Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and South Africa

Name: South Africa
Address: ZA

For one person, living costs are similar in Phuket and in South Africa: $1,190 and $1,182 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in South Africa
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South Africa Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,190

/mo nomad

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,182

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Phuket is 3% cheaper than South Africa without rent, and 0.7% more expensive with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Phuket is 5.2% cheaper than South Africa without rent, and 11.8% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.35 ฿146

$10.64 R 176

-59.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.45 ฿1,087

$41.40 R 683

-21.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.42 ฿282

$5.60 R 92.4

50.36%

Cappuccino

$2.81 ฿94.0

$2.28 R 37.63

23.25%

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

$0.87 ฿29.29

$1.16 R 19.17

-25.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.46 ฿15.39

$0.92 R 15.22

-50.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$2.45 R 40.40

5.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.64 ฿122

$2.95 R 48.69

23.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 ฿57.2

$1.19 R 19.63

43.70%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.42

$1.12 R 18.42

29.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.56 ฿52.3

$1.79 R 29.58

-12.85%

Eggs

$2.10 ฿70.3

$2.48 R 40.88

-15.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.53 ฿654

$8.08 R 133

141.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$5.13 R 84.7

-33.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿373

$7.81 R 129

42.64%

Apples (1kg)

$2.83 ฿94.8

$1.87 R 30.78

51.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 ฿54.3

$1.66 R 27.42

-2.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 ฿74.5

$1.77 R 29.15

25.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.15 ฿71.9

$1.80 R 29.67

19.44%

Potato (1kg)

$1.49 ฿49.95

$1.49 R 24.53

Onion (1kg)

$1.33 ฿44.40

$1.50 R 24.71

-11.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.72

$1.28 R 21.16

-16.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.01

$1.09 R 17.97

-53.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 ฿147

$3.22 R 53.2

36.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.77 ฿629

$4.93 R 81.3

280.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.3

$1.48 R 24.47

17.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿92.9

$2.01 R 33.09

38.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.17 ฿72.6

$1.60 R 26.39

35.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.28 ฿746

$60.7 R 1,001

-63.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿101

$1.09 R 17.98

177.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.43

$0.98 R 16.23

8.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.71 ฿124

$7.42 R 122

-50.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 ฿47.88

$1.49 R 24.63

-4.03%

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

$26.3K ฿882.1K

$35.0K R 578.2K

-24.83%

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

$26.2K ฿877.3K

$31.6K R 521.1K

-17.04%

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

$96.7 ฿3,236

$131 R 2,168

-26.45%

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

$11.41 ฿382

$34.71 R 573

-67.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.11 ฿573

$39.94 R 659

-57.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.8 ฿1,768

$33.88 R 559

55.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.07 ฿371

$11.39 R 188

-2.81%

Cinema Ticket

$7.65 ฿256

$7.31 R 121

4.65%

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

$555 ฿18.6K

$225 R 3,715

146.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿377.7K

$5,485 R 90.5K

105.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.4 ฿2,123

$52.0 R 858

22.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.61 ฿958

$33.30 R 549

-14.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.7 ฿3,238

$99.4 R 1,640

-2.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 ฿2,967

$87.4 R 1,441

1.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$735 ฿24.6K

$480 R 7,918

53.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$458 ฿15.3K

$406 R 6,692

12.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,102 ฿70.4K

$935 R 15.4K

124.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 ฿39.7K

$796 R 13.1K

49.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,493 ฿116.9K

$1,111 R 18.3K

214.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,491 ฿83.4K

$777 R 12.8K

220.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.8K

$1,476 R 24.4K

-66.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

11.23

-50.40%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 4, 2026

Last update for South Africa: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$458 38.1%

South Africa

$406 33.6% 11.4% $52

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.3%

South Africa

$196 16.2% 27% $72

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.4%

South Africa

$206 17.1% 64.6% $81

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$125 10.4%

South Africa

$122 10.1% 1.9% $2.4

Eating Out

Phuket

$119 9.9%

South Africa

$156 12.9% 30.6% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.7%

South Africa

$49 4% 28.8% $20

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

South Africa

$73 6.1% 86.2% $34

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇿🇦 South Africa

🕒 Local time

21:44 9:44 PM

16:44 4:44 PM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

62,027,503

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 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 October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket South Africa 8,740 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
South Africa

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 other spots: cost of living compared

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