Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Secunda

For one person, living is cheaper in Secunda: $1,062 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Secunda
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Secunda Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Secunda

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,062

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Secunda

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,062 in Secunda.

Phuket $1,278
Secunda $1,062

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,635 in Secunda.

Phuket $2,216
Secunda $1,635

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,208 in Secunda.

Phuket $3,154
Secunda $2,208

Living in Phuket is roughly 20% more expensive than in Secunda, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Secunda 22% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$6.04 R 101

-25.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$30.91 R 516

4.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$5.22 R 87.3

68.77%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$2.31 R 38.53

22.51%

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

$0.87 ฿29.41

$0.87 R 14.47

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$0.51 R 8.48

-3.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$1.08 R 18.00

137.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$1.31 R 21.86

180.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.17 R 19.63

41.88%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.31

$0.87 R 14.57

67.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.86 R 31.05

-19.35%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.43 R 40.54

-13.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$8.26 R 138

130.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$5.07 R 84.7

-34.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$7.18 R 120

51.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$1.80 R 30.14

62.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$1.68 R 27.99

0.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$1.79 R 29.95

25.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$1.65 R 27.49

26.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.10 R 18.35

37.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.52

$1.23 R 20.48

12.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.96

$1.24 R 20.68

-13.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$1.35 R 22.53

-61.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.21 R 53.6

30.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$5.01 R 83.7

275.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.60 R 26.71

13.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$1.98 R 33.01

43.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

$1.50 R 25.08

-3.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$0.29 R 4.81

941.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.33

$0.77 R 12.93

32.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$14.85 R 248

-75.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.76

$1.55 R 25.90

-5.16%

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

$26.8K ฿903.4K

$36.1K R 603.8K

-25.90%

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

$26.7K ฿900.5K

$35.1K R 586.1K

-23.91%

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

$96.4 ฿3,251

$156 R 2,604

-38.19%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$37.44 R 625

-69.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$36.72 R 614

-54.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$31.86 R 532

111.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$10.80 R 180

-0.65%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$7.19 R 120

4.31%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$90.1 R 1,505

428.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

$5,501 R 91.9K

104.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,104

$53.9 R 900

15.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$32.55 R 544

-12.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,181

$92.6 R 1,546

1.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,895

$82.9 R 1,385

3.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$402 R 6,711

78.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$360 R 6,014

36.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$730 R 12.2K

163.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$743 R 12.4K

92.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$869 R 14.5K

380.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$698 R 11.7K

336.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$1,444 R 24.1K

-65.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

11.34

-50.88%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Secunda: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Secunda

$360 33.9% 26.7% $131

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Secunda

$193 18.1% 27.7% $74

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Secunda

$230 21.7% 84.8% $106

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Secunda

$118 11.1% 3.3% $4

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Secunda

$105 9.9% 13.6% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Secunda

$46 4.4% 43.8% $36

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Secunda

$10 * 1% 85.6% $60

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 $402 in Secunda. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Secunda pays about 2.9 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 $31 in Secunda for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $193 per month, with Secunda cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇿🇦 Secunda

🕒 Local time

01:21 1:21 AM

20:21 8:21 PM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

40,198

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.36 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 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 16.71 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.36 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Secunda 8,370 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Secunda

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 Secunda: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Secunda is about 17% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 65% 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 $402 in Secunda. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $90 in Secunda. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Secunda – a meal for two runs $31 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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