Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Saransk

For one person, living is cheaper in Saransk: $1,092 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 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
53

Cost of Living Index in Saransk
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Saransk Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Saransk

🇷🇺 Russia

$1,092

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Saransk

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,092 in Saransk.

Phuket $1,207
Saransk $1,092

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $1,736 in Saransk.

Phuket $2,037
Saransk $1,736

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $2,380 in Saransk.

Phuket $2,867
Saransk $2,380

Living in Phuket is roughly 11% more expensive than in Saransk, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Saransk 19% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ฿153

$14.24 ₽1,189

-67.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.48 ฿1,086

$52.6 ₽4,393

-38.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿286

$7.06 ₽589

21.10%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.0

$3.19 ₽266

-14.73%

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

$0.94 ฿31.25

$1.76 ₽147

-46.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.39

$0.70 ₽58.1

-30.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$1.87 ₽156

38.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$3.71 ₽310

3.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$1.20 ₽100

45.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿47.82

$0.82 ₽68.0

74.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.0

$1.40 ₽117

9.29%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$1.56 ₽130

39.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.15 ฿640

$11.95 ₽997

60.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿110

$4.87 ₽406

-32.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿372

$13.28 ₽1,108

-16.11%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ฿98.5

$1.77 ₽148

66.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.1

$1.66 ₽139

1.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 ฿76.8

$1.70 ₽142

35.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ฿71.3

$3.48 ₽290

-38.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.1

$0.66 ₽55.0

131.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.55

$0.60 ₽50.4

126.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.44

$1.29 ₽107

-13.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$0.71 ₽59.0

-22.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$3.04 ₽254

40.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿608

$8.58 ₽716

112.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$1.10 ₽91.5

58.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.3

$2.39 ₽199

16.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

$0.55 ₽46.02

303.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 ฿97.3

$2.12 ₽177

37.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.79

$0.41 ₽33.85

146.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

$7.13 ₽595

-46.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.85

$0.81 ₽67.9

83.95%

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

$26.7K ฿891.6K

$40.9K ₽3.4M

-34.77%

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

$26.7K ฿892.7K

$32.8K ₽2.7M

-18.68%

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

$99.4 ฿3,321

$145 ₽12.1K

-31.31%

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

$11.28 ฿377

$6.86 ₽573

64.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.36 ฿580

$7.73 ₽645

124.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,747

$30.73 ₽2,565

70.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

$22.61 ₽1,887

-52.01%

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ฿253

$7.28 ₽608

3.98%

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

$558 ฿18.7K

$314 ₽26.2K

77.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

$7,027 ₽586.5K

63.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,102

$67.8 ₽5,657

-7.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿955

$54.4 ₽4,538

-47.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 ฿3,213

$137 ₽11.5K

-30.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,943

$81.2 ₽6,776

8.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

$473 ₽39.4K

54.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

$309 ₽25.8K

48.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

$894 ₽74.6K

134.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

$562 ₽46.9K

117.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

$2,232 ₽186.3K

54.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

$1,483 ₽123.8K

67.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

$662 ₽55.3K

-25.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

20.81

-73.23%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Last update for Saransk: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$460 38.1%

Saransk

$309 28.3% 32.9% $151

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.2%

Saransk

$219 20.1% 18.1% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$128 10.6%

Saransk

$159 14.6% 24.4% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Saransk

$153 14% 23.6% $29

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10.1%

Saransk

$200 18.3% 64.8% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$67 5.6%

Saransk

$45 4.2% 32.8% $22

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.2%

Saransk

$6.4 * 0.6% 83.7% $33

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 $729 in Phuket and $473 in Saransk. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Saransk pays 34% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $53.0 in Saransk. Groceries flip the comparison at $268 vs $219, with Saransk cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇷🇺 Saransk

🕒 Local time

11:22 11:22 AM

07:22 7:22 AM

4 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

320,612

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Russian Ruble RUB ₽

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 RUB = 1.2 USD

100 RUB = 1.07 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RUB, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Russian Ruble exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 83.46 RUB (100 RUB = 1.2 USD). 1 EUR = 93.83 RUB (100 RUB = 1.07 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Saransk 6,970 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Saransk

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 Saransk: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Saransk is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and transport. The 11% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 34% lower in Saransk. 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: $729 in Phuket versus $473 in Saransk. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $558 in Phuket versus $314 in Saransk. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Saransk – a meal for two runs $53.0 versus $32.00 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,092 in Saransk versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Saransk but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Saransk the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Saransk 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 Saransk 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 Saransk gentler on the wallet – expenses run 11% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.