Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Sunny Beach

For one person, living is cheaper in Sunny Beach: $1,038 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Sunny Beach
Learn more

Sunny Beach Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Sunny Beach

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,038

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Sunny Beach

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,038 in Sunny Beach.

Phuket $1,207
Sunny Beach $1,038

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $1,578 in Sunny Beach.

Phuket $2,037
Sunny Beach $1,578

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $2,117 in Sunny Beach.

Phuket $2,867
Sunny Beach $2,117

Living in Phuket is roughly 16% more expensive than in Sunny Beach, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Sunny Beach 23% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ฿153

$8.39 BGN 14.59

-45.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.48 ฿1,086

$44.87 BGN 78.1

-27.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿286

$9.63 BGN 16.75

-11.21%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.0

$2.86 BGN 4.98

-4.90%

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

$0.94 ฿31.25

$1.74 BGN 3.02

-45.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.39

$1.56 BGN 2.71

-68.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$2.31 BGN 4.03

12.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$1.73 BGN 3.02

121.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$1.76 BGN 3.06

-1.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿47.82

$0.75 BGN 1.30

90.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.0

$2.18 BGN 3.79

-29.82%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$3.69 BGN 6.42

-41.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.15 ฿640

$8.40 BGN 14.61

127.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿110

$8.56 BGN 14.90

-61.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿372

$14.28 BGN 24.85

-21.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ฿98.5

$1.70 BGN 2.95

73.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.1

$1.77 BGN 3.08

-5.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 ฿76.8

$1.91 BGN 3.32

20.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ฿71.3

$2.63 BGN 4.57

-19.01%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.1

$1.07 BGN 1.87

42.99%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.55

$1.05 BGN 1.83

29.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.44

$1.16 BGN 2.02

-3.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$0.71 BGN 1.24

-22.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$4.10 BGN 7.13

3.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿608

$6.27 BGN 10.92

190.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$1.13 BGN 1.96

53.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.3

$2.06 BGN 3.58

35.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

$1.13 BGN 1.97

96.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 ฿97.3

$1.27 BGN 2.21

129.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.79

$0.65 BGN 1.12

55.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

$10.32 BGN 17.96

-62.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.85

$1.58 BGN 2.75

-5.70%

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

$26.7K ฿891.6K

$29.6K BGN 51.5K

-9.78%

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

$26.7K ฿892.7K

$24.4K BGN 42.5K

9.40%

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

$99.4 ฿3,321

$114 BGN 199

-13.01%

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

$11.28 ฿377

$18.46 BGN 32.12

-38.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.36 ฿580

$15.66 BGN 27.25

10.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,747

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ฿253

$8.90 BGN 15.48

-14.94%

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

$558 ฿18.7K

$519 BGN 902

7.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

$5,550 BGN 9,658

106.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,102

$33.86 BGN 58.9

85.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿955

$41.32 BGN 71.9

-30.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 ฿3,213

$95.8 BGN 167

0.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,943

$103 BGN 180

-14.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

$565 BGN 984

29.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

$341 BGN 593

34.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

$679 BGN 1,181

208.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

$513 BGN 893

138.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

$1,328 BGN 2,310

160.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

$1,135 BGN 1,976

119.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

$920 BGN 1,601

-46.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.1

79.68%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Last update for Sunny Beach: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$460 38.1%

Sunny Beach

$341 32.9% 25.9% $119

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.2%

Sunny Beach

$240 23.1% 10.3% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$128 10.6%

Sunny Beach

$148 14.3% 15.9% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Sunny Beach

$123 11.9% 0.5% $0.6

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10.1%

Sunny Beach

$159 15.3% 30.7% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$67 5.6%

Sunny Beach

$18 * 1.7% 73.6% $50

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.2%

Sunny Beach

$9 * 0.9% 76.8% $30

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 $729 in Phuket and $565 in Sunny Beach. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sunny Beach pays 87% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $45.00 in Sunny Beach. Groceries flip the comparison at $268 vs $240, with Sunny Beach cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇧🇬 Sunny Beach

🕒 Local time

21:47 9:47 PM

17:47 5:47 PM

4 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

13,347

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Sunny Beach 7,840 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Sunny Beach

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 Sunny Beach: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sunny Beach is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and leisure. The 16% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 87% lower in Sunny Beach. 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: $729 in Phuket versus $565 in Sunny Beach. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $558 in Phuket versus $519 in Sunny Beach. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Sunny Beach – a meal for two runs $45.00 versus $32.00 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,038 in Sunny Beach versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sunny Beach but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Sunny Beach the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Sunny Beach is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Phuket, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Sunny Beach are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Sunny Beach gentler on the wallet – expenses run 16% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.