Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Thiva

For one person, living is cheaper in Thiva: $1,156 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Thiva
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Thiva Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Thiva

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,156

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Thiva

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,156 in Thiva.

Phuket $1,278
Thiva $1,156

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,580 in Thiva.

Phuket $2,216
Thiva $1,580

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,005 in Thiva.

Phuket $3,154
Thiva $2,005

Living in Phuket is roughly 11% more expensive than in Thiva, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Thiva 15% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$11.12 €9.99

-59.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$59.4 €53.4

-45.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$6.74 €6.05

30.71%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$2.58 €2.32

9.69%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$2.41 €2.16

-63.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.48 €0.44

2.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$4.51 €4.05

-43.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.74 €2.46

34.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.65 €1.48

0.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$1.43 €1.29

2.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$2.53 €2.27

-40.71%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$5.01 €4.50

-58.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$12.42 €11.16

53.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$10.23 €9.19

-67.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$14.31 €12.85

-23.76%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$1.71 €1.54

71.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.93 €1.74

-12.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$1.08 €0.97

108.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$1.86 €1.67

11.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.94 €0.85

60.64%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$1.19 €1.07

15.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$0.88 €0.79

21.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$0.69 €0.62

-24.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$4.62 €4.15

-9.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$7.24 €6.50

159.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.78 €1.60

2.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$1.87 €1.68

51.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$1.31 €1.18

10.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.67 €3.30

-17.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$1.13 €1.02

-9.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$17.08 €15.34

-78.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$2.09 €1.88

-29.67%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$28.4K €25.5K

-5.81%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$24.3K €21.8K

9.81%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$173 €155

-44.33%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$25.12 €22.57

-55.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$27.42 €24.63

-38.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$48.31 €43.39

39.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$25.47 €22.88

-57.87%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$7.88 €7.08

-4.82%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$332 €298

43.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$4,653 €4,180

142.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$50.5 €45.40

23.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$32.90 €29.55

-13.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$82.6 €74.2

14.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$108 €97.4

-20.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$329 €296

117.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$278 €250

76.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$624 €560

208.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$1,707 €1,533

144.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$1,414 €1,270

115.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$1,141 €1,025

-55.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.38

27.17%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Thiva: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Thiva

$278 24.1% 43.4% $213

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Thiva

$270 23.4% 1.5% $3.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Thiva

$226 19.5% 81.3% $101

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Thiva

$124 10.7% 1.3% $1.6

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Thiva

$180 15.6% 47.7% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Thiva

$64 5.5% 22.1% $18

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Thiva

$15 * 1.3% 79.3% $56

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 $329 in Thiva. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Thiva pays about 2.3 times 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 $59 in Thiva for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $270 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇬🇷 Thiva

🕒 Local time

22:43 10:43 PM

17:43 5:43 PM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

22,883

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD 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 = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Thiva 8,160 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Thiva

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 Thiva: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Thiva is cheaper overall, especially in transport and leisure. The 11% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 56% 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 $329 in Thiva. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

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

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $332 in Thiva. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Thiva 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.

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