Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Turnhout

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,113 in Turnhout, rent and utilities included – about $10,000 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
102

Cost of Living Index in Turnhout
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Turnhout Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Turnhout

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,113

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Turnhout

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,113 in Turnhout.

Phuket $1,278
Turnhout $2,113

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $3,068 in Turnhout.

Phuket $2,216
Turnhout $3,068

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $4,023 in Turnhout.

Phuket $3,154
Turnhout $4,023

Living in Phuket costs roughly 40% less than in Turnhout, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Turnhout is 55% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$22.08 €19.78

-79.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$64.6 €57.8

-49.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$15.44 €13.83

-42.94%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$4.09 €3.66

-30.81%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$3.04 €2.72

-71.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$2.82 €2.53

-82.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$5.33 €4.77

-51.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$4.74 €4.24

-22.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.09 €0.98

52.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$1.66 €1.49

-12.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$2.23 €2.00

-32.74%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$4.08 €3.66

-48.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$9.99 €8.95

90.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$8.88 €7.95

-62.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$19.32 €17.31

-43.53%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$2.70 €2.42

8.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.47 €2.21

-31.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.65 €2.37

-15.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$2.83 €2.54

-26.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.18 €1.95

-30.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$2.01 €1.80

-31.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$1.09 €0.97

-1.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$1.05 €0.94

-50.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$13.09 €11.73

-67.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$5.13 €4.59

266.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.72 €1.54

5.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.49 €2.23

14.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

$2.81 €2.52

-48.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$49.35 €44.22

14.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$11.33 €10.15

-73.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

$2.83 €2.54

-63.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$51.0 €45.71

-92.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$1.85 €1.66

-20.54%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$35.5K €31.8K

-24.61%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$36.8K €33.0K

-27.43%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$225 €202

-57.21%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$20.51 €18.38

-45.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$46.26 €41.45

-63.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$122 €109

-44.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$22.64 €20.29

-52.61%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$13.38 €11.99

-43.95%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$550 €493

-13.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

$21.7K €19.4K

-48.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$108 €96.9

-42.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$47.08 €42.19

-39.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$106 €94.6

-10.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$149 €134

-42.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$910 €815

-21.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$781 €700

-37.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,240 €1,111

55.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,122 €1,005

27.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$2,593 €2,324

-80.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.2

74.06%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Turnhout: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Turnhout

$781 37% 59.1% $290

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Turnhout

$289 13.7% 8.7% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Turnhout

$292 13.8% 135% $167

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Turnhout

$185 8.7% 51.4% $63

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Turnhout

$332 15.7% 172% $210

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Turnhout

$148 7% 80.4% $66

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Turnhout

$86 4.1% 22% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $910 in Turnhout. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Turnhout pays about 5.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $65 in Turnhout for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $289 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇧🇪 Turnhout

🕒 Local time

19:27 7:27 PM

13:27 1:27 PM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

44,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD 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).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

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Between locations

Phuket Turnhout 9,560 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

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Turnhout

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 Turnhout: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 40% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, leisure, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 81% 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 $910 in Turnhout. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $550 in Turnhout. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 9% higher in Turnhout. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,113 in Turnhout, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Turnhout. 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 Turnhout are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Turnhout on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.