kč 25.17

50.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿47.82

$1.43 Kč 31.01

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.0

$2.31 Kč 49.89

-33.77%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$2.80 Kč 60.6

-22.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.15 ฿640

$12.32 Kč 266

55.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿110

$7.03 Kč 152

-53.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿372

$16.70 Kč 361

-33.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ฿98.5

$1.86 Kč 40.12

58.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.1

$1.70 Kč 36.87

-1.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 ฿76.8

$2.14 Kč 46.31

7.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ฿71.3

$3.24 Kč 70.1

-34.26%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.1

$1.06 Kč 23.03

44.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.55

$1.10 Kč 23.80

23.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.44

$1.13 Kč 24.54

-0.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$0.76 Kč 16.42

-27.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$7.45 Kč 161

-42.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿608

$6.89 Kč 149

164.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$0.88 Kč 19.04

97.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.3

$1.65 Kč 35.69

69.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

$2.26 Kč 48.81

-1.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

$25.53 Kč 552

-13.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 ฿97.3

$2.71 Kč 58.6

7.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.79

$1.45 Kč 31.30

-30.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

$16.71 Kč 361

-77.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.85

$1.88 Kč 40.76

-20.74%

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

$26.7K ฿891.6K

$27.5K Kč 594.6K

-2.96%

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

$26.7K ฿892.7K

$23.2K Kč 502.0K

15.07%

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

$99.4 ฿3,321

$252 Kč 5,447

-60.55%

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

$11.28 ฿377

$22.47 Kč 486

-49.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.36 ฿580

$18.84 Kč 407

-7.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,747

$57.9 Kč 1,252

-9.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

$21.42 Kč 463

-49.35%

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ฿253

$6.93 Kč 150

9.24%

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

$558 ฿18.7K

$182 Kč 3,941

206.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

$2,794 Kč 60.4K

311.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,102

$83.4 Kč 1,804

-24.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿955

$36.53 Kč 790

-21.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 ฿3,213

$101 Kč 2,175

-4.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,943

$123 Kč 2,656

-28.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

$692 Kč 15.0K

5.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

$470 Kč 10.2K

-2.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

$1,642 Kč 35.5K

27.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

$1,305 Kč 28.2K

-6.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

$6,820 Kč 147.5K

-49.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

$5,127 Kč 110.9K

-51.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

$1,404 Kč 30.4K

-64.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.67

19.27%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Last update for Karlovy Vary: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$460 38.1%

Karlovy Vary

$470 32.5% 2.1% $9.7

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.2%

Karlovy Vary

$253 17.5% 5.3% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$128 10.6%

Karlovy Vary

$293 20.3% 129% $165

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Karlovy Vary

$155 10.7% 24.5% $30

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10.1%

Karlovy Vary

$160 11% 31.7% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$67 5.6%

Karlovy Vary

$72 5% 6.4% $4.3

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.2%

Karlovy Vary

$45 3.1% 14.5% $5.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $729 in Phuket and $692 in Karlovy Vary. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Karlovy Vary pays 185% 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 $45.00 in Karlovy Vary. Groceries flip the comparison at $268 vs $253, with Karlovy Vary cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇿 Karlovy Vary

🕒 Local time

11:27 11:27 AM

06:27 6:27 AM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

52,065

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Czech Koruna CZK Kč

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 CZK = 4.62 USD

100 CZK = 4.11 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CZK, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Czech Koruna exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 21.63 CZK (100 CZK = 4.62 USD). 1 EUR = 24.31 CZK (100 CZK = 4.11 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Karlovy Vary 9,020 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Karlovy Vary

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 Karlovy Vary: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in clothing, eating out, and leisure. The 20% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 185% lower in Karlovy Vary. 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 $692 in Karlovy Vary. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $45.00 in Karlovy Vary. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,207 per month in Phuket versus $1,447 in Karlovy Vary – a 20% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,447 in Karlovy Vary, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Karlovy Vary. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Phuket is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Karlovy Vary, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Karlovy Vary 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 20% less than in Karlovy Vary. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.