Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Lagos

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $2,066 in Lagos, rent and utilities included – about $10,300 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
99

Cost of Living Index in Lagos
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Lagos Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Lagos

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,066

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Lagos

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,066 in Lagos.

Phuket $1,208
Lagos $2,066

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $3,129 in Lagos.

Phuket $2,027
Lagos $3,129

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $4,193 in Lagos.

Phuket $2,845
Lagos $4,193

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Lagos is 52% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$12.56 €11.17

-64.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$57.0 €50.7

-43.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$8.34 €7.42

5.04%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$2.76 €2.46

2.54%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$2.33 €2.07

-61.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$1.79 €1.59

-73.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$3.94 €3.51

-35.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$4.57 €4.06

-16.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$1.03 €0.92

67.96%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$2.44 €2.17

-39.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$2.11 €1.88

-28.44%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$3.39 €3.02

-35.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$17.47 €15.54

12.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$8.02 €7.13

-58.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$15.21 €13.53

-26.63%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$2.82 €2.51

1.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$1.34 €1.19

26.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$1.85 €1.64

18.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$2.67 €2.38

-23.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$2.06 €1.83

-29.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$2.05 €1.82

-32.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$1.31 €1.16

-18.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$0.38 €0.33

34.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$5.93 €5.28

-28.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$4.41 €3.92

321.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$0.87 €0.78

104.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$2.83 €2.52

0.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$1.71 €1.52

32.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

$33.03 €29.38

-33.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$5.71 €5.08

-47.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$1.04 €0.92

1.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$1.96 €1.74

-26.02%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$34.2K €30.4K

-23.05%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$35.8K €31.8K

-24.75%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$150 €133

-35.70%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$21.36 €19.00

-48.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$43.52 €38.71

-60.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$54.2 €48.16

-3.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

$28.49 €25.34

-60.83%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$6.43 €5.72

21.46%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$539 €480

3.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$11.6K €10.3K

0.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$82.3 €73.2

-21.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$49.69 €44.20

-42.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$71.1 €63.2

34.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$110 €97.8

-19.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$1,153 €1,026

-36.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$1,112 €989

-58.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$2,425 €2,157

-13.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$2,023 €1,800

-40.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$3,942 €3,507

-11.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$4,884 €4,345

-48.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

$1,231 €1,095

-59.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.85

44.68%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Lagos: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Lagos

$1.1K 53.8% 141% $650

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Lagos

$277 13.4% 3% $7.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Lagos

$215 10.4% 72.4% $90

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Lagos

$141 6.8% 13.3% $17

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Lagos

$204 9.9% 68.2% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Lagos

$67 3.2% 1.2% $0.8

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Lagos

$51 2.5% 28.8% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $737 in Phuket and $1,153 in Lagos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lagos pays 146% 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 $57.0 in Lagos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $277 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇵🇹 Lagos

🕒 Local time

23:57 11:57 PM

17:57 5:57 PM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

33,500

💱 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 20, 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 20, 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 Lagos 10,960 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Lagos

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 Lagos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket and Lagos differ by about 71% in total monthly costs ($1,208 vs $2,066 including rent). Phuket is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 146% lower in Lagos. 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 $1,153 in Lagos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 3% higher in Lagos. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $57.0 in Lagos. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,066 in Lagos, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Lagos. 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 Lagos 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 71% less than in Lagos. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.