Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Novi Pazar

For one person, living is cheaper in Novi Pazar: $1,046 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Novi Pazar
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Novi Pazar Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Novi Pazar

🇷🇸 Serbia

$1,046

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Novi Pazar

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,046 in Novi Pazar.

Phuket $1,278
Novi Pazar $1,046

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,505 in Novi Pazar.

Phuket $2,216
Novi Pazar $1,505

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $1,965 in Novi Pazar.

Phuket $3,154
Novi Pazar $1,965

Living in Phuket is roughly 22% more expensive than in Novi Pazar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Novi Pazar 23% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$6.85 RSD 722

-34.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$17.97 RSD 1,893

80.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$7.83 RSD 825

12.52%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$1.62 RSD 170

74.69%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$1.61 RSD 169

-45.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$1.29 RSD 136

-62.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$1.85 RSD 195

38.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$1.89 RSD 199

94.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.41 RSD 148

17.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$0.75 RSD 78.9

94.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$2.56 RSD 269

-41.41%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.82 RSD 191

14.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$9.62 RSD 1,014

98.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$6.60 RSD 695

-50.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$15.36 RSD 1,618

-28.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$1.11 RSD 117

163.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.78 RSD 188

-5.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$1.90 RSD 200

18.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$3.00 RSD 316

-30.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.87 RSD 92.1

73.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$0.70 RSD 73.4

97.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$0.81 RSD 85.1

32.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$0.73 RSD 77.4

-28.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$4.58 RSD 482

-8.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$8.44 RSD 890

122.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$0.94 RSD 99.1

93.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$1.46 RSD 154

94.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$0.90 RSD 95.1

61.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$18.78 RSD 1,979

201.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.16 RSD 123

160.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$1.02 RSD 108

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$17.31 RSD 1,824

-78.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.92 RSD 202

-23.44%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$30.2K RSD 3.2M

-11.35%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$23.7K RSD 2.5M

12.46%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$203 RSD 21.4K

-52.61%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$24.82 RSD 2,615

-54.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$33.43 RSD 3,522

-49.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$28.84 RSD 3,039

133.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$4.34 RSD 457

72.81%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$170 RSD 17.9K

180.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$11.4K RSD 1.2M

-1.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$109 RSD 11.5K

-42.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$47.91 RSD 5,048

-40.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$85.9 RSD 9,053

9.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$152 RSD 16.0K

-43.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$254 RSD 26.8K

181.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$192 RSD 20.2K

156.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$361 RSD 38.1K

433.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$291 RSD 30.6K

392.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$1,696 RSD 178.7K

146.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$1,422 RSD 149.8K

114.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$725 RSD 76.4K

-30.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.61

20.82%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Novi Pazar: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Novi Pazar

$192 18.3% 61% $299

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Novi Pazar

$226 21.7% 15% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Novi Pazar

$262 25% 110% $137

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Novi Pazar

$178 17% 45.7% $56

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Novi Pazar

$122 11.7% 0.5% $0.6

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Novi Pazar

$38 3.6% 54.4% $45

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Novi Pazar

$29 2.7% 59.4% $42

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $254 in Novi Pazar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Novi Pazar pays 44% 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 $18 in Novi Pazar for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $226 per month, with Novi Pazar cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇷🇸 Novi Pazar

🕒 Local time

03:48 3:48 AM

21:48 9:48 PM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

71,462

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Serbian Dinar RSD din

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1,000 RSD = 9.49 USD

1,000 RSD = 8.53 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RSD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Serbian Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 105 RSD (1,000 RSD = 9.49 USD). 1 EUR = 117 RSD (1,000 RSD = 8.53 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Novi Pazar 8,430 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Novi Pazar

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 Novi Pazar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,278 in Phuket and $1,046 in Novi Pazar, so Novi Pazar is about 18% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 31% 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 $254 in Novi Pazar. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 18% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Novi Pazar – a meal for two runs $18 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Novi Pazar gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 Novi Pazar are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Novi Pazar gentler on the wallet – expenses run 18% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.