Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Norfolk

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $2,351 in Norfolk, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
113

Cost of Living Index in Norfolk
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Norfolk Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Norfolk

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,351

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Norfolk

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,351 in Norfolk.

Phuket $1,207
Norfolk $2,351

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $3,303 in Norfolk.

Phuket $2,037
Norfolk $3,303

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $4,255 in Norfolk.

Phuket $2,867
Norfolk $4,255

Living in Phuket costs roughly 49% less than in Norfolk, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Norfolk is 74% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ฿153

$21.96 £16.47

-79.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.48 ฿1,086

$73.6 £55.2

-55.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿286

$11.31 £8.48

-24.40%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.0

$4.89 £3.67

-44.38%

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

$0.94 ฿31.25

$2.80 £2.10

-66.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.39

$1.62 £1.21

-69.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$6.66 £5.00

-61.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$5.24 £3.93

-26.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$1.67 £1.25

4.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿47.82

$1.53 £1.15

-6.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.0

$2.15 £1.61

-28.84%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$4.43 £3.33

-51.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.15 ฿640

$9.78 £7.34

95.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿110

$8.70 £6.53

-62.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿372

$14.67 £11.01

-24.06%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ฿98.5

$2.86 £2.14

3.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.1

$1.52 £1.14

10.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 ฿76.8

$2.93 £2.20

-21.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ฿71.3

$4.52 £3.39

-52.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.1

$1.55 £1.16

-1.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.55

$1.49 £1.12

-8.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.44

$1.15 £0.86

-2.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$1.76 £1.32

-68.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$23.56 £17.68

-81.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿608

$10.58 £7.94

71.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$3.15 £2.36

-44.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.3

$3.10 £2.33

-10.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

$2.69 £2.02

-17.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

$95.6 £71.8

-76.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 ฿97.3

$3.93 £2.95

-25.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.79

$1.35 £1.01

-25.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

$18.83 £14.13

-79.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.85

$2.01 £1.51

-25.87%

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

$26.7K ฿891.6K

$38.3K £28.7K

-30.29%

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

$26.7K ฿892.7K

$40.2K £30.2K

-33.55%

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

$99.4 ฿3,321

$313 £235

-68.30%

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

$11.28 ฿377

$20.07 £15.06

-43.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.36 ฿580

$45.75 £34.32

-62.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,747

$45.42 £34.08

15.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ฿253

$11.98 £8.99

-36.81%

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

$558 ฿18.7K

$1,260 £945

-55.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

$12.3K £9,220

-6.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,102

$115 £86.4

-45.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿955

$50.1 £37.55

-42.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 ฿3,213

$113 £84.6

-14.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,943

$105 £78.9

-16.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

$1,105 £829

-33.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

$974 £731

-52.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

$1,579 £1,185

32.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

$1,347 £1,010

-9.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

$5,002 £3,753

-30.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

$3,908 £2,932

-36.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

$2,332 £1,749

-78.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.04

10.52%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Last update for Norfolk: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$460 38.1%

Norfolk

$974 41.4% 112% $514

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.2%

Norfolk

$309 13.2% 15.6% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$128 10.6%

Norfolk

$379 16.1% 196% $251

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Norfolk

$172 7.3% 39% $48

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10.1%

Norfolk

$330 14% 172% $208

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$67 5.6%

Norfolk

$69 3% 2.9% $2

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.2%

Norfolk

$117 5% 201% $78

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $729 in Phuket and $1,105 in Norfolk. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Norfolk pays 373% 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 $74.0 in Norfolk for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $309 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇬🇧 Norfolk

🕒 Local time

00:48 12:48 AM

18:48 6:48 PM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

19,256

💱 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 19, 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 19, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Norfolk 9,810 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Norfolk

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 Norfolk: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket and Norfolk differ by about 95% in total monthly costs ($1,207 vs $2,351 including rent). Phuket is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 373% lower in Norfolk. 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 $1,105 in Norfolk. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,207 per month in Phuket versus $2,351 in Norfolk – a 95% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 333% less than in Norfolk. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,351 in Norfolk, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Norfolk. 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 Norfolk 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 95% less than in Norfolk. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.