Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Surrey, United Kingdom

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $3,025 in Surrey, rent and utilities included – about $21,000 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
148

Cost of Living Index in Surrey
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Surrey Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Surrey

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,025

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Surrey

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $3,025 in Surrey.

Phuket $1,278
Surrey $3,025

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $4,456 in Surrey.

Phuket $2,216
Surrey $4,456

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $5,887 in Surrey.

Phuket $3,154
Surrey $5,887

Living in Phuket costs roughly 58% less than in Surrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Surrey is 122% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$23.47 £17.53

-80.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$59.5 £44.42

-45.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$9.62 £7.19

-8.42%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$4.77 £3.56

-40.67%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$2.26 £1.69

-61.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$1.48 £1.10

-66.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$6.54 £4.89

-60.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$6.15 £4.59

-40.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.31 £0.98

26.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$2.10 £1.57

-30.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.60 £1.20

-6.25%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$4.15 £3.10

-49.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$8.62 £6.44

121.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$9.33 £6.97

-64.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$16.52 £12.34

-33.96%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$3.19 £2.38

-8.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$1.48 £1.11

14.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.03 £1.52

10.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$3.26 £2.43

-36.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.38 £1.03

9.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$1.79 £1.34

-22.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$1.40 £1.05

-23.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$1.17 £0.88

-55.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$23.32 £17.42

-81.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$10.47 £7.82

79.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$2.22 £1.66

-18.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.50 £1.87

13.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

$3.90 £2.91

-62.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$5.22 £3.90

-42.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$1.93 £1.44

-23.83%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$38.1K £28.5K

-29.78%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$41.0K £30.6K

-34.85%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$263 £196

-63.32%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$13.29 £9.93

-15.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$35.87 £26.80

-53.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$52.7 £39.40

27.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$18.44 £13.78

-41.81%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$13.07 £9.77

-42.62%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$2,137 £1,597

-77.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

$29.9K £22.3K

-62.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$52.7 £39.40

18.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$40.02 £29.90

-29.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$87.4 £65.3

7.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$93.0 £69.5

-7.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$1,945 £1,453

-63.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$1,864 £1,393

-73.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$3,308 £2,471

-41.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$3,400 £2,540

-57.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$7,255 £5,420

-58.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$4,565 £3,410

-89.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.4

3.15%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Surrey: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Surrey

$1.9K 61.6% 280% $1.4K

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Surrey

$293 9.7% 10% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Surrey

$312 10.3% 151% $187

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Surrey

$123 4.1% 0.8% $1

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Surrey

$334 11% 174% $212

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Surrey

$79 2.6% 4.1% $3.3

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Surrey

$21 * 0.7% 70.5% $50

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 $716 in Phuket and $1,945 in Surrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Surrey pays about 9.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $59 in Surrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $293 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇬🇧 Surrey

🕒 Local time

21:26 9:26 PM

14:26 2:26 PM

7 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

585

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, 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).

British Pound exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Surrey 9,930 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Surrey

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 Surrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 58% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 89% 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 $1,945 in Surrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $2,137 in Surrey. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $59 in Surrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $3,025 in Surrey, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Surrey. 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.

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

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Surrey on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.