Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Motherwell

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,294 a month against $2,306 in Motherwell, rent and utilities included – about $12,100 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
111

Cost of Living Index in Motherwell
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Motherwell Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Motherwell

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,306

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Motherwell

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $2,306 in Motherwell.

Phuket $1,294
Motherwell $2,306

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $3,342 in Motherwell.

Phuket $2,204
Motherwell $3,342

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $4,377 in Motherwell.

Phuket $3,115
Motherwell $4,377

Living in Phuket costs roughly 44% less than in Motherwell, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 4% below, Motherwell is 71% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿147

$19.71 £14.65

-77.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,080

$66.6 £49.50

-51.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿291

$10.52 £7.82

-17.30%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.1

$4.83 £3.59

-43.69%

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

$0.93 ฿31.11

$2.36 £1.76

-60.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.70

$1.89 £1.40

-73.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿84.6

$5.46 £4.05

-53.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿121

$6.81 £5.06

-46.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$1.47 £1.10

18.37%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.51

$1.63 £1.21

-11.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.2

$2.23 £1.66

-32.74%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.6

$4.06 £3.02

-46.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿638

$9.25 £6.87

106.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$9.29 £6.90

-63.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿364

$17.02 £12.65

-35.96%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿98.3

$2.96 £2.20

-0.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.6

$1.50 £1.12

12.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.4

$2.80 £2.08

-21.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿71.0

$3.16 £2.35

-32.91%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿48.77

$2.00 £1.49

-27.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.74

$1.37 £1.02

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿35.98

$1.14 £0.85

-5.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$1.66 £1.23

-66.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿148

$22.09 £16.41

-79.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿610

$10.53 £7.82

73.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.3

$3.27 £2.43

-45.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿96.3

$3.34 £2.48

-13.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.40

$3.99 £2.96

-63.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,835

$98.6 £73.3

-44.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$5.85 £4.35

-74.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿25.94

$1.87 £1.39

-58.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿128

$23.71 £17.62

-83.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.74

$2.19 £1.62

-31.96%

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

$26.9K ฿898.9K

$39.4K £29.3K

-31.79%

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

$26.3K ฿881.0K

$41.1K £30.5K

-35.83%

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

$97.8 ฿3,271

$236 £176

-58.63%

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

$11.29 ฿378

$20.05 £14.90

-43.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿575

$43.38 £32.24

-60.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,285

$44.11 £32.78

54.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿365

$6.62 £4.92

64.95%

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿248

$12.09 £8.99

-38.54%

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

$530 ฿17.7K

$1,128 £838

-52.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿628.1K

$22.8K £16.9K

-17.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,062

$120 £89.5

-48.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿945

$47.45 £35.26

-40.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,210

$103 £76.9

-7.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,903

$92.1 £68.4

-5.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.1K

$1,268 £942

-43.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.0K

$1,030 £766

-50.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.2K

$2,090 £1,553

-6.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿46.7K

$1,620 £1,204

-13.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿140.2K

$5,310 £3,946

-21.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.3K

$3,380 £2,512

-2.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

11.40%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Motherwell: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Motherwell

$1K 44.7% 102% $521

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Motherwell

$310 13.4% 16% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Motherwell

$300 13% 137% $174

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Motherwell

$164 7.1% 33.2% $41

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Motherwell

$305 13.2% 155% $186

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Motherwell

$68 3% 17.9% $15

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Motherwell

$130 5.6% 96.4% $64

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Phuket and $1,268 in Motherwell. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $67 in Motherwell for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $310 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇬🇧 Motherwell

🕒 Local time

16:24 4:24 PM

09:24 9:24 AM

7 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

32,120

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 GBP = 1.35 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 6, 2026: 1 USD = 33.44 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.56 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.743 GBP (1 GBP = 1.35 USD). 1 EUR = 0.835 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Motherwell 10,050 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Motherwell

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 Motherwell: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 44% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, transport, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,940 in Phuket and $3,459 in Motherwell to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $721 in Phuket versus $1,268 in Motherwell. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 16% higher in Motherwell. 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 versus $67 in Motherwell. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,294 in Phuket versus $2,306 in Motherwell, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Motherwell. 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 44% less than in Motherwell. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.