Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Umhlanga

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,341 in Umhlanga, rent and utilities included – about $760 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Umhlanga outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Umhlanga
Learn more

Umhlanga Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Umhlanga

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,341

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Umhlanga

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,341 in Umhlanga.

Phuket $1,278
Umhlanga $1,341

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,988 in Umhlanga.

Phuket $2,216
Umhlanga $1,988

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,634 in Umhlanga.

Phuket $3,154
Umhlanga $2,634

Living in Phuket costs roughly 5% less than in Umhlanga, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$12.11 R 201

-63.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,092

$29.61 R 492

9.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$5.43 R 90.1

62.25%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.3

$2.51 R 41.75

12.75%

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

$0.87 ฿29.37

$1.44 R 23.92

-39.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.64

$1.17 R 19.48

-58.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.2

$2.97 R 49.36

-13.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$4.45 R 73.9

-17.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.13 R 18.78

46.90%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.25

$0.97 R 16.10

50.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.4

$1.78 R 29.52

-15.73%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.4

$2.24 R 37.13

-6.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿642

$10.82 R 180

76.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$4.48 R 74.3

-26.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$9.62 R 160

13.41%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.7

$1.23 R 20.46

138.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.9

$1.49 R 24.71

13.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.7

$1.46 R 24.22

54.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$1.22 R 20.20

70.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.9

$1.06 R 17.61

42.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.47

$1.52 R 25.22

-9.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.91

$1.23 R 20.48

-13.01%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.49

$0.87 R 14.53

-40.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.27 R 54.4

28.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿633

$5.91 R 98.1

217.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.4

$2.19 R 36.34

-16.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.7

$3.59 R 59.7

-20.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.93

$0.59 R 9.75

145.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,909

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.29

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿124

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.70

$1.60 R 26.55

-8.13%

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

$26.8K ฿902.4K

$39.8K R 660.2K

-32.65%

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

$26.7K ฿899.5K

$35.5K R 588.9K

-24.74%

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

$96.4 ฿3,247

$133 R 2,205

-27.45%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$36.04 R 599

-68.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$41.36 R 687

-59.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,266

$30.30 R 503

121.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿361

$15.32 R 254

-29.96%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$7.59 R 126

-1.19%

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

$476 ฿16.0K

$270 R 4,486

76.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿379.6K

$7,664 R 127.3K

46.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,102

$64.7 R 1,075

-3.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿957

$44.84 R 745

-36.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,178

$120 R 1,997

-21.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,892

$89.4 R 1,484

-3.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.1K

$597 R 9,917

19.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.5K

$563 R 9,341

-12.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿64.9K

$1,216 R 20.2K

58.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.2K

$990 R 16.4K

44.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.7K

$2,303 R 38.2K

81.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.6K

$1,555 R 25.8K

95.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$1,581 R 26.3K

-68.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

13.33

-58.21%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Umhlanga: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Umhlanga

$563 41.9% 14.6% $72

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Umhlanga

$199 14.9% 25.1% $67

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Umhlanga

$210 15.7% 68.9% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Umhlanga

$144 10.7% 17.8% $22

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Umhlanga

$178 13.2% 45.9% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Umhlanga

$45 3.4% 44.7% $37

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Umhlanga

$2.4 * 0.2% 96.7% $68

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 $597 in Umhlanga. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Umhlanga pays about 3.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $30 in Umhlanga for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $199 per month, with Umhlanga cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇿🇦 Umhlanga

🕒 Local time

15:18 3:18 PM

10:18 10:18 AM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.73 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 16.61 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.02 USD). 1 EUR = 18.59 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Umhlanga 8,310 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Umhlanga

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 Umhlanga: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 5% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, utilities, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 68% 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 $597 in Umhlanga. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $270 in Umhlanga. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Umhlanga – a meal for two runs $30 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Phuket gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 Umhlanga are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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