Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Ulyanovsk

For one person, living is cheaper in Ulyanovsk: $898 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 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
43

Cost of Living Index in Ulyanovsk
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Ulyanovsk Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Ulyanovsk

🇷🇺 Russia

$898

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Ulyanovsk

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $898 in Ulyanovsk.

Phuket $1,208
Ulyanovsk $898

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $1,386 in Ulyanovsk.

Phuket $2,027
Ulyanovsk $1,386

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $1,874 in Ulyanovsk.

Phuket $2,845
Ulyanovsk $1,874

Living in Phuket is roughly 35% more expensive than in Ulyanovsk, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Ulyanovsk 34% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$8.40 ₽701

-47.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$30.41 ₽2,538

6.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$6.44 ₽538

36.02%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$2.29 ₽191

23.58%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$0.93 ₽77.8

-3.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$0.36 ₽29.97

30.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$1.76 ₽147

44.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$1.96 ₽164

95.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$1.04 ₽86.9

66.35%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$0.62 ₽51.3

137.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$1.04 ₽87.2

45.19%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$1.49 ₽124

45.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$14.58 ₽1,217

35.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$7.43 ₽620

-55.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$7.35 ₽613

51.84%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$1.59 ₽133

79.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$1.55 ₽129

9.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$4.05 ₽338

-45.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$4.90 ₽409

-58.16%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$1.49 ₽124

-2.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$0.84 ₽70.0

64.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$0.53 ₽44.15

-3.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$3.09 ₽258

37.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$1.07 ₽89.2

66.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$0.44 ₽36.70

413.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$3.52 ₽294

-14.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$3.61 ₽301

6.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$0.87 ₽72.5

66.67%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$53.4K ₽4.5M

-50.67%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$41.0K ₽3.4M

-34.22%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$141 ₽11.8K

-31.76%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$4.81 ₽401

129.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$13.69 ₽1,143

25.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$36.46 ₽3,043

43.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

$24.86 ₽2,075

-55.11%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$8.51 ₽711

-8.23%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$30.17 ₽2,518

112.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$35.74 ₽2,983

-19.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$95.2 ₽7,942

0.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$59.7 ₽4,979

47.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$362 ₽30.2K

103.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$243 ₽20.3K

90.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$493 ₽41.1K

325.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$431 ₽36.0K

178.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$2,620 ₽218.7K

33.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$1,519 ₽126.7K

66.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

$509 ₽42.5K

-1.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

-75.78%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Ulyanovsk: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Ulyanovsk

$243 27.1% 47.4% $219

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Ulyanovsk

$205 * 22.9% 23.5% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Ulyanovsk

$160 17.8% 28.2% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Ulyanovsk

$99 11.1% 20.1% $25

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Ulyanovsk

$132 14.7% 8.8% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Ulyanovsk

$53 6% 21.1% $14

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Ulyanovsk

$5.3 * 0.6% 86.6% $34

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 $737 in Phuket and $362 in Ulyanovsk. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ulyanovsk pays 2% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $30.00 in Ulyanovsk for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $205 per month, with Ulyanovsk cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇷🇺 Ulyanovsk

🕒 Local time

21:22 9:22 PM

18:22 6:22 PM

3 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

627,705

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Russian Ruble RUB ₽

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 RUB = 1.2 USD

100 RUB = 1.07 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RUB, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Russian Ruble exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 83.46 RUB (100 RUB = 1.2 USD). 1 EUR = 93.83 RUB (100 RUB = 1.07 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

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Phuket Ulyanovsk 6,800 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Ulyanovsk

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 Ulyanovsk: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ulyanovsk is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and leisure. The 35% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 2% lower in Ulyanovsk. 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: $737 in Phuket versus $362 in Ulyanovsk. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 31% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Ulyanovsk – a meal for two runs $30.00 versus $32.00 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $898 in Ulyanovsk versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ulyanovsk but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Ulyanovsk the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Phuket and Ulyanovsk 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 Ulyanovsk gentler on the wallet – expenses run 35% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.