Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Palapye

For one person, living is cheaper in Palapye: $569 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 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
27

Cost of Living Index in Palapye
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Palapye Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Palapye

🇧🇼 Botswana

$569

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Palapye

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

A single person spends $1,278 per month in Phuket vs $569 in Palapye, rent included.

Phuket $1,278
Palapye $569

A couple spends around $2,216 per month in Phuket vs $915 in Palapye, rent included.

Phuket $2,216
Palapye $915

A family of three spends $3,154 per month in Phuket vs $1,261 in Palapye, rent included.

Phuket $3,154
Palapye $1,261

Phuket costs about 124% more than Palapye, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Phuket and Palapye are more affordable than the global median – Phuket 6% lower, Palapye 58% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$11.05 P 149

-59.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$28.49 P 384

13.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$5.76 P 77.8

52.95%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$2.26 P 30.52

25.22%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$0.74 P 10.00

17.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.40 P 5.44

22.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$2.01 P 27.12

27.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.61 P 35.23

41.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.54 P 20.76

7.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$0.82 P 11.12

78.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.78 P 24.08

-15.73%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.44 P 32.93

-14.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$6.27 P 84.6

204.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$4.40 P 59.3

-25.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$5.00 P 67.5

118.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$1.58 P 21.36

85.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.46 P 19.68

15.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.07 P 27.88

8.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$1.61 P 21.78

29.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.30 P 17.55

16.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$1.15 P 15.50

20.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$1.28 P 17.22

-16.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$0.96 P 13.00

-45.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.57 P 48.13

17.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$4.36 P 58.8

330.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.40 P 18.88

30.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$1.80 P 24.28

57.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$0.64 P 8.64

371.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$2.51 P 33.93

-59.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$2.83 P 38.17

30.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.09 P 14.65

34.86%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$30.6K P 412.5K

-12.43%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$20.3K P 274.1K

31.39%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$59.7 P 806

61.31%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$18.73 P 253

-39.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$44.46 P 600

-62.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$6.34 P 85.6

18.30%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$127 P 1,712

274.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$2,472 P 33.3K

355.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$46.80 P 631

33.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$16.81 P 227

69.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$72.6 P 979

29.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$78.1 P 1,054

9.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

11.33

-50.84%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Palapye: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Palapye

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Palapye

$172 30.1% 35.6% $95

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Palapye

$123 21.6% 1.2% $1.5

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Palapye

$96 16.9% 20.9% $25

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Palapye

$153 26.8% 25.5% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Palapye

$13 * 2.2% 84.6% $70

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Palapye

$13 * 2.3% 81.3% $57

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32 in Phuket versus $28 in Palapye. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $266 vs $172 – making Palapye the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇧🇼 Palapye

🕒 Local time

05:54 5:54 AM

00:54 12:54 AM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

26,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Botswana Pula BWP P

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 BWP = 7.41 USD

100 BWP = 6.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BWP, 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).

Botswana Pula exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 13.49 BWP (100 BWP = 7.41 USD). 1 EUR = 15.02 BWP (100 BWP = 6.66 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Palapye 8,460 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Palapye

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 Palapye: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,278 in Phuket, $569 in Palapye – Palapye comes out roughly 55% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,917 per month in Phuket and $854 in Palapye. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32 in Phuket and $28 in Palapye. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 55% more in Phuket, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Palapye, where all-in costs run around $569, than in Phuket at $1,278. In Palapye it covers expenses comfortably, while in Phuket it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Phuket has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $569 in Palapye to $1,278 in Phuket. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.