Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Ungheni

For one person, living is cheaper in Ungheni: $647 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 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
31

Cost of Living Index in Ungheni
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Ungheni Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Ungheni

🇲🇩 Moldova

$647

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Ungheni

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $647 in Ungheni.

Phuket $1,278
Ungheni $647

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,013 in Ungheni.

Phuket $2,216
Ungheni $1,013

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $1,378 in Ungheni.

Phuket $3,154
Ungheni $1,378

Living in Phuket is roughly 98% more expensive than in Ungheni, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Ungheni 52% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$7.17 MDL 128

-37.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$22.35 MDL 400

45.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$6.60 MDL 118

33.48%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$1.36 MDL 24.40

108.09%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$0.70 MDL 12.56

24.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.47 MDL 8.45

4.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$0.97 MDL 17.41

163.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$1.35 MDL 24.14

172.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.72 MDL 30.75

-3.49%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$0.32 MDL 5.64

356.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$0.87 MDL 15.52

72.41%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.93 MDL 34.50

8.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$9.92 MDL 177

92.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$3.99 MDL 71.4

-17.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$8.41 MDL 150

29.73%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$0.43 MDL 7.71

581.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.21 MDL 21.72

39.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$1.04 MDL 18.52

116.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$1.14 MDL 20.36

82.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.43 MDL 7.76

251.16%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$0.32 MDL 5.68

331.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$2.21 MDL 39.53

-51.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$0.82 MDL 14.60

-36.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.29 MDL 58.9

27.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$4.30 MDL 76.9

336.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.38 MDL 24.59

31.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$1.71 MDL 30.66

66.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$0.34 MDL 6.13

326.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.65 MDL 29.47

83.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$0.40 MDL 7.19

155.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$3.53 MDL 63.2

4.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.41 MDL 25.25

4.26%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$20.2K MDL 360.6K

32.33%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$139 MDL 2,482

-30.60%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$11.09 MDL 198

1.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$15.86 MDL 284

6.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$13.86 MDL 248

385.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$3.86 MDL 68.9

94.30%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$47.75 MDL 854

30.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$16.92 MDL 302

67.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$33.66 MDL 602

180.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$66.5 MDL 1,189

29.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$254 MDL 4,542

181.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$109 MDL 1,955

349.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$329 MDL 5,876

486.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$276 MDL 4,939

417.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$2,220 MDL 39.7K

88.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$1,644 MDL 29.4K

85.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$566 MDL 10.1K

-11.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

-30.37%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Ungheni: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Ungheni

$109 16.9% 77.7% $382

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Ungheni

$165 25.5% 37.9% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Ungheni

$166 25.6% 33.2% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Ungheni

$74 11.5% 39.2% $48

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Ungheni

$106 16.4% 13.1% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Ungheni

$22 3.3% 73.8% $61

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Ungheni

$5 * 0.8% 92.9% $66

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 $254 in Ungheni. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ungheni pays 13% 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 $22 in Ungheni for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $165 per month, with Ungheni cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇲🇩 Ungheni

🕒 Local time

21:55 9:55 PM

16:55 4:55 PM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

38,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Moldovan Leu MDL L

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 MDL = 5.59 USD

100 MDL = 5.03 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MDL, USD, EUR 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).

Moldovan Leu exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 17.88 MDL (100 MDL = 5.59 USD). 1 EUR = 19.9 MDL (100 MDL = 5.03 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Ungheni 7,900 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Ungheni

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 Ungheni: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ungheni is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and leisure. The 98% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 11% 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 $254 in Ungheni. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 61% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Ungheni – a meal for two runs $22 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $647 in Ungheni versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ungheni but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Ungheni 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 Ungheni are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.