Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Polokwane

For one person, living is cheaper in Polokwane: $959 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Polokwane
Learn more

Polokwane Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Polokwane

🇿🇦 South Africa

$959

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Polokwane

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Phuket versus $959 in Polokwane.

Phuket $1,207
Polokwane $959

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $1,417 in Polokwane.

Phuket $2,037
Polokwane $1,417

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $1,875 in Polokwane.

Phuket $2,867
Polokwane $1,875

Living in Phuket is roughly 26% more expensive than in Polokwane, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Polokwane 29% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ฿153

$12.24 R 202

-62.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.48 ฿1,086

$29.66 R 489

9.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿286

$7.46 R 123

14.61%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.0

$2.38 R 39.26

14.29%

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

$0.94 ฿31.25

$0.77 R 12.68

22.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.39

$0.88 R 14.47

-44.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$1.68 R 27.65

54.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$1.88 R 30.95

103.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$1.32 R 21.71

31.82%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿47.82

$1.08 R 17.82

32.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.0

$1.70 R 28.03

-10.00%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$2.65 R 43.69

-18.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.15 ฿640

$7.84 R 129

144.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿110

$4.59 R 75.6

-28.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿372

$6.04 R 99.6

84.44%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ฿98.5

$2.01 R 33.19

46.77%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.1

$1.85 R 30.53

-9.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 ฿76.8

$1.81 R 29.80

27.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ฿71.3

$1.96 R 32.30

8.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.1

$1.67 R 27.49

-8.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.55

$1.50 R 24.73

-9.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.44

$1.12 R 18.48

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$0.82 R 13.46

-32.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$2.68 R 44.22

58.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿608

$4.87 R 80.2

273.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$1.15 R 18.88

51.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.3

$1.61 R 26.54

73.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

$0.92 R 15.22

141.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

$30.03 R 495

-26.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 ฿97.3

$0.87 R 14.41

234.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.79

$0.95 R 15.66

6.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

$14.36 R 237

-73.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.85

$1.43 R 23.52

4.20%

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

$26.7K ฿891.6K

$26.1K R 430.1K

2.20%

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

$26.7K ฿892.7K

$28.5K R 469.0K

-6.17%

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

$99.4 ฿3,321

$138 R 2,281

-28.23%

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

$11.28 ฿377

$38.10 R 628

-70.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.36 ฿580

$32.99 R 544

-47.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,747

$23.29 R 384

124.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ฿253

$8.00 R 132

-5.37%

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

$558 ฿18.7K

$179 R 2,946

212.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

$1,452 R 23.9K

691.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,102

$45.30 R 746

38.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿955

$37.73 R 622

-24.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 ฿3,213

$80.6 R 1,328

19.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,943

$93.7 R 1,544

-6.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

$290 R 4,785

151.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

$203 R 3,338

127.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

$420 R 6,922

398.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

$284 R 4,683

330.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

$1,343 R 22.1K

-63.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

10.91

-48.95%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Last update for Polokwane: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$460 38.1%

Polokwane

$203 21.1% 56% $257

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.2%

Polokwane

$185 19.3% 30.8% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$128 10.6%

Polokwane

$210 21.8% 63.7% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Polokwane

$116 12.1% 6.6% $8.2

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10.1%

Polokwane

$168 17.5% 38.2% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$67 5.6%

Polokwane

$39 4.1% 41.7% $28

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.2%

Polokwane

$39 4.1% 1.2% $0.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $729 in Phuket and $290 in Polokwane. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Polokwane pays 172% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $30.00 in Polokwane for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $185 per month, with Polokwane cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇿🇦 Polokwane

🕒 Local time

00:48 12:48 AM

19:48 7:48 PM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

628,999

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Polokwane 8,270 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Polokwane

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 Polokwane: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Polokwane is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and leisure. The 26% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 172% lower in Polokwane. 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 $290 in Polokwane. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $558 in Phuket versus $179 in Polokwane. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 44% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $959 in Polokwane versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Polokwane but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Polokwane the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Polokwane is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Phuket, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Polokwane 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 Polokwane gentler on the wallet – expenses run 26% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.