Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Middlesbrough

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $2,089 in Middlesbrough, rent and utilities included – about $10,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

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Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
102

Cost of Living Index in Middlesbrough
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Middlesbrough Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Middlesbrough

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,089

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Middlesbrough

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,089 in Middlesbrough.

Phuket $1,207
Middlesbrough $2,089

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $3,001 in Middlesbrough.

Phuket $2,037
Middlesbrough $3,001

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $3,913 in Middlesbrough.

Phuket $2,867
Middlesbrough $3,913

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Middlesbrough is 55% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ฿153

$23.80 £17.85

-80.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.48 ฿1,086

$72.5 £54.4

-55.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿286

$10.73 £8.05

-20.32%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.0

$4.69 £3.52

-42.00%

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

$0.94 ฿31.25

$2.41 £1.81

-61.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.39

$1.79 £1.35

-72.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$4.70 £3.53

-44.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$7.17 £5.38

-46.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$1.22 £0.92

42.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿47.82

$1.41 £1.06

1.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.0

$2.45 £1.84

-37.55%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$3.70 £2.77

-41.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.15 ฿640

$7.68 £5.76

149.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿110

$7.29 £5.47

-54.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿372

$14.41 £10.81

-22.69%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ฿98.5

$2.48 £1.86

18.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.1

$2.38 £1.79

-29.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 ฿76.8

$2.57 £1.93

-10.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ฿71.3

$2.60 £1.95

-18.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.1

$1.78 £1.34

-14.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.55

$1.54 £1.15

-11.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.44

$1.16 £0.87

-3.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$3.03 £2.27

-81.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$22.39 £16.79

-80.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿608

$9.42 £7.07

93.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$4.43 £3.32

-60.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.3

$3.68 £2.76

-24.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

$5.53 £4.15

-59.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

$92.6 £69.5

-76.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 ฿97.3

$4.39 £3.29

-33.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.79

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

$25.94 £19.46

-85.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.85

$1.99 £1.49

-25.13%

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

$26.7K ฿891.6K

$37.6K £28.2K

-29.12%

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

$26.7K ฿892.7K

$39.8K £29.9K

-32.96%

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

$99.4 ฿3,321

$346 £260

-71.31%

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

$11.28 ฿377

$16.93 £12.70

-33.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.36 ฿580

$41.87 £31.41

-58.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,747

$49.69 £37.28

5.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

$32.46 £24.35

-66.57%

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ฿253

$14.43 £10.83

-47.54%

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

$558 ฿18.7K

$795 £596

-29.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

$40.4K £30.3K

-71.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,102

$106 £79.8

-40.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿955

$53.8 £40.36

-46.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 ฿3,213

$110 £82.7

-12.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,943

$104 £78.2

-15.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

$997 £748

-26.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

$683 £513

-32.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

$961 £721

118.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

$955 £716

28.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

$2,303 £1,728

-78.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.64

-1.24%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Last update for Middlesbrough: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$460 38.1%

Middlesbrough

$683 32.7% 48.5% $223

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.2%

Middlesbrough

$301 14.4% 12.7% $34

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$128 10.6%

Middlesbrough

$405 19.4% 217% $277

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Middlesbrough

$169 8.1% 35.9% $45

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10.1%

Middlesbrough

$334 16% 175% $212

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$67 5.6%

Middlesbrough

$79 3.8% 16.5% $11

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.2%

Middlesbrough

$119 * 5.7% 206% $80

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $729 in Phuket and $997 in Middlesbrough. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Middlesbrough pays 367% 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 $72.0 in Middlesbrough for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $301 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇬🇧 Middlesbrough

🕒 Local time

12:25 12:25 PM

06:25 6:25 AM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

139,000

💱 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 20, 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 20, 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

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Between locations

Phuket Middlesbrough 9,910 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Middlesbrough

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 Middlesbrough: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket and Middlesbrough differ by about 73% in total monthly costs ($1,207 vs $2,089 including rent). Phuket is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 367% lower in Middlesbrough. 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: $729 in Phuket versus $997 in Middlesbrough. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 13% higher in Middlesbrough. 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 $72.0 in Middlesbrough. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,089 in Middlesbrough, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Middlesbrough. 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 Middlesbrough 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 73% less than in Middlesbrough. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.