Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Targu Jiu

For one person, living is cheaper in Targu Jiu: $966 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 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
47

Cost of Living Index in Targu Jiu
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Targu Jiu Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Targu Jiu

🇷🇴 Romania

$966

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Targu Jiu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $966 in Targu Jiu.

Phuket $1,278
Targu Jiu $966

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,502 in Targu Jiu.

Phuket $2,216
Targu Jiu $1,502

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,038 in Targu Jiu.

Phuket $3,154
Targu Jiu $2,038

Living in Phuket is roughly 32% more expensive than in Targu Jiu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Targu Jiu 29% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$14.60 RON 70.2

-69.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$57.6 RON 277

-43.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$7.24 RON 34.80

21.69%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$3.56 RON 17.10

-20.51%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$1.02 RON 4.93

-14.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$2.21 RON 10.64

-77.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$3.67 RON 17.66

-30.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$4.23 RON 20.32

-13.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.67 RON 8.03

-0.60%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$1.28 RON 6.17

14.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.77 RON 8.49

-15.25%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.75 RON 13.21

-24.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$7.41 RON 35.63

157.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$2.91 RON 13.99

13.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$6.95 RON 33.40

56.98%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$0.91 RON 4.38

221.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.49 RON 7.17

13.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$1.17 RON 5.60

92.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$1.22 RON 5.84

70.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.83 RON 3.97

81.93%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$0.74 RON 3.54

86.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$0.61 RON 2.92

75.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$0.50 RON 2.40

4.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$5.21 RON 25.02

-19.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$3.00 RON 14.42

526.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$0.82 RON 3.93

121.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$1.07 RON 5.16

165.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$0.65 RON 3.12

364.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$0.61 RON 2.93

67.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$6.39 RON 30.69

-42.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.93 RON 9.30

-23.83%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$28.8K RON 138.4K

-6.99%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$25.9K RON 124.3K

3.22%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$196 RON 943

-50.92%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$6.01 RON 28.87

87.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$9.32 RON 44.78

80.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$31.49 RON 151

113.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$8.34 RON 40.08

-10.07%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$676 RON 3,247

-29.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$14.3K RON 68.8K

-21.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$49.38 RON 237

26.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$25.42 RON 122

11.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$51.7 RON 248

82.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$84.2 RON 405

1.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$353 RON 1,698

102.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$233 RON 1,119

110.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$478 RON 2,295

303.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$403 RON 1,937

254.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$2,555 RON 12.3K

63.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$518 RON 2,490

-3.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

6.75

-17.48%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Targu Jiu: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Targu Jiu

$233 24.1% 52.6% $258

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Targu Jiu

$154 16% 42.1% $112

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Targu Jiu

$212 21.9% 70% $87

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Targu Jiu

$95 9.8% 22.2% $27

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Targu Jiu

$221 22.9% 81.6% $99

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Targu Jiu

$48 5% 41.4% $34

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Targu Jiu

$3.7 * 0.4% 94.8% $67

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 $353 in Targu Jiu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Targu Jiu pays 3% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $58 in Targu Jiu. Groceries flip the comparison at $266 vs $154, with Targu Jiu cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇷🇴 Targu Jiu

🕒 Local time

01:49 1:49 AM

20:49 8:49 PM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

82,504

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, 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 = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.81 RON (1 RON = 0.208 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Targu Jiu 8,220 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Targu Jiu

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 Targu Jiu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Targu Jiu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and leisure. The 32% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 3% 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 $353 in Targu Jiu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $676 in Targu Jiu. 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 $58 in Targu Jiu. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Targu Jiu is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.