Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Romford

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $2,706 in Romford, rent and utilities included – about $18,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
131

Cost of Living Index in Romford
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Romford Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Romford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,706

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Romford

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,706 in Romford.

Phuket $1,208
Romford $2,706

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $4,122 in Romford.

Phuket $2,027
Romford $4,122

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $5,538 in Romford.

Phuket $2,845
Romford $5,538

Living in Phuket costs roughly 55% less than in Romford, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Romford is 100% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$23.90 £17.93

-81.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$108 £81.3

-70.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$10.75 £8.07

-18.51%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$4.88 £3.66

-42.01%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$2.68 £2.01

-66.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$1.85 £1.39

-74.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$7.62 £5.72

-66.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$6.78 £5.09

-43.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$1.83 £1.37

-5.46%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$1.74 £1.30

-15.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$2.62 £1.96

-42.37%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$4.88 £3.66

-55.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$9.51 £7.13

107.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$9.56 £7.17

-65.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$16.02 £12.02

-30.34%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$3.03 £2.28

-5.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$1.37 £1.03

24.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$3.24 £2.43

-32.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$3.55 £2.66

-42.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$1.66 £1.25

-12.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$1.82 £1.37

-24.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$1.25 £0.93

-14.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$1.80 £1.35

-71.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$23.41 £17.56

-81.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$13.22 £9.92

40.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$3.21 £2.41

-44.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$4.14 £3.11

-31.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$4.58 £3.43

-50.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

$97.1 £72.8

-77.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$5.51 £4.13

-45.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$2.59 £1.94

-59.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$25.48 £19.11

-84.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$2.08 £1.56

-30.29%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$38.9K £29.2K

-32.36%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$40.4K £30.3K

-33.27%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$381 £286

-74.71%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$18.84 £14.13

-41.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$43.29 £32.48

-60.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$50.6 £37.94

3.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$17.03 £12.78

-54.14%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$2,581 £1,936

-78.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$35.1K £26.4K

-67.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$90.0 £67.6

-28.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$46.87 £35.16

-38.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$91.7 £68.8

3.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$130 £97.3

-32.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$1,852 £1,389

-60.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$1,201 £901

-61.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$3,269 £2,452

-35.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$2,259 £1,695

-46.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$5,605 £4,205

-37.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$3,693 £2,770

-31.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

$2,863 £2,148

-82.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

11.40%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Romford: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Romford

$1.2K 44.4% 160% $739

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Romford

$330 12.2% 22.9% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Romford

$443 16.4% 256% $319

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Romford

$161 6% 29.7% $37

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Romford

$352 13% 190% $231

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Romford

$85 3.1% 24.9% $17

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Romford

$134 5% 239% $94

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $737 in Phuket and $1,852 in Romford. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Romford pays 472% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $108 in Romford for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $330 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇬🇧 Romford

🕒 Local time

13:17 1:17 PM

07:17 7:17 AM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

95,894

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Romford 9,880 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Romford

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 Romford: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 124% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 472% lower in Romford. 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: $737 in Phuket versus $1,852 in Romford. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $556 in Phuket versus $2,581 in Romford. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 23% higher in Romford. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,706 in Romford, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Romford. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Phuket and Romford 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 Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 124% less than in Romford. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.