Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Stockton-on-Tees

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $1,692 in Stockton-on-Tees, rent and utilities included – about $5,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Phuket
🇹🇭 Thailand
$1,208
/mo nomad
Stockton-on-Tees
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
$1,692
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Stockton-on-Tees

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 Stockton-on-Tees actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,692 in Stockton-on-Tees.

  • Phuket $1,208
  • Stockton-on-Tees $1,692

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $2,431 in Stockton-on-Tees.

  • Phuket $2,027
  • Stockton-on-Tees $2,431

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $3,170 in Stockton-on-Tees.

  • Phuket $2,845
  • Stockton-on-Tees $3,170

Living in Phuket costs roughly 29% less than in Stockton-on-Tees, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Stockton-on-Tees is 25% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Phuket
Stockton-on-Tees
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$4.40 ฿147
$13.37 £10.03
-67.09%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$32.26 ฿1,078
$68.7 £51.5
-53.03%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$8.76 ฿293
$10.50 £7.88
-16.57%
Cappuccino
$2.83 ฿94.5
$3.39 £2.54
-16.52%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.90 ฿30.14
$2.38 £1.78
-62.18%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.47 ฿15.56
$2.03 £1.52
-76.85%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.55 ฿85.2
$4.60 £3.45
-44.57%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.83 ฿128
$4.13 £3.10
-7.26%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Phuket
Stockton-on-Tees
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.73 ฿57.7
$1.23 £0.92
40.65%
White Bread (500g)
$1.47 ฿49.11
$1.05 £0.79
40.00%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.51 ฿50.6
$1.38 £1.04
9.42%
Eggs
$2.17 ฿72.7
$3.57 £2.68
-39.22%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$19.70 ฿658
$7.63 £5.72
158.19%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.34 ฿112
$7.06 £5.29
-52.69%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$11.16 ฿373
$13.99 £10.49
-20.23%
Apples (1kg)
$2.85 ฿95.1
$2.47 £1.85
15.38%
Banana (1kg)
$1.70 ฿56.9
$1.60 £1.20
6.25%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.19 ฿73.3
$2.24 £1.68
-2.23%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.05 ฿68.4
$1.82 £1.37
12.64%
Potato (1kg)
$1.45 ฿48.57
$1.72 £1.29
-15.70%
Onion (1kg)
$1.38 ฿46.16
$1.28 £0.96
7.81%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.07 ฿35.69
$1.15 £0.87
-6.96%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.51 ฿16.91
$1.57 £1.18
-67.52%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.26 ฿142
$23.04 £17.29
-81.51%
Wine (Bottle)
$18.58 ฿621
$8.02 £6.02
131.67%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.78 ฿59.7
$3.01 £2.25
-40.86%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.85 ฿95.2
$3.75 £2.81
-24.00%
🚌 Getting Around
Phuket
Stockton-on-Tees
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$2.26 ฿75.6
$3.94 £2.96
-42.64%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$22.10 ฿738
$62.7 £47.01
-64.73%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.01 ฿101
$4.45 £3.34
-32.36%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.06 ฿35.34
-
-
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$3.86 ฿129
$33.23 £24.93
-88.38%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.45 ฿48.45
$1.99 £1.49
-27.14%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$26.3K ฿879.9K
$38.9K £29.2K
-32.30%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$26.9K ฿900.4K
$40.2K £30.2K
-33.05%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Phuket
Stockton-on-Tees
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$96.4 ฿3,221
$354 £265
-72.74%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$11.04 ฿369
$25.85 £19.39
-57.29%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$17.14 ฿573
$45.40 £34.06
-62.25%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Phuket
Stockton-on-Tees
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$52.2 ฿1,744
-
-
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$11.16 ฿373
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$7.81 ฿261
$17.10 £12.83
-54.33%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Phuket
Stockton-on-Tees
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$556 ฿18.6K
$799 £599
-30.41%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$11.6K ฿387.0K
-
-
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Phuket
Stockton-on-Tees
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$64.2 ฿2,146
$108 £81.3
-40.73%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$28.69 ฿959
$55.4 £41.55
-48.19%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$95.4 ฿3,187
$113 £84.5
-15.29%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$88.0 ฿2,940
$114 £85.2
-22.49%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Phuket
Stockton-on-Tees
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$737 ฿24.6K
$594 £446
24.07%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$462 ฿15.5K
$494 £370
-6.37%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,095 ฿70.0K
$809 £607
158.94%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,201 ฿40.1K
$711 £533
68.87%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,488 ฿116.6K
-
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,523 ฿84.3K
-
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Phuket
Stockton-on-Tees
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$501 ฿16.7K
$2,020 £1,515
-75.21%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
5.57
5.53
0.72%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Stockton-on-Tees: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Phuket
$462
Stockton-on-Tees
$494 6.8% $31
Groceries & Markets
Phuket
$269
Stockton-on-Tees
$252 6% $16
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Phuket
$125
Stockton-on-Tees
$425 241% $300
Clothing & Footwear
Phuket
$124
Stockton-on-Tees
$175 41.1% $51
Eating Out
Phuket
$121
Stockton-on-Tees
$228 88.1% $107
Sport & Entertainment
Phuket
$68
Stockton-on-Tees
$34 * 49.5% $34
Getting Around
Phuket
$39
Stockton-on-Tees
$83 * 110% $43

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 $737 in Phuket and $594 in Stockton-on-Tees. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Stockton-on-Tees pays 303% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $69.0 in Stockton-on-Tees. Groceries flip the comparison at $269 vs $252, with Stockton-on-Tees cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know
🇹🇭 Phuket
🇬🇧 Stockton-on-Tees
🕒 Local time
02:57 2:57 AM
20:57 8:57 PM
6 h behind Phuket
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
79,308
82,729
💱 Currency
Thai Baht THB ฿
Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Phuket Stockton-on-Tees 9,910 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Phuket
  • Stockton-on-Tees

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 Stockton-on-Tees: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Stockton-on-Tees cheaper than Phuket?
Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in clothing, eating out, and transport. The 40% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
Where can you earn more: Phuket or Stockton-on-Tees?
On paper, salaries run 303% lower in Stockton-on-Tees. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.
What is the rent difference between Phuket and Stockton-on-Tees?
Rent for a central apartment: $737 in Phuket versus $594 in Stockton-on-Tees. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Childcare runs $556 in Phuket versus $799 in Stockton-on-Tees. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
How do food prices compare in Phuket and in Stockton-on-Tees?
Shoppers in Stockton-on-Tees pay roughly 6% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Phuket or in Stockton-on-Tees?
At $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,692 in Stockton-on-Tees, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Stockton-on-Tees. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Is Phuket or Stockton-on-Tees more family-friendly?
For families, Phuket is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Stockton-on-Tees, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.
Which city is safer, Phuket or Stockton-on-Tees?
Safety-wise, Phuket and Stockton-on-Tees are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.
Which city is easier to live in as a foreigner?
Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 40% less than in Stockton-on-Tees. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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