Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Kuruman

For one person, living is cheaper in Kuruman: $1,162 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
53

Cost of Living Index in Kuruman
Learn more

Kuruman Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Kuruman

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,162

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Kuruman

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $1,162 in Kuruman.

Phuket $1,294
Kuruman $1,162

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $1,815 in Kuruman.

Phuket $2,204
Kuruman $1,815

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $2,468 in Kuruman.

Phuket $3,115
Kuruman $2,468

Living in Phuket is roughly 11% more expensive than in Kuruman, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 4% lower, Kuruman 14% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿147

$10.85 R 178

-59.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,078

$37.97 R 622

-14.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿290

$5.59 R 91.6

55.64%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿90.9

$1.85 R 30.31

47.03%

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

$0.93 ฿31.06

$1.14 R 18.71

-18.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.67

$0.59 R 9.60

-15.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿84.5

$2.45 R 40.19

3.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿121

$2.68 R 43.91

35.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$1.14 R 18.73

52.63%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.42

$1.31 R 21.43

10.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.1

$1.78 R 29.11

-15.73%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.5

$4.26 R 69.8

-49.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿637

$8.52 R 140

124.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿113

$5.05 R 82.8

-32.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿364

$7.49 R 123

45.53%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿98.2

$1.85 R 30.34

58.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.5

$1.63 R 26.66

3.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.2

$1.77 R 29.04

23.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿70.9

$1.66 R 27.26

27.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿48.68

$1.43 R 23.42

2.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.66

$1.42 R 23.26

-3.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿35.91

$1.18 R 19.30

-8.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.21

$1.18 R 19.26

-53.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿148

$3.64 R 59.7

21.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿609

$4.93 R 80.8

270.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.2

$1.45 R 23.70

22.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿96.2

$1.89 R 31.01

52.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.32

$1.56 R 25.59

-7.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,832

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿50.5

$0.85 R 13.97

77.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿25.90

$0.82 R 13.43

-4.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿128

$13.01 R 213

-70.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.65

$1.49 R 24.38

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

$26.9K ฿897.3K

$30.4K R 498.4K

-11.64%

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

$26.3K ฿879.4K

$30.8K R 504.9K

-14.52%

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

$97.8 ฿3,265

$153 R 2,514

-36.24%

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

$11.29 ฿377

$34.83 R 571

-67.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿574

$37.52 R 615

-54.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,281

$32.98 R 540

107.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿365

$10.85 R 178

0.65%

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿248

$6.48 R 106

14.66%

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

$530 ฿17.7K

$265 R 4,339

100.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿626.9K

$6,306 R 103.3K

197.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,059

$54.2 R 887

13.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿943

$34.07 R 558

-17.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,204

$98.2 R 1,609

-2.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,898

$85.0 R 1,392

2.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.1K

$438 R 7,179

64.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.0K

$403 R 6,609

26.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.1K

$650 R 10.6K

200.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿46.6K

$836 R 13.7K

67.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿139.9K

$799 R 13.1K

424.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.1K

$679 R 11.1K

385.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.4K

$1,098 R 18.0K

-55.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

10.92

-48.99%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Kuruman: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Kuruman

$403 34.7% 20.7% $105

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Kuruman

$203 17.5% 23.8% $64

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Kuruman

$226 19.4% 78.8% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Kuruman

$122 10.5% 0.5% $0.6

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Kuruman

$150 12.9% 25.8% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Kuruman

$46 4% 44.8% $37

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Kuruman

$11 * 1% 83% $55

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 $721 in Phuket and $438 in Kuruman. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kuruman pays about 2.2 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 $38 in Kuruman. Groceries flip the comparison at $267 vs $203, with Kuruman cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇿🇦 Kuruman

🕒 Local time

05:26 5:26 AM

00:26 12:26 AM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

9,093

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 3 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.1 USD

100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.38 THB (100 THB = 3 USD). 1 EUR = 37.47 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 16.38 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.1 USD). 1 EUR = 18.39 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Kuruman 8,950 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Kuruman

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 Kuruman: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,294 in Phuket and $1,162 in Kuruman, so Kuruman is about 10% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 55% 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: $721 in Phuket versus $438 in Kuruman. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $530 in Phuket versus $265 in Kuruman. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $38 in Kuruman. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Kuruman 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 Kuruman are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.