Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Monaghan

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,294 a month against $2,382 in Monaghan, rent and utilities included – about $13,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
114

Cost of Living Index in Monaghan
Learn more

Monaghan Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monaghan

🇮🇪 Ireland

$2,382

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Monaghan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $2,382 in Monaghan.

Phuket $1,294
Monaghan $2,382

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $3,362 in Monaghan.

Phuket $2,204
Monaghan $3,362

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $4,343 in Monaghan.

Phuket $3,115
Monaghan $4,343

Living in Phuket costs roughly 46% less than in Monaghan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 4% below, Monaghan is 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿147

$17.47 €15.56

-74.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,078

$57.8 €51.5

-44.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿290

$12.33 €10.98

-29.44%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿90.9

$4.02 €3.58

-32.34%

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

$0.93 ฿31.06

$2.57 €2.29

-63.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.67

$2.11 €1.88

-76.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿84.5

$6.57 €5.85

-61.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿121

$6.57 €5.85

-44.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$1.61 €1.44

8.07%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.42

$2.11 €1.88

-31.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.1

$1.77 €1.58

-15.25%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.5

$4.32 €3.85

-49.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿637

$9.84 €8.76

94.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿113

$12.13 €10.81

-71.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿364

$13.20 €11.75

-17.42%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿98.2

$2.97 €2.64

-1.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.5

$2.22 €1.98

-23.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.2

$2.99 €2.66

-26.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿70.9

$4.02 €3.58

-47.26%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿48.68

$1.86 €1.65

-21.51%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.66

$1.51 €1.35

-9.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿35.91

$1.26 €1.12

-14.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.21

$1.84 €1.64

-70.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿148

$20.10 €17.91

-77.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿609

$13.30 €11.84

37.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.2

$3.26 €2.90

-45.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿96.2

$3.55 €3.16

-18.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.32

$2.52 €2.24

-42.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,832

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿50.5

$5.06 €4.51

-70.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿25.90

$1.49 €1.33

-47.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿128

$37.90 €33.76

-89.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.65

$1.84 €1.64

-19.02%

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

$26.9K ฿897.3K

$38.3K €34.1K

-29.83%

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

$26.3K ฿879.4K

$38.0K €33.8K

-30.66%

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

$97.8 ฿3,265

$241 €215

-59.41%

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

$11.29 ฿377

$20.67 €18.41

-45.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿574

$51.1 €45.55

-66.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,281

$57.6 €51.3

18.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿365

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿248

$13.64 €12.15

-45.53%

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

$530 ฿17.7K

$1,019 €908

-47.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿626.9K

$5,209 €4,640

260.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,059

$93.3 €83.1

-33.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿943

$41.49 €36.96

-31.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,204

$91.5 €81.5

4.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,898

$106 €94.0

-17.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.1K

$1,275 €1,135

-43.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.0K

$1,185 €1,056

-57.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.1K

$2,259 €2,012

-13.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿46.6K

$1,820 €1,621

-23.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿139.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.1K

$3,366 €2,998

-2.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.4K

$3,993 €3,557

-87.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.81

46.19%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Monaghan: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Monaghan

$1.2K 49.8% 133% $676

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Monaghan

$337 14.2% 26.4% $70

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Monaghan

$313 13.1% 148% $186

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Monaghan

$149 6.3% 21.6% $27

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Monaghan

$290 12.2% 142% $170

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Monaghan

$85 3.6% 2% $1.7

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Monaghan

$23 * 1% 65.8% $43

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 $721 in Phuket and $1,275 in Monaghan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monaghan pays about 8.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $58 in Monaghan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $337 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇮🇪 Monaghan

🕒 Local time

05:34 5:34 AM

22:34 10:34 PM

7 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

7,700

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 3 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.38 THB (100 THB = 3 USD). 1 EUR = 37.47 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Monaghan 10,270 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Monaghan

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 Monaghan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 46% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 88% 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 $1,275 in Monaghan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 26% higher in Monaghan. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,294 per month in Phuket versus $2,382 in Monaghan – Phuket is about 46% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,294 in Phuket versus $2,382 in Monaghan, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Monaghan. 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 Monaghan are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Monaghan on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.