Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Tunbridge Wells

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $2,420 in Tunbridge Wells, rent and utilities included – about $14,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
119

Cost of Living Index in Tunbridge Wells
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Tunbridge Wells Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Tunbridge Wells

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,420

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Tunbridge Wells

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,420 in Tunbridge Wells.

Phuket $1,207
Tunbridge Wells $2,420

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $3,577 in Tunbridge Wells.

Phuket $2,037
Tunbridge Wells $3,577

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $4,733 in Tunbridge Wells.

Phuket $2,867
Tunbridge Wells $4,733

Living in Phuket costs roughly 50% less than in Tunbridge Wells, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Tunbridge Wells is 79% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ฿153

$20.38 £15.29

-77.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.48 ฿1,086

$57.1 £42.81

-43.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿286

$8.81 £6.61

-2.95%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.0

$4.59 £3.44

-40.74%

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

$0.94 ฿31.25

$2.00 £1.50

-53.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.39

$1.28 £0.96

-61.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$6.48 £4.86

-60.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$4.34 £3.26

-11.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$1.32 £0.99

31.82%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿47.82

$2.05 £1.54

-30.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.0

$1.57 £1.18

-2.55%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$3.12 £2.34

-30.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.15 ฿640

$5.24 £3.93

265.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿110

$9.25 £6.94

-64.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿372

$16.10 £12.08

-30.81%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ฿98.5

$1.35 £1.01

118.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.1

$1.29 £0.96

30.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 ฿76.8

$1.34 £1.00

71.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ฿71.3

$2.71 £2.03

-21.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.1

$1.35 £1.01

13.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.55

$1.29 £0.97

5.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.44

$1.31 £0.98

-14.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$1.21 £0.91

-54.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$22.50 £16.88

-81.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿608

$10.74 £8.06

69.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$2.30 £1.73

-24.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.3

$2.50 £1.88

11.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

$3.29 £2.47

-32.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

$130 £97.8

-83.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 ฿97.3

$6.39 £4.79

-54.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.79

$2.40 £1.80

-57.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.85

$1.90 £1.43

-21.58%

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

$26.7K ฿891.6K

$38.1K £28.6K

-29.96%

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

$26.7K ฿892.7K

$40.8K £30.6K

-34.55%

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

$99.4 ฿3,321

$285 £214

-65.08%

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

$11.28 ฿377

$13.30 £9.98

-15.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.36 ฿580

$34.48 £25.87

-49.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,747

$33.08 £24.82

58.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ฿253

$15.77 £11.83

-52.00%

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

$558 ฿18.7K

$2,036 £1,527

-72.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

$29.3K £22.0K

-60.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,102

$52.2 £39.14

20.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿955

$53.6 £40.17

-46.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 ฿3,213

$88.7 £66.6

8.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,943

$92.0 £69.0

-4.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

$1,438 £1,079

-49.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

$1,173 £880

-60.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

$2,523 £1,893

-16.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

$2,149 £1,612

-43.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

$3,524 £2,644

-86.01%

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 13, 2026

Last update for Tunbridge Wells: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$460 38.1%

Tunbridge Wells

$1.2K 48.5% 155% $713

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.2%

Tunbridge Wells

$260 10.8% 2.6% $7.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$128 10.6%

Tunbridge Wells

$332 13.7% 160% $204

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Tunbridge Wells

$129 5.3% 3.9% $4.8

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10.1%

Tunbridge Wells

$299 12.4% 146% $177

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$67 5.6%

Tunbridge Wells

$65 2.7% 4.2% $2.8

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.2%

Tunbridge Wells

$162 6.7% 316% $123

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $729 in Phuket and $1,438 in Tunbridge Wells. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tunbridge Wells pays 615% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $57.0 in Tunbridge Wells. Groceries flip the comparison at $268 vs $260, with Tunbridge Wells cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇬🇧 Tunbridge Wells

🕒 Local time

00:55 12:55 AM

18:55 6:55 PM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

105,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Tunbridge Wells 9,890 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Tunbridge Wells

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 Tunbridge Wells: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in clothing, eating out, and transport. The 100% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 615% lower in Tunbridge Wells. 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: $729 in Phuket versus $1,438 in Tunbridge Wells. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $558 in Phuket versus $2,036 in Tunbridge Wells. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Tunbridge Wells pay roughly 3% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,420 in Tunbridge Wells, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Tunbridge Wells. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Phuket is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Tunbridge Wells, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

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

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 100% less than in Tunbridge Wells. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.