Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Newquay

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,294 a month against $2,475 in Newquay, rent and utilities included – about $14,200 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
119

Cost of Living Index in Newquay
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Newquay Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Newquay

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,475

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Newquay

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

A single person spends $1,294 per month in Phuket vs $2,475 in Newquay, rent included.

Phuket $1,294
Newquay $2,475

A couple spends around $2,204 per month in Phuket vs $3,640 in Newquay, rent included.

Phuket $2,204
Newquay $3,640

A family of three spends $3,115 per month in Phuket vs $4,804 in Newquay, rent included.

Phuket $3,115
Newquay $4,804

Phuket is about 48% cheaper than Newquay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Phuket sits 4% below the global median, while Newquay is 83% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿148

$19.95 £14.80

-77.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,086

$81.6 £60.5

-60.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿293

$9.90 £7.34

-12.12%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.6

$5.14 £3.81

-47.08%

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

$0.93 ฿31.28

$2.35 £1.74

-60.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.79

$1.59 £1.18

-68.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿85.1

$6.17 £4.58

-59.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿122

$6.76 £5.01

-46.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.5

$1.71 £1.27

1.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.77

$1.59 £1.18

-8.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$2.34 £1.73

-35.90%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿73.0

$4.31 £3.20

-49.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿642

$6.55 £4.86

191.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$11.96 £8.87

-71.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿366

$12.81 £9.50

-14.91%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿98.9

$2.24 £1.66

31.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.9

$1.79 £1.32

-5.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.8

$1.87 £1.38

17.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿71.4

$2.27 £1.69

-6.61%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿49.03

$2.20 £1.63

-33.64%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.99

$1.32 £0.98

3.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿36.17

$1.98 £1.47

-45.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.34

$1.90 £1.41

-71.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿149

$24.12 £17.89

-81.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿614

$9.54 £7.08

91.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.6

$2.83 £2.10

-37.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿96.8

$2.20 £1.63

30.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.66

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,845

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿50.9

$5.23 £3.88

-71.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿26.08

$2.40 £1.78

-67.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿129

$25.89 £19.20

-85.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿50.0

$1.91 £1.42

-21.99%

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

$26.9K ฿903.7K

$38.4K £28.5K

-29.93%

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

$26.3K ฿885.7K

$41.3K £30.6K

-36.24%

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

$97.8 ฿3,288

$357 £264

-72.57%

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

$11.29 ฿380

$16.31 £12.10

-30.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿578

$44.34 £32.88

-61.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,297

$54.6 £40.52

25.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿367

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿250

$20.76 £15.39

-64.21%

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

$530 ฿17.8K

$2,179 £1,616

-75.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿631.4K

$22.5K £16.7K

-16.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,073

$90.6 £67.2

-31.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿950

$50.2 £37.19

-43.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,228

$159 £118

-39.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,919

$142 £105

-38.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.2K

$1,362 £1,010

-47.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.1K

$1,138 £844

-55.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.6K

$2,443 £1,812

-20.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿47.0K

$1,986 £1,473

-29.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿140.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.5K

$2,190 £1,624

-77.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.96

12.30%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Newquay: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Newquay

$1.1K 46% 124% $629

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Newquay

$296 12% 10.9% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Newquay

$417 16.9% 230% $291

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Newquay

$199 8% 62% $76

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Newquay

$311 12.6% 160% $192

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Newquay

$96 3.9% 15.6% $13

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Newquay

$17 * 0.7% 73.9% $49

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $721 in Phuket versus $1,362 in Newquay. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Newquay are about 4.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32 in Phuket versus $82 in Newquay. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $267 vs $296 – making Phuket the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇬🇧 Newquay

🕒 Local time

21:02 9:02 PM

14:02 2:02 PM

7 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

20,189

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 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 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.69 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.742 GBP (1 GBP = 1.35 USD). 1 EUR = 0.831 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Newquay 10,270 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Newquay

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 Newquay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,294 in Phuket, $2,475 in Newquay – Phuket comes out roughly 48% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,940 per month in Phuket and $3,712 in Newquay. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Phuket, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $721 there versus $1,362 in Newquay.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,294 in Phuket and $2,475 in Newquay. That makes Phuket about 48% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $530 per month in Phuket and $2,179 in Newquay. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Phuket, where all-in costs run around $1,294, than in Newquay at $2,475. In Phuket it covers expenses comfortably, while in Newquay it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Phuket – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Phuket. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Newquay makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.