Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Lugoj

For one person, living is cheaper in Lugoj: $769 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 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
37

Cost of Living Index in Lugoj
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Lugoj Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Lugoj

🇷🇴 Romania

$769

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Lugoj

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $769 in Lugoj.

Phuket $1,294
Lugoj $769

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $1,201 in Lugoj.

Phuket $2,204
Lugoj $1,201

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $1,633 in Lugoj.

Phuket $3,115
Lugoj $1,633

Living in Phuket is roughly 68% more expensive than in Lugoj, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 4% lower, Lugoj 43% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿147

$9.18 RON 43.61

-52.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,085

$33.57 RON 160

-3.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿292

$5.17 RON 24.60

68.28%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.5

$1.75 RON 8.30

55.43%

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

$0.93 ฿31.25

$1.54 RON 7.31

-39.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.78

$1.51 RON 7.17

-66.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿85.0

$2.05 RON 9.75

23.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿122

$1.94 RON 9.24

87.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.4

$1.60 RON 7.61

8.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.73

$0.97 RON 4.62

49.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$0.65 RON 3.09

130.77%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿73.0

$1.28 RON 6.07

69.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿641

$3.36 RON 15.99

468.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$3.89 RON 18.47

-12.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿366

$4.23 RON 20.09

157.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿98.8

$1.02 RON 4.87

188.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.8

$1.24 RON 5.89

36.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.7

$1.66 RON 7.89

31.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿71.4

$0.62 RON 2.94

241.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿48.99

$0.66 RON 3.11

121.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.95

$0.66 RON 3.12

107.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿36.14

$0.90 RON 4.27

20.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.32

$0.61 RON 2.90

-9.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿149

$4.85 RON 23.04

-8.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿613

$4.31 RON 20.48

323.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.5

$1.20 RON 5.70

47.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿96.8

$1.72 RON 8.19

67.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.62

$0.60 RON 2.86

141.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,844

$21.22 RON 101

158.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿50.8

$0.88 RON 4.17

71.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿26.06

$0.87 RON 4.14

-10.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿129

$8.34 RON 39.66

-53.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.96

$1.91 RON 9.08

-21.99%

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

$26.9K ฿902.9K

$28.5K RON 135.5K

-5.67%

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

$26.3K ฿884.9K

$24.9K RON 118.3K

5.88%

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

$97.8 ฿3,285

$52.6 RON 250

85.88%

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

$11.29 ฿379

$8.27 RON 39.30

36.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿577

$9.56 RON 45.46

79.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,295

$21.04 RON 100

224.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿367

$25.03 RON 119

-56.37%

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿250

$9.48 RON 45.07

-21.62%

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

$530 ฿17.8K

$584 RON 2,776

-9.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿630.9K

$12.4K RON 59.1K

50.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,072

$88.5 RON 421

-30.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿949

$43.68 RON 208

-35.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,225

$97.1 RON 462

-1.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,916

$106 RON 502

-17.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.2K

$182 RON 867

295.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.1K

$212 RON 1,009

139.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.5K

$312 RON 1,482

525.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿46.9K

$314 RON 1,494

344.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿140.8K

$1,320 RON 6,272

217.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.8K

$1,057 RON 5,022

212.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.5K

$919 RON 4,368

-46.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

6.65

-16.24%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Lugoj: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Lugoj

$212 27.6% 58.3% $297

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Lugoj

$130 16.9% 51.2% $137

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Lugoj

$70 9.2% 44.2% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Lugoj

$151 19.6% 22.8% $28

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Lugoj

$136 17.7% 13.9% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Lugoj

$40 5.2% 51.9% $43

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Lugoj

$29 3.8% 56.3% $37

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Phuket and $182 in Lugoj. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lugoj pays 87% 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 $34 in Lugoj. Groceries flip the comparison at $267 vs $130, with Lugoj cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇷🇴 Lugoj

🕒 Local time

08:49 8:49 AM

03:49 3:49 AM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

49,742

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.98 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.59 THB (100 THB = 2.98 USD). 1 EUR = 37.81 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 4.75 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Lugoj 8,330 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Lugoj

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 Lugoj: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,294 in Phuket and $769 in Lugoj, so Lugoj is about 41% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 47% 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 $182 in Lugoj. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,294 per month in Phuket versus $769 in Lugoj – Lugoj is about 41% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Lugoj runs roughly 61% less than in Phuket. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $769 in Lugoj versus $1,294 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Lugoj but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Lugoj 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 Lugoj are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.