Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Roodepoort

For one person, living is cheaper in Roodepoort: $1,172 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 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
56

Cost of Living Index in Roodepoort
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Roodepoort Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Roodepoort

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,172

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Roodepoort

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,172 in Roodepoort.

Phuket $1,278
Roodepoort $1,172

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,767 in Roodepoort.

Phuket $2,216
Roodepoort $1,767

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,362 in Roodepoort.

Phuket $3,154
Roodepoort $2,362

Living in Phuket is roughly 9% more expensive than in Roodepoort, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Roodepoort 14% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$12.00 R 200

-62.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$44.96 R 751

-27.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$7.11 R 119

23.91%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$2.43 R 40.61

16.46%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$1.13 R 18.93

-23.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$0.98 R 16.34

-50.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$2.44 R 40.66

4.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.78 R 46.41

32.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.21 R 20.23

37.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$1.15 R 19.19

26.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.78 R 29.78

-15.73%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.51 R 41.91

-16.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$8.79 R 147

116.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$5.38 R 89.8

-38.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$8.88 R 148

22.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$1.86 R 31.05

57.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$1.79 R 29.87

-5.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$1.73 R 28.87

30.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$2.13 R 35.55

-2.35%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.72 R 28.67

-12.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$1.77 R 29.50

-22.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$1.21 R 20.24

-11.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$1.26 R 20.98

-58.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.50 R 58.4

20.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$5.85 R 97.6

221.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.52 R 25.43

19.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$1.91 R 31.85

48.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

$0.81 R 13.48

79.01%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$0.81 R 13.44

272.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

$0.88 R 14.76

15.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$14.69 R 245

-74.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$1.56 R 25.99

-5.77%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$34.7K R 579.6K

-22.88%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$35.1K R 585.8K

-23.94%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$226 R 3,774

-57.38%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$39.16 R 654

-71.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$37.33 R 623

-54.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$47.68 R 796

41.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$7.35 R 123

2.04%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$238 R 3,980

99.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

$5,476 R 91.4K

105.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$52.1 R 869

19.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$32.49 R 542

-12.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$110 R 1,829

-13.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$88.4 R 1,476

-2.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$598 R 9,991

19.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$289 R 4,816

70.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,530 R 25.5K

25.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$531 R 8,858

169.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$1,519 R 25.4K

-66.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

11.25

-50.49%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Roodepoort: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Roodepoort

$289 24.6% 41.2% $202

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Roodepoort

$210 17.9% 21.1% $56

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Roodepoort

$303 25.8% 143% $178

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Roodepoort

$127 10.9% 4.3% $5.3

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Roodepoort

$173 14.7% 41.9% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Roodepoort

$62 5.3% 24.1% $20

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Roodepoort

$8.5 * 0.7% 88% $62

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $598 in Roodepoort. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Roodepoort pays about 3 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 $45 in Roodepoort. Groceries flip the comparison at $266 vs $210, with Roodepoort cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇿🇦 Roodepoort

🕒 Local time

18:39 6:39 PM

13:39 1:39 PM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

325,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.37 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 16.69 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.63 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

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Phuket Roodepoort 8,490 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Roodepoort

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 Roodepoort: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Roodepoort is about 8% cheaper overall, especially in transport, groceries, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 67% 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 $598 in Roodepoort. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $238 in Roodepoort. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $45 in Roodepoort. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Roodepoort 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.