Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and St. Moritz

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $3,626 in St. Moritz, rent and utilities included – about $28,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
174

Cost of Living Index in St. Moritz
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St. Moritz Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

St. Moritz

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,626

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in St. Moritz

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $3,626 in St. Moritz.

Phuket $1,278
St. Moritz $3,626

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $6,508 in St. Moritz.

Phuket $2,216
St. Moritz $6,508

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $9,390 in St. Moritz.

Phuket $3,154
St. Moritz $9,390

Living in Phuket costs roughly 65% less than in St. Moritz, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, St. Moritz is 166% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$34.20 CHF 28.37

-86.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$143 CHF 119

-77.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$14.40 CHF 11.94

-38.82%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$5.90 CHF 4.90

-52.03%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$5.54 CHF 4.60

-84.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$4.60 CHF 3.82

-89.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$9.90 CHF 8.21

-74.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$6.03 CHF 5.00

-38.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.81 CHF 1.50

-8.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$3.96 CHF 3.29

-63.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$3.60 CHF 2.99

-58.33%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$7.67 CHF 6.36

-72.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$27.09 CHF 22.47

-29.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$28.89 CHF 23.97

-88.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$60.5 CHF 50.2

-81.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$4.09 CHF 3.39

-28.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$2.75 CHF 2.28

-38.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$3.60 CHF 2.99

-37.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$4.59 CHF 3.81

-54.68%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.55 CHF 2.11

-40.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$2.34 CHF 1.94

-41.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$2.49 CHF 2.06

-57.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$1.25 CHF 1.03

-58.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$10.77 CHF 8.94

-61.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$13.92 CHF 11.54

34.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$2.88 CHF 2.39

-36.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$3.21 CHF 2.66

-11.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$3.92 CHF 3.26

-63.01%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$92.6 CHF 76.8

-38.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$8.08 CHF 6.70

-62.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$4.54 CHF 3.77

-77.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$87.8 CHF 72.8

-95.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$2.14 CHF 1.77

-31.31%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$38.6K CHF 32.0K

-30.64%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$39.6K CHF 32.9K

-32.61%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$96.8 CHF 80.3

-0.48%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$39.12 CHF 32.45

-71.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$54.8 CHF 45.42

-69.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$73.0 CHF 60.5

-7.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$18.96 CHF 15.73

-60.44%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$3,402 CHF 2,823

-86.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$41.2K CHF 34.2K

-72.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$140 CHF 116

-55.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$55.1 CHF 45.69

-48.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$161 CHF 133

-41.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$249 CHF 206

-65.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$1,794 CHF 1,488

-60.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$1,753 CHF 1,454

-72.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$5,403 CHF 4,482

-64.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$4,730 CHF 3,924

-69.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$12.3K CHF 10.2K

-75.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$4,889 CHF 4,056

-89.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

1.8

209.44%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for St. Moritz: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

St. Moritz

$1.8K 48.3% 257% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

St. Moritz

$670 18.5% 152% $404

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

St. Moritz

$191 5.3% 53.2% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

St. Moritz

$272 7.5% 123% $150

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

St. Moritz

$490 13.5% 302% $368

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

St. Moritz

$111 3.1% 34.9% $29

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

St. Moritz

$139 3.8% 97% $68

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $1,794 in St. Moritz. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

St. Moritz pays about 9.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $143 in St. Moritz for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $670 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇭 St. Moritz

🕒 Local time

22:43 10:43 PM

16:43 4:43 PM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

5,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.83 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.923 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket St. Moritz 9,260 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
St. Moritz

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 St. Moritz: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 184% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 90% 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 $1,794 in St. Moritz. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $3,402 in St. Moritz. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 152% higher in St. Moritz. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $3,626 in St. Moritz, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in St. Moritz. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket 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.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 65% less than in St. Moritz. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.