Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Valmiera

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $1,370 in Valmiera, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
66

Cost of Living Index in Valmiera
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Valmiera Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Valmiera

🇱🇻 Latvia

$1,370

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Valmiera

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,370 in Valmiera.

Phuket $1,208
Valmiera $1,370

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $1,978 in Valmiera.

Phuket $2,027
Valmiera $1,978

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $2,586 in Valmiera.

Phuket $2,845
Valmiera $2,586

Living in Phuket costs roughly 12% less than in Valmiera, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Valmiera is 1% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$16.52 €14.69

-73.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$44.95 €39.99

-28.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$9.09 €8.09

-3.63%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$3.56 €3.16

-20.51%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$1.58 €1.41

-43.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$1.21 €1.07

-61.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$5.18 €4.60

-50.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$4.41 €3.92

-13.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$1.10 €0.98

57.27%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$1.47 €1.31

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$1.15 €1.03

31.30%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$3.67 €3.27

-40.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$10.33 €9.18

90.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$8.03 €7.14

-58.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$13.64 €12.13

-18.18%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$2.15 €1.92

32.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$1.83 €1.62

-7.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$2.57 €2.28

-14.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$3.22 €2.86

-36.34%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$0.84 €0.75

72.62%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$0.94 €0.84

46.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$1.75 €1.56

-38.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$0.92 €0.82

-44.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$6.76 €6.02

-36.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$7.77 €6.91

139.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$2.03 €1.81

-12.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$2.12 €1.89

34.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$0.87 €0.77

159.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$3.33 €2.96

-9.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$0.98 €0.87

8.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$18.02 €16.03

-78.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$2.11 €1.88

-31.28%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$27.0K €24.0K

-2.44%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$29.8K €26.5K

-9.51%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$371 €330

-74.00%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$19.95 €17.75

-44.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$20.23 €17.99

-15.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$38.71 €34.43

34.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$11.42 €10.16

-31.61%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$684 €608

-18.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$18.4K €16.4K

-37.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$69.1 €61.4

-7.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$50.3 €44.71

-42.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$85.6 €76.1

11.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$138 €122

-36.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$336 €299

119.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$226 €201

104.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$506 €450

314.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$335 €298

257.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$1,370 €1,218

154.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$1,005 €894

151.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.77

16.77%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Valmiera: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Valmiera

$226 16.5% 51% $236

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Valmiera

$258 18.8% 4.1% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Valmiera

$411 30% 230% $286

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Valmiera

$154 11.3% 23.9% $30

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Valmiera

$248 18.1% 105% $127

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Valmiera

$62 4.5% 9.2% $6.2

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Valmiera

$12 * 0.9% 70.3% $28

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 $336 in Valmiera. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $45.00 in Valmiera. Groceries flip the comparison at $269 vs $258, with Valmiera cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇱🇻 Valmiera

🕒 Local time

19:29 7:29 PM

15:29 3:29 PM

4 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

26,674

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 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 October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

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Between locations

Phuket Valmiera 8,260 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Valmiera

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 Valmiera: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in clothing, eating out, and utilities. The 13% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,813 in Phuket and $2,055 in Valmiera to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $737 in Phuket versus $336 in Valmiera. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $556 in Phuket versus $684 in Valmiera. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $45.00 in Valmiera. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,370 in Valmiera, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Valmiera. 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 Valmiera, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Valmiera 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 13% less than in Valmiera. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.