Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Pietermaritzburg

For one person, living is cheaper in Pietermaritzburg: $1,033 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 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 Pietermaritzburg
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Pietermaritzburg Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Pietermaritzburg

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,033

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Pietermaritzburg

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,033 in Pietermaritzburg.

Phuket $1,278
Pietermaritzburg $1,033

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,555 in Pietermaritzburg.

Phuket $2,216
Pietermaritzburg $1,555

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,077 in Pietermaritzburg.

Phuket $3,154
Pietermaritzburg $2,077

Living in Phuket is roughly 24% more expensive than in Pietermaritzburg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Pietermaritzburg 24% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$7.74 R 129

-42.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$35.63 R 594

-9.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$5.80 R 96.6

51.90%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$2.36 R 39.27

19.92%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$1.16 R 19.40

-25.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$1.03 R 17.15

-52.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$2.15 R 35.77

19.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.51 R 41.75

46.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.33 R 22.16

24.81%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$0.92 R 15.33

58.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.70 R 28.31

-11.76%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$3.16 R 52.7

-33.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$7.22 R 120

164.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$4.94 R 82.3

-33.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$6.36 R 106

71.54%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$2.04 R 34.00

43.63%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.94 R 32.28

-12.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.32 R 38.74

-3.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$2.03 R 33.90

2.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.78 R 29.68

-15.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$1.81 R 30.09

-23.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$1.49 R 24.78

-28.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$1.04 R 17.28

-50.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.14 R 52.3

33.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$3.92 R 65.4

379.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.42 R 23.70

28.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$1.75 R 29.20

62.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$2.86 R 47.70

-49.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$19.71 R 328

187.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.59 R 26.52

89.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$1.06 R 17.69

-3.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.44 R 23.96

2.08%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$26.5K R 442.3K

0.87%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$26.8K R 446.3K

-0.34%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$205 R 3,416

-52.99%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$32.46 R 541

-65.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$37.19 R 620

-54.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$43.80 R 730

53.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$3.05 R 50.9

251.80%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$4.84 R 80.6

54.96%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$177 R 2,949

168.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$5,103 R 85.0K

120.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$56.7 R 945

10.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$34.35 R 572

-17.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$114 R 1,897

-17.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$69.9 R 1,165

22.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$216 R 3,606

230.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$217 R 3,613

126.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$576 R 9,598

234.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$405 R 6,753

253.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$5,914 R 98.5K

-29.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$148 R 2,470

1954.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$1,058 R 17.6K

-52.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

11.67

-52.27%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Pietermaritzburg: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Pietermaritzburg

$217 21% 55.8% $274

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Pietermaritzburg

$194 18.8% 27% $72

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Pietermaritzburg

$275 26.6% 121% $150

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Pietermaritzburg

$124 12% 1.5% $1.8

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Pietermaritzburg

$132 12.8% 8.5% $10

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Pietermaritzburg

$53 5.2% 35% $29

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Pietermaritzburg

$38 3.7% 46.1% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $216 in Pietermaritzburg. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Pietermaritzburg pays about 2.1 times 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 $36 in Pietermaritzburg. Groceries flip the comparison at $266 vs $194, with Pietermaritzburg cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇿🇦 Pietermaritzburg

🕒 Local time

01:00 1:00 AM

20:00 8:00 PM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

618,536

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, 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).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Pietermaritzburg 8,370 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Pietermaritzburg

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 Pietermaritzburg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Pietermaritzburg is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and leisure. The 24% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 53% 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 $216 in Pietermaritzburg. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $177 in Pietermaritzburg. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 37% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Pietermaritzburg 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.