Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Lerwick

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $2,368 in Lerwick, rent and utilities included – about $13,900 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
114

Cost of Living Index in Lerwick
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Lerwick Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Lerwick

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,368

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Lerwick

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,368 in Lerwick.

Phuket $1,208
Lerwick $2,368

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $3,415 in Lerwick.

Phuket $2,027
Lerwick $3,415

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $4,462 in Lerwick.

Phuket $2,845
Lerwick $4,462

Living in Phuket costs roughly 49% less than in Lerwick, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Lerwick is 75% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$20.15 £15.11

-78.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$98.5 £73.9

-67.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$10.35 £7.76

-15.36%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$5.40 £4.05

-47.59%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$2.25 £1.69

-60.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$1.64 £1.23

-71.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$6.45 £4.84

-60.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$5.86 £4.40

-34.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$1.55 £1.16

11.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$1.69 £1.27

-13.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$2.21 £1.66

-31.67%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$4.02 £3.02

-46.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$9.37 £7.03

110.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$8.57 £6.43

-61.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$14.44 £10.84

-22.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$3.03 £2.27

-5.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$1.51 £1.13

12.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$2.76 £2.07

-20.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$3.28 £2.46

-37.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$1.83 £1.37

-20.77%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$1.71 £1.28

-19.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$1.26 £0.95

-15.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$1.55 £1.16

-67.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$24.02 £18.02

-82.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$10.48 £7.86

77.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$3.00 £2.25

-40.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$3.27 £2.46

-12.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$3.07 £2.30

-26.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

$83.1 £62.3

-73.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$4.23 £3.18

-28.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$2.35 £1.76

-54.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$24.03 £18.03

-83.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$2.34 £1.75

-38.03%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$38.9K £29.2K

-32.28%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$34.5K £25.9K

-21.83%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$309 £232

-68.86%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$19.33 £14.50

-42.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$45.26 £33.95

-62.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$52.8 £39.61

-1.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$13.32 £9.99

-41.37%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$1,392 £1,045

-60.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$24.5K £18.4K

-52.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$88.7 £66.5

-27.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$50.6 £37.93

-43.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$89.1 £66.8

7.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$110 £82.8

-20.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$1,112 £834

-33.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$1,036 £777

-55.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$2,395 £1,797

-12.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$1,523 £1,143

-21.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$4,646 £3,486

-24.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$3,438 £2,579

-26.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.09

9.43%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Lerwick: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Lerwick

$1K 43.7% 124% $573

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Lerwick

$298 12.6% 11% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Lerwick

$374 15.8% 200% $250

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Lerwick

$152 6.4% 22.6% $28

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Lerwick

$317 13.4% 161% $195

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Lerwick

$79 3.4% 17.2% $12

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Lerwick

$111 4.7% 182% $72

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $737 in Phuket and $1,112 in Lerwick. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $99.0 in Lerwick for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $298 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇬🇧 Lerwick

🕒 Local time

00:13 12:13 AM

18:13 6:13 PM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

7,000

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Lerwick 9,770 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Lerwick

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 Lerwick: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 96% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,813 in Phuket and $3,552 in Lerwick to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $737 in Phuket versus $1,112 in Lerwick. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,208 per month in Phuket versus $2,368 in Lerwick – a 96% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 276% less than in Lerwick. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,368 in Lerwick, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Lerwick. 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 Lerwick, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Lerwick 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 96% less than in Lerwick. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.