Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Middelburg, South Africa

For one person, living is cheaper in Middelburg: $1,099 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Middelburg
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Middelburg Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Middelburg

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,099

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Middelburg

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $1,099 in Middelburg.

Phuket $1,294
Middelburg $1,099

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $1,695 in Middelburg.

Phuket $2,204
Middelburg $1,695

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $2,291 in Middelburg.

Phuket $3,115
Middelburg $2,291

Living in Phuket is roughly 18% more expensive than in Middelburg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 4% lower, Middelburg 19% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿148

$9.53 R 157

-53.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,086

$35.98 R 592

-10.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿293

$5.87 R 96.5

48.21%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.6

$1.29 R 21.26

110.85%

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

$0.93 ฿31.28

$0.83 R 13.58

12.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.79

$0.64 R 10.54

-21.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿85.1

$1.17 R 19.28

116.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿122

$1.52 R 25.01

138.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.5

$1.17 R 19.20

48.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.77

$1.04 R 17.14

39.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.46 R 24.09

2.74%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿73.0

$1.70 R 28.00

27.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿642

$5.76 R 94.8

231.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$4.96 R 81.6

-31.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿366

$6.60 R 109

65.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿98.9

$1.66 R 27.35

77.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.9

$1.08 R 17.79

56.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.8

$1.12 R 18.42

95.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿71.4

$1.24 R 20.35

70.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿49.03

$1.73 R 28.38

-15.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.99

$1.23 R 20.27

11.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿36.17

$1.24 R 20.37

-12.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.34

$1.04 R 17.10

-47.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿149

$2.39 R 39.37

85.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿614

$4.80 R 78.9

280.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.6

$1.76 R 28.99

0.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿96.8

$2.06 R 33.85

39.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.66

$1.42 R 23.40

2.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,845

$42.88 R 705

28.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿50.9

$0.94 R 15.45

60.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿26.08

$0.74 R 12.24

5.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿129

$11.57 R 190

-66.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿50.0

$1.33 R 21.95

12.03%

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

$26.9K ฿903.7K

$34.3K R 563.7K

-21.55%

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

$26.3K ฿885.7K

$31.9K R 525.0K

-17.45%

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

$97.8 ฿3,288

$151 R 2,487

-35.30%

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

$11.29 ฿380

$35.28 R 580

-68.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿578

$37.41 R 615

-54.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,297

$32.36 R 532

111.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿367

$12.35 R 203

-11.58%

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿250

$6.25 R 103

18.88%

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

$530 ฿17.8K

$236 R 3,879

124.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿631.4K

$6,077 R 100.0K

209.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,073

$53.1 R 874

16.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿950

$31.79 R 523

-11.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,228

$98.9 R 1,626

-2.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,919

$86.8 R 1,427

0.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.2K

$398 R 6,546

81.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.1K

$361 R 5,944

40.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.6K

$719 R 11.8K

171.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿47.0K

$728 R 12.0K

91.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿140.9K

$757 R 12.5K

453.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.9K

$670 R 11.0K

392.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.5K

$1,193 R 19.6K

-58.78%

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 Middelburg: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Middelburg

$361 32.9% 29% $148

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Middelburg

$170 15.4% 36.4% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Middelburg

$224 20.4% 77.3% $98

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Middelburg

$122 11.1% 0.8% $1

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Middelburg

$124 11.3% 3.8% $4.6

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Middelburg

$45 4.1% 46.1% $38

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Middelburg

$53 4.8% 19.4% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Phuket and $398 in Middelburg. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Middelburg pays about 2.4 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 $36 in Middelburg. Groceries flip the comparison at $267 vs $170, with Middelburg cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇿🇦 Middelburg

🕒 Local time

06:15 6:15 AM

01:15 1:15 AM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

87,348

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.08 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 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 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.85 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 16.45 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.08 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Middelburg 8,330 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Middelburg

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 Middelburg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Middelburg wins on cost – living expenses run 15% lower than in Phuket. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Middelburg the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 59% 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 $398 in Middelburg. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Middelburg runs roughly 22% less than in Phuket. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $530 in Phuket versus $236 in Middelburg. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Middelburg is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.