Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Tetovo

For one person, living is cheaper in Tetovo: $997 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 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
48

Cost of Living Index in Tetovo
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Tetovo Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Tetovo

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$997

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Tetovo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $997 in Tetovo.

Phuket $1,278
Tetovo $997

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,500 in Tetovo.

Phuket $2,216
Tetovo $1,500

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,004 in Tetovo.

Phuket $3,154
Tetovo $2,004

Living in Phuket is roughly 28% more expensive than in Tetovo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Tetovo 27% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$7.37 MKD 405

-39.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$27.68 MKD 1,523

17.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$5.69 MKD 313

54.83%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$1.56 MKD 85.8

81.41%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$1.51 MKD 82.9

-42.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$0.92 MKD 50.4

-46.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$2.13 MKD 117

20.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.14 MKD 118

71.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.27 MKD 69.9

30.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$0.62 MKD 34.23

135.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.31 MKD 72.0

14.50%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.08 MKD 115

0.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$7.41 MKD 408

157.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$5.10 MKD 280

-35.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$10.31 MKD 567

5.82%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$1.46 MKD 80.0

100.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$1.44 MKD 79.4

17.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$0.95 MKD 52.1

136.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$1.88 MKD 103

10.64%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.84 MKD 46.07

79.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$0.69 MKD 38.22

100.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$0.59 MKD 32.31

81.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$0.53 MKD 29.25

-1.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.01 MKD 166

39.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$4.49 MKD 247

318.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.05 MKD 57.9

73.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$1.45 MKD 79.6

95.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

$0.35 MKD 19.05

314.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$10.88 MKD 598

420.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.10 MKD 60.5

174.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

$0.53 MKD 28.98

92.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$7.37 MKD 405

-49.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$1.49 MKD 81.8

-1.34%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$34.1K MKD 1.9M

-21.59%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$26.9K MKD 1.5M

-0.66%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$159 MKD 8,720

-39.23%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$17.95 MKD 987

-37.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$19.25 MKD 1,059

-12.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$69.9 MKD 3,843

-3.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$18.12 MKD 996

-40.78%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$5.41 MKD 298

38.63%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$222 MKD 12.2K

114.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

$2,175 MKD 119.6K

417.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$64.5 MKD 3,548

-3.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$36.99 MKD 2,034

-23.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$104 MKD 5,710

-9.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$111 MKD 6,095

-22.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$351 MKD 19.3K

104.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$273 MKD 15.0K

79.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$583 MKD 32.1K

230.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$483 MKD 26.6K

196.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$1,231 MKD 67.7K

239.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$1,104 MKD 60.7K

175.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$861 MKD 47.3K

-41.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.75

48.53%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Tetovo: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Tetovo

$273 27.4% 44.4% $218

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Tetovo

$170 17.1% 36.1% $96

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Tetovo

$196 19.6% 57.3% $71

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Tetovo

$142 14.3% 16.7% $20

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Tetovo

$119 12% 1.9% $2.3

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Tetovo

$81 8.1% 1.9% $1.5

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Tetovo

$16 1.6% 77.3% $55

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $351 in Tetovo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tetovo pays 71% 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 $28 in Tetovo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $170 per month, with Tetovo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇲🇰 Tetovo

🕒 Local time

16:00 4:00 PM

10:00 10:00 AM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

53,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 MKD = 1.82 USD

100 MKD = 1.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MKD, 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).

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 55 MKD (100 MKD = 1.82 USD). 1 EUR = 61.38 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Tetovo 8,380 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Tetovo

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 Tetovo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tetovo is about 22% cheaper overall, especially in groceries and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 42% 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 $351 in Tetovo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $222 in Tetovo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 57% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Tetovo 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.

Expats usually find Tetovo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 22% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.