Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Rugby

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,353 in Rugby, rent and utilities included – about $12,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
113

Cost of Living Index in Rugby
Learn more

Rugby Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Rugby

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,353

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Rugby

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,353 in Rugby.

Phuket $1,278
Rugby $2,353

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $3,513 in Rugby.

Phuket $2,216
Rugby $3,513

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $4,673 in Rugby.

Phuket $3,154
Rugby $4,673

Living in Phuket costs roughly 46% less than in Rugby, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Rugby is 73% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$19.95 £15.01

-77.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$80.1 £60.3

-59.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$9.38 £7.06

-6.08%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$5.02 £3.78

-43.63%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$2.07 £1.56

-57.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$1.49 £1.12

-67.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$6.13 £4.61

-58.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$6.42 £4.83

-42.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.72 £1.29

-3.49%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$1.82 £1.37

-19.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$2.62 £1.97

-42.75%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$3.93 £2.95

-46.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$9.35 £7.04

103.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$7.92 £5.96

-58.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$15.17 £11.42

-28.08%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$2.58 £1.94

13.57%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.77 £1.33

-4.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.49 £1.87

-9.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$3.13 £2.35

-33.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.64 £1.24

-7.93%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$1.79 £1.35

-22.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$1.30 £0.98

-17.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$1.64 £1.24

-68.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$22.48 £16.92

-81.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$11.88 £8.94

58.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$3.74 £2.82

-51.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$3.25 £2.45

-12.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$2.60 £1.96

-44.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$96.6 £72.7

-41.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$4.69 £3.53

-35.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$1.61 £1.21

-36.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$24.12 £18.15

-84.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$2.02 £1.52

-27.23%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$38.4K £28.9K

-30.18%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$41.0K £30.8K

-34.82%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$269 £202

-64.19%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$20.01 £15.06

-43.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$46.65 £35.11

-63.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$57.7 £43.41

16.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$14.92 £11.23

-49.73%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$1,617 £1,217

-70.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$22.3K £16.8K

-49.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$105 £79.0

-40.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$31.48 £23.70

-9.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$82.6 £62.2

14.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$114 £85.9

-24.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$1,117 £841

-35.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$1,049 £789

-53.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$1,799 £1,354

7.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,847 £1,390

-22.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$5,050 £3,801

-17.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$3,853 £2,900

-20.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$4,564 £3,435

-89.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.09

9.43%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Rugby: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Rugby

$1K 44.6% 114% $558

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Rugby

$306 13% 15% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Rugby

$336 14.3% 170% $211

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Rugby

$150 6.4% 23% $28

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Rugby

$306 13% 151% $184

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Rugby

$88 3.7% 6.4% $5.3

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Rugby

$120 5.1% 69.6% $49

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $1,117 in Rugby. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rugby pays about 9.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $80 in Rugby for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $306 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇬🇧 Rugby

🕒 Local time

05:07 5:07 AM

22:07 10:07 PM

7 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

70,628

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.753 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.838 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Rugby 9,960 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Rugby

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 Rugby: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 46% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, transport, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 89% 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 $1,117 in Rugby. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $1,617 in Rugby. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Rugby. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,353 in Rugby, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Rugby. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 46% less than in Rugby. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.