Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Samokov

For one person, living is cheaper in Samokov: $1,052 a month against $1,294 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
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Samokov
Learn more

Samokov Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Samokov

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,052

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Samokov

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $1,052 in Samokov.

Phuket $1,294
Samokov $1,052

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $1,641 in Samokov.

Phuket $2,204
Samokov $1,641

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $2,229 in Samokov.

Phuket $3,115
Samokov $2,229

Living in Phuket is roughly 23% more expensive than in Samokov, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 4% lower, Samokov 22% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿148

$9.18 BGN 16.06

-52.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,090

$45.91 BGN 80.3

-29.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿294

$9.87 BGN 17.27

-11.85%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.9

$2.78 BGN 4.87

-2.16%

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

$0.93 ฿31.39

$1.75 BGN 3.06

-46.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.85

$1.52 BGN 2.66

-67.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿85.4

$2.58 BGN 4.52

-1.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿122

$4.29 BGN 7.50

-15.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.7

$1.74 BGN 3.05

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.95

$1.18 BGN 2.06

22.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.7

$2.24 BGN 3.92

-33.04%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿73.3

$3.77 BGN 6.59

-42.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿644

$11.31 BGN 19.80

68.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿115

$8.18 BGN 14.32

-58.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿368

$14.13 BGN 24.73

-22.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿99.2

$1.63 BGN 2.86

80.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.81 BGN 3.17

-6.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿74.0

$1.97 BGN 3.45

11.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿71.7

$2.62 BGN 4.59

-19.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿49.21

$1.09 BGN 1.90

33.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿46.15

$1.05 BGN 1.83

30.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿36.30

$1.16 BGN 2.04

-6.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.41

$0.76 BGN 1.32

-27.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿149

$3.95 BGN 6.91

12.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿616

$6.34 BGN 11.09

187.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.8

$1.18 BGN 2.06

50.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿97.2

$2.10 BGN 3.67

37.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.84

$0.83 BGN 1.45

74.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,852

$25.19 BGN 44.08

117.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.25 BGN 2.18

20.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿26.18

$0.65 BGN 1.13

20.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿130

$10.19 BGN 17.84

-62.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿50.2

$1.76 BGN 3.08

-15.34%

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

$26.9K ฿907.0K

$29.7K BGN 51.9K

-9.39%

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

$26.3K ฿888.9K

$24.2K BGN 42.4K

8.85%

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

$97.8 ฿3,300

$113 BGN 198

-13.53%

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

$11.29 ฿381

$18.76 BGN 32.83

-39.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿580

$15.53 BGN 27.17

10.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,305

$31.44 BGN 55.0

117.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿368

$16.62 BGN 29.09

-34.30%

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿251

$9.17 BGN 16.04

-18.97%

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

$530 ฿17.9K

$510 BGN 892

4.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿633.7K

$5,364 BGN 9,387

250.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,081

$68.8 BGN 120

-10.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿953

$42.35 BGN 74.1

-33.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,239

$95.1 BGN 166

0.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,929

$105 BGN 183

-16.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.3K

$337 BGN 590

113.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.2K

$259 BGN 453

96.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.8K

$549 BGN 961

254.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿47.1K

$404 BGN 707

245.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿141.4K

$1,301 BGN 2,277

222.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿111.3K

$1,113 BGN 1,949

196.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.6K

$728 BGN 1,275

-32.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.1

79.68%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Samokov: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Samokov

$259 24.6% 49.2% $250

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Samokov

$252 24% 5.4% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Samokov

$147 14% 16.7% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Samokov

$140 13.3% 13.9% $17

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Samokov

$171 16.3% 43% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Samokov

$50 4.7% 40.2% $33

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Samokov

$33 3.1% 50.1% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Phuket and $337 in Samokov. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Samokov pays 48% 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 $46 in Samokov. Groceries flip the comparison at $267 vs $252, with Samokov cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇧🇬 Samokov

🕒 Local time

02:59 2:59 AM

21:59 9:59 PM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

25,138

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.73 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BGN (1 BGN = 0.571 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Samokov 8,170 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Samokov

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 Samokov: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Samokov is about 19% cheaper overall, especially in leisure, transport, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 33% 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: $721 in Phuket versus $337 in Samokov. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $530 in Phuket versus $510 in Samokov. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 6% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Samokov is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Samokov are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.