Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Livingston

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,109 in Livingston, rent and utilities included – about $10,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
101

Cost of Living Index in Livingston
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Livingston Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Livingston

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,109

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Livingston

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,109 in Livingston.

Phuket $1,278
Livingston $2,109

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $3,288 in Livingston.

Phuket $2,216
Livingston $3,288

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $4,467 in Livingston.

Phuket $3,154
Livingston $4,467

Living in Phuket costs roughly 39% less than in Livingston, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Livingston is 55% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$19.94 £14.89

-77.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$100 £74.9

-67.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$10.45 £7.80

-15.69%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$5.24 £3.91

-45.99%

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

$0.87 ฿29.41

$2.72 £2.03

-68.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$2.26 £1.69

-78.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$6.77 £5.06

-62.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$6.70 £5.00

-45.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.43 £1.07

16.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.31

$1.94 £1.45

-24.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$2.22 £1.66

-32.43%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$3.66 £2.74

-42.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$9.00 £6.72

111.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$8.86 £6.62

-62.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$14.53 £10.85

-24.91%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$2.91 £2.17

0.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$1.82 £1.36

-7.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.87 £2.14

-21.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$3.41 £2.55

-39.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.71 £1.28

-11.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.52

$1.38 £1.03

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.96

$1.21 £0.90

-11.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$1.56 £1.17

-66.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$20.78 £15.51

-79.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$10.81 £8.07

73.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$3.06 £2.29

-40.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$3.23 £2.41

-12.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

$3.49 £2.60

-58.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$95.2 £71.1

-40.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$5.29 £3.95

-42.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.33

$1.61 £1.21

-36.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$27.76 £20.73

-86.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.76

$2.07 £1.54

-28.99%

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

$26.8K ฿903.4K

$38.8K £29.0K

-30.95%

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

$26.7K ฿900.5K

$40.0K £29.8K

-33.21%

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

$96.4 ฿3,251

$321 £240

-70.01%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$16.94 £12.65

-33.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$41.06 £30.66

-58.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$46.04 £34.38

46.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$10.51 £7.85

-28.64%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$1,245 £930

-61.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

$17.5K £13.1K

-35.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,104

$92.2 £68.8

-32.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$47.80 £35.69

-40.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,181

$108 £80.9

-12.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,895

$96.1 £71.8

-10.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$852 £636

-15.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$763 £570

-35.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,930 £1,441

-0.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,502 £1,122

-4.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$4,998 £3,732

-16.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$3,861 £2,883

-21.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$3,972 £2,966

-87.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.15

8.16%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Livingston: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Livingston

$763 36.2% 55.4% $272

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Livingston

$301 14.3% 13.1% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Livingston

$379 18% 205% $255

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Livingston

$155 7.4% 27.2% $33

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Livingston

$321 15.2% 164% $199

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Livingston

$67 3.2% 18.4% $15

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Livingston

$123 5.8% 73.6% $52

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $852 in Livingston. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Livingston pays about 7.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $100 in Livingston for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $301 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇬🇧 Livingston

🕒 Local time

01:50 1:50 AM

18:50 6:50 PM

7 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

56,840

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 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 November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Livingston 10,010 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Livingston

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 Livingston: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 39% lower than in Livingston. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 87% 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: $716 in Phuket versus $852 in Livingston. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $1,245 in Livingston. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 13% higher in Livingston. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,109 in Livingston, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Livingston. 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.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 39% less than in Livingston. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.