Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Seria

For one person, living is cheaper in Seria: $567 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 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
27

Cost of Living Index in Seria
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Seria Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Seria

🇧🇳 Brunei

$567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Seria

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $567 in Seria.

Phuket $1,278
Seria $567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $906 in Seria.

Phuket $2,216
Seria $906

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $1,246 in Seria.

Phuket $3,154
Seria $1,246

Living in Phuket is roughly 125% more expensive than in Seria, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Seria 58% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$3.17 BND 4.05

41.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$27.77 BND 35.49

16.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$5.41 BND 6.92

62.85%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.54 BND 1.97

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 BND 2.95

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$3.82 BND 4.88

-25.92%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$0.94 BND 1.21

-7.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$0.55 BND 0.70

-10.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.88 BND 2.40

-11.70%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$1.42 BND 1.81

2.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.24 BND 1.58

20.97%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.37 BND 1.75

52.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$6.16 BND 7.87

209.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$4.54 BND 5.80

-27.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$10.94 BND 13.98

-0.27%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$3.05 BND 3.90

-3.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.17 BND 2.78

-22.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.98 BND 3.81

-24.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$2.58 BND 3.30

-19.38%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.67 BND 2.13

-9.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$1.99 BND 2.54

-30.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$3.71 BND 4.74

-71.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$0.81 BND 1.03

-35.80%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$23.85 BND 30.47

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.27 BND 4.18

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.10 BND 1.41

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$15.37 BND 19.64

-72.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.81 BND 4.87

-20.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

$3.22 BND 4.12

-68.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$11.61 BND 14.84

-68.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$0.30 BND 0.38

390.00%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$42.9K BND 54.8K

-37.55%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$37.2K BND 47.5K

-28.17%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$61.4 BND 78.4

56.97%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$15.76 BND 20.14

-28.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$64.4 BND 82.3

-73.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$26.90 BND 34.38

149.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$5.55 BND 7.09

35.14%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$217 BND 278

119.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

$9,715 BND 12.4K

15.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$31.37 BND 40.09

98.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$27.14 BND 34.68

4.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$49.79 BND 63.6

89.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$47.70 BND 61.0

79.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$689 BND 881

-27.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.88

43.56%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Seria: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Seria

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Seria

$204 36% 23.4% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Seria

$142 25% 13.7% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Seria

$70 12.4% 42.4% $52

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Seria

$93 16.5% 23.3% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Seria

$38 6.7% 53.8% $44

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Seria

$20 * 3.5% 71.8% $51

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Seria pays 37% 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 $28 in Seria for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $204 per month, with Seria cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇧🇳 Seria

🕒 Local time

18:08 6:08 PM

19:08 7:08 PM

1 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

30,097

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Brunei Dollar BND $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 BND = 0.783 USD

1 BND = 0.701 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BND, 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).

Brunei Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.28 BND (1 BND = 0.783 USD). 1 EUR = 1.43 BND (1 BND = 0.701 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Seria 1,800 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Seria

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 Seria: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Seria is about 56% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 27% 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.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $217 in Seria. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Seria – a meal for two runs $28 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $567 in Seria versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Seria but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Seria 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.

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