Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Kirkwall

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $2,121 in Kirkwall, rent and utilities included – about $11,000 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
103

Cost of Living Index in Kirkwall
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Kirkwall Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Kirkwall

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,121

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Kirkwall

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,121 in Kirkwall.

Phuket $1,208
Kirkwall $2,121

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $3,026 in Kirkwall.

Phuket $2,027
Kirkwall $3,026

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $3,931 in Kirkwall.

Phuket $2,845
Kirkwall $3,931

Living in Phuket costs roughly 43% less than in Kirkwall, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Kirkwall is 57% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$23.63 £17.73

-81.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$94.8 £71.1

-65.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$10.57 £7.93

-17.12%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$3.92 £2.94

-27.81%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$3.26 £2.44

-72.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$1.31 £0.98

-64.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$6.20 £4.65

-58.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$8.47 £6.36

-54.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$0.79 £0.59

118.99%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$1.58 £1.19

-6.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$2.05 £1.54

-26.34%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$3.22 £2.42

-32.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$6.59 £4.95

198.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$8.97 £6.73

-62.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$15.90 £11.92

-29.81%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$2.20 £1.65

29.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$1.97 £1.48

-13.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$1.57 £1.18

39.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$1.32 £0.99

55.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$1.11 £0.83

30.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$1.09 £0.82

26.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$0.77 £0.58

38.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$1.08 £0.81

-52.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$20.10 £15.08

-78.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$9.18 £6.89

102.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$2.71 £2.03

-34.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$2.88 £2.16

-1.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$10.51 £7.89

-78.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

$107 £80.4

-79.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$5.19 £3.90

-42.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$2.58 £1.93

-58.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$27.06 £20.30

-85.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$2.05 £1.54

-29.27%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$37.8K £28.4K

-30.44%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$41.2K £30.9K

-34.53%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$282 £212

-65.88%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$30.12 £22.60

-63.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$33.04 £24.79

-48.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$41.73 £31.31

25.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$11.46 £8.60

-31.85%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$1,237 £928

-55.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$91.5 £68.7

-29.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$43.72 £32.80

-34.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$95.0 £71.3

0.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$138 £103

-36.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$935 £701

-21.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$792 £594

-41.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$1,182 £887

77.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$966 £725

24.33%

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

$1,914 £1,436

-73.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.07

9.86%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Kirkwall: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Kirkwall

$792 37.3% 71.3% $329

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Kirkwall

$252 11.9% 6.2% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Kirkwall

$346 16.3% 178% $221

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Kirkwall

$165 7.8% 33.1% $41

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Kirkwall

$334 15.8% 176% $213

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Kirkwall

$65 3.1% 4.6% $3.1

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Kirkwall

$167 7.9% 324% $128

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $737 in Phuket and $935 in Kirkwall. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kirkwall pays 282% 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 $95.0 in Kirkwall. Groceries flip the comparison at $269 vs $252, with Kirkwall cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇬🇧 Kirkwall

🕒 Local time

01:36 1:36 AM

19:36 7:36 PM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

7,500

💱 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 22, 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 22, 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

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Between locations

Phuket Kirkwall 9,900 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Kirkwall

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 Kirkwall: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket and Kirkwall differ by about 76% in total monthly costs ($1,208 vs $2,121 including rent). Phuket is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 282% lower in Kirkwall. 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 $935 in Kirkwall. 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 $95.0 in Kirkwall. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,208 per month in Phuket versus $2,121 in Kirkwall – a 76% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,121 in Kirkwall, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Kirkwall. 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 Kirkwall 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 76% less than in Kirkwall. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.