Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Taunton

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,518 in Taunton, rent and utilities included – about $14,900 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
122

Cost of Living Index in Taunton
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Taunton Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Taunton

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,518

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Taunton

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,518 in Taunton.

Phuket $1,278
Taunton $2,518

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $3,776 in Taunton.

Phuket $2,216
Taunton $3,776

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $5,034 in Taunton.

Phuket $3,154
Taunton $5,034

Living in Phuket costs roughly 49% less than in Taunton, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Taunton is 85% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$13.13 £9.88

-65.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$84.2 £63.3

-61.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$10.02 £7.54

-12.08%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$4.24 £3.19

-33.25%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$1.95 £1.47

-55.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$1.26 £0.95

-61.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$5.38 £4.05

-52.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$4.61 £3.47

-20.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.83 £1.38

-9.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$1.64 £1.23

-10.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$2.61 £1.96

-42.53%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$4.84 £3.64

-56.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$7.79 £5.86

144.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$9.90 £7.45

-66.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$17.39 £13.09

-37.26%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$2.42 £1.82

21.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.40 £1.05

20.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.29 £1.72

-1.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$3.14 £2.37

-33.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.08 £1.57

-27.40%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$1.79 £1.35

-22.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$1.27 £0.95

-15.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$1.87 £1.40

-72.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$23.63 £17.78

-82.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$10.73 £8.08

75.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$2.24 £1.69

-18.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$3.21 £2.42

-11.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$4.09 £3.08

-64.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$104 £77.9

-45.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$6.77 £5.10

-55.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$1.34 £1.01

-23.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$16.30 £12.27

-77.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.97 £1.49

-25.38%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$38.5K £28.9K

-30.38%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$40.7K £30.6K

-34.39%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$442 £333

-78.21%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$16.63 £12.51

-32.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$40.04 £30.13

-57.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$60.8 £45.79

10.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$19.63 £14.77

-45.34%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$10.52 £7.92

-28.71%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$1,845 £1,388

-74.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$20.2K £15.2K

-44.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$69.3 £52.2

-10.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$35.86 £26.99

-20.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$127 £95.6

-25.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$95.0 £71.5

-9.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$1,375 £1,035

-47.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$1,111 £836

-55.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$2,529 £1,903

-23.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$2,123 £1,598

-32.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$3,403 £2,561

-85.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.51

1.09%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Taunton: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Taunton

$1.1K 44.1% 126% $620

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Taunton

$311 12.4% 16.9% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Taunton

$499 19.8% 301% $374

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Taunton

$147 5.9% 20.8% $25

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Taunton

$235 9.3% 93% $113

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Taunton

$82 3.3% 0.4% $0.4

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Taunton

$133 5.3% 88.9% $63

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $1,375 in Taunton. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Taunton pays about 6.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $84 in Taunton for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $311 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇬🇧 Taunton

🕒 Local time

05:54 5:54 AM

22:54 10:54 PM

7 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

60,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.753 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.838 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Taunton 10,120 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Taunton

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 Taunton: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 49% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, transport, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 85% 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 $1,375 in Taunton. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $1,845 in Taunton. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 17% higher in Taunton. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,518 in Taunton, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Taunton. 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 Taunton are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 49% less than in Taunton. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.