Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Sarajevo

For one person, living is cheaper in Sarajevo: $1,212 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $790 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
58

Cost of Living Index in Sarajevo
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Sarajevo Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Sarajevo

🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina

$1,212

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Sarajevo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,212 in Sarajevo.

Phuket $1,278
Sarajevo $1,212

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,843 in Sarajevo.

Phuket $2,216
Sarajevo $1,843

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,473 in Sarajevo.

Phuket $3,154
Sarajevo $2,473

Living in Phuket is roughly 5% more expensive than in Sarajevo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Sarajevo 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$8.52 BAM 14.92

-47.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$40.08 BAM 70.2

-19.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$8.42 BAM 14.76

4.63%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$2.26 BAM 3.95

25.22%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$2.17 BAM 3.80

-59.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$1.41 BAM 2.47

-65.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$2.93 BAM 5.12

-12.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.80 BAM 4.90

31.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.18 BAM 2.06

40.68%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$1.20 BAM 2.11

21.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$2.12 BAM 3.72

-29.25%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.96 BAM 5.19

-29.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$10.37 BAM 18.16

83.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$7.43 BAM 13.02

-55.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$14.64 BAM 25.65

-25.48%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$1.49 BAM 2.60

96.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$1.61 BAM 2.83

4.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$1.48 BAM 2.60

52.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$2.06 BAM 3.61

0.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.99 BAM 1.73

52.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$1.10 BAM 1.93

25.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$1.13 BAM 1.98

-5.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$0.67 BAM 1.18

-22.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.85 BAM 6.75

9.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$7.18 BAM 12.58

161.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$0.92 BAM 1.62

97.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$1.48 BAM 2.60

91.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

$1.25 BAM 2.19

16.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$33.99 BAM 59.5

66.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.46 BAM 2.55

106.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

$1.13 BAM 1.98

-9.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$8.39 BAM 14.70

-56.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$1.73 BAM 3.04

-15.03%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$29.6K BAM 51.9K

-9.54%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$21.9K BAM 38.4K

21.81%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$221 BAM 387

-56.43%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$14.49 BAM 25.39

-22.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$27.50 BAM 48.18

-38.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$41.77 BAM 73.2

60.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$19.37 BAM 33.94

-44.61%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$7.06 BAM 12.37

6.23%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$206 BAM 361

130.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

$3,810 BAM 6,674

195.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$87.5 BAM 153

-28.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$37.82 BAM 66.3

-24.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$92.2 BAM 162

2.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$99.2 BAM 174

-13.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$434 BAM 761

64.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$320 BAM 561

53.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$965 BAM 1,691

99.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$606 BAM 1,062

135.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$3,150 BAM 5,519

32.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$2,429 BAM 4,256

25.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$1,042 BAM 1,825

-51.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.08

36.52%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Sarajevo: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Sarajevo

$320 26.4% 34.7% $170

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Sarajevo

$229 18.9% 13.8% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Sarajevo

$263 21.7% 111% $139

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Sarajevo

$143 11.8% 16.9% $21

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Sarajevo

$155 12.8% 27.4% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Sarajevo

$56 4.6% 32% $26

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Sarajevo

$46 3.8% 34.7% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $434 in Sarajevo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sarajevo pays about 2.1 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 $40 in Sarajevo. Groceries flip the comparison at $266 vs $229, with Sarajevo cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇧🇦 Sarajevo

🕒 Local time

15:00 3:00 PM

09:00 9:00 AM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

271,194 Capital

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark BAM KM

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 BAM = 0.571 USD

1 BAM = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BAM, 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).

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BAM (1 BAM = 0.571 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BAM (1 BAM = 0.512 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Sarajevo 8,600 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Sarajevo

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 Sarajevo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sarajevo is about 5% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 52% 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 $434 in Sarajevo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $206 in Sarajevo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 16% 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. Sarajevo is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

For families, Sarajevo 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 Sarajevo are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.