Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Ostend

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,840 in Ostend, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in Ostend
Learn more

Ostend Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Ostend

🇧🇪 Belgium

$1,840

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Ostend

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,840 in Ostend.

Phuket $1,278
Ostend $1,840

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,725 in Ostend.

Phuket $2,216
Ostend $2,725

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $3,611 in Ostend.

Phuket $3,154
Ostend $3,611

Living in Phuket costs roughly 31% less than in Ostend, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Ostend is 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$22.11 €19.80

-79.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$77.6 €69.5

-58.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$13.50 €12.09

-34.74%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$4.20 €3.76

-32.62%

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

$0.87 ฿29.41

$2.91 €2.60

-70.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$2.61 €2.34

-81.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$4.54 €4.06

-43.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$4.36 €3.90

-15.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.19 €1.06

39.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.31

$2.69 €2.41

-45.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$2.00 €1.79

-25.00%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$3.88 €3.47

-46.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$11.65 €10.44

63.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$11.86 €10.62

-72.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$13.65 €12.22

-20.07%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$2.70 €2.42

8.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.06 €1.84

-17.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.16 €1.93

4.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$2.22 €1.99

-6.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.77 €1.58

-14.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.52

$1.68 €1.51

-17.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.96

$1.24 €1.11

-13.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$0.95 €0.85

-45.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$10.11 €9.05

-58.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$6.65 €5.96

182.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.99 €1.78

-8.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$1.87 €1.67

51.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

$3.30 €2.96

-56.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$39.48 €35.35

43.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.44 €3.08

-12.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.33

$2.18 €1.95

-53.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$25.61 €22.93

-85.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.76

$1.95 €1.74

-24.62%

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

$26.8K ฿903.4K

$35.2K €31.6K

-24.03%

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

$26.7K ฿900.5K

$31.3K €28.0K

-14.67%

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

$96.4 ฿3,251

$178 €159

-45.88%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$18.03 €16.14

-37.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$53.6 €48.04

-68.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$36.64 €32.82

83.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$11.33 €10.15

-5.30%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$14.59 €13.06

-48.59%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$379 €339

25.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

$16.4K €14.7K

-31.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,104

$99.0 €88.7

-37.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$25.65 €22.97

10.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,181

$89.0 €79.7

5.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,895

$121 €109

-29.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$800 €716

-10.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$690 €618

-28.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,250 €1,120

54.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$992 €888

44.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$3,798 €3,402

9.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$1,973 €1,767

54.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$3,053 €2,734

-83.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.33

67.27%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Ostend: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Ostend

$690 37.5% 40.6% $199

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Ostend

$295 16% 10.8% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Ostend

$250 13.6% 101% $125

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Ostend

$151 8.2% 23.6% $29

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Ostend

$321 17.5% 164% $200

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Ostend

$66 3.6% 20% $16

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Ostend

$67 3.6% 5.1% $3.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $800 in Ostend. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ostend pays about 6.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $78 in Ostend for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $295 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇧🇪 Ostend

🕒 Local time

06:08 6:08 AM

00:08 12:08 AM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

70,600

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Ostend 9,700 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Ostend

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 Ostend: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,278 in Phuket and $1,840 in Ostend, so Phuket is about 31% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 84% 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 $800 in Ostend. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $78 in Ostend. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,278 per month in Phuket versus $1,840 in Ostend – Phuket is about 31% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,840 in Ostend, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Ostend. 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 Ostend are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Ostend on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.