Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Neum

For one person, living is cheaper in Neum: $923 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 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
45

Cost of Living Index in Neum
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Neum Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Neum

🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina

$923

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Neum

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $923 in Neum.

Phuket $1,278
Neum $923

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,388 in Neum.

Phuket $2,216
Neum $1,388

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $1,852 in Neum.

Phuket $3,154
Neum $1,852

Living in Phuket is roughly 38% more expensive than in Neum, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Neum 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$5.00 BAM 8.75

-10.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,092

$31.00 BAM 54.3

4.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$5.68 BAM 9.95

55.11%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.3

$1.81 BAM 3.17

56.35%

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

$0.87 ฿29.37

$1.94 BAM 3.40

-55.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.64

$1.25 BAM 2.19

-60.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.2

$2.60 BAM 4.55

-1.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.21 BAM 3.87

66.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.16 BAM 2.03

43.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.25

$0.90 BAM 1.57

62.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.4

$2.08 BAM 3.65

-27.88%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.4

$2.59 BAM 4.54

-19.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿642

$7.55 BAM 13.22

152.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$7.08 BAM 12.41

-53.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$10.69 BAM 18.74

2.06%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.7

$1.10 BAM 1.93

166.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.9

$1.63 BAM 2.86

3.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.7

$1.39 BAM 2.44

61.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$1.16 BAM 2.02

79.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.9

$0.98 BAM 1.73

54.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.47

$0.99 BAM 1.73

39.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.91

$0.77 BAM 1.35

38.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.49

$0.67 BAM 1.18

-22.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.87 BAM 6.78

8.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿633

$4.11 BAM 7.21

357.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.4

$0.79 BAM 1.38

130.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.7

$0.89 BAM 1.56

219.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.93

$1.19 BAM 2.08

21.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,909

$56.7 BAM 99.4

-0.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.75 BAM 3.06

72.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.29

$0.60 BAM 1.05

70.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿124

$5.80 BAM 10.17

-36.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.70

$1.56 BAM 2.73

-5.77%

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

$26.8K ฿902.4K

$29.8K BAM 52.2K

-10.19%

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

$26.7K ฿899.5K

$21.4K BAM 37.4K

24.89%

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

$96.4 ฿3,247

$135 BAM 237

-28.71%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$17.71 BAM 31.03

-36.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$25.81 BAM 45.22

-34.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,266

$33.44 BAM 58.6

101.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿361

$12.73 BAM 22.31

-15.71%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$6.93 BAM 12.15

8.23%

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

$476 ฿16.0K

$195 BAM 341

144.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿379.6K

$2,298 BAM 4,026

390.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,102

$57.5 BAM 101

8.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿957

$32.40 BAM 56.8

-12.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,178

$86.7 BAM 152

8.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,892

$80.8 BAM 142

6.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.1K

$311 BAM 545

130.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.5K

$220 BAM 386

122.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿64.9K

$524 BAM 919

267.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.2K

$350 BAM 613

308.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.7K

$2,299 BAM 4,029

81.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.6K

$1,585 BAM 2,777

92.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$872 BAM 1,527

-42.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

2.9

92.07%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Neum: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Neum

$220 23.9% 55.1% $270

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Neum

$186 20.2% 30.1% $80

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Neum

$179 19.4% 43.5% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Neum

$116 12.5% 5% $6.1

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Neum

$109 11.8% 10.5% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Neum

$47 5.1% 42.5% $35

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Neum

$66 7.2% 6.2% $4.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $311 in Neum. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Neum pays 74% 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 $31 in Neum for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $186 per month, with Neum cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇧🇦 Neum

🕒 Local time

07:12 7:12 AM

01:12 1:12 AM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

3,200

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark BAM KM

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

1 BAM = 0.571 USD

1 BAM = 0.513 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BAM, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BAM (1 BAM = 0.571 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BAM (1 BAM = 0.513 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Neum 8,660 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Neum

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 Neum: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,278 in Phuket and $923 in Neum, so Neum is about 28% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 42% 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: $716 in Phuket versus $311 in Neum. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $195 in Neum. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Neum – a meal for two runs $31 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $923 in Neum versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Neum but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Neum 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 Neum are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.