Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Varna

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,408 in Varna, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 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
67

Cost of Living Index in Varna
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Varna Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Varna

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,408

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Varna

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,408 in Varna.

Phuket $1,278
Varna $1,408

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,217 in Varna.

Phuket $2,216
Varna $2,217

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $3,026 in Varna.

Phuket $3,154
Varna $3,026

Living in Phuket costs roughly 9% less than in Varna, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Varna is 3% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$12.46 BGN 21.81

-64.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$59.9 BGN 105

-45.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$10.16 BGN 17.77

-13.29%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$2.87 BGN 5.02

-1.39%

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

$0.87 ฿29.41

$1.89 BGN 3.31

-53.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$1.62 BGN 2.83

-69.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$2.81 BGN 4.91

-8.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$3.50 BGN 6.12

5.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.92 BGN 3.36

-13.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.31

$1.24 BGN 2.17

17.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$2.58 BGN 4.52

-41.86%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$3.53 BGN 6.17

-40.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$11.53 BGN 20.18

65.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$9.28 BGN 16.25

-64.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$13.97 BGN 24.46

-21.90%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$1.90 BGN 3.33

54.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.16 BGN 3.79

-21.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.12 BGN 3.72

6.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$3.00 BGN 5.25

-30.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.30 BGN 2.28

16.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.52

$1.04 BGN 1.82

32.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.96

$1.05 BGN 1.84

1.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$0.78 BGN 1.36

-33.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$4.03 BGN 7.04

4.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$8.90 BGN 15.57

111.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.17 BGN 2.05

55.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$1.80 BGN 3.15

57.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

$1.13 BGN 1.98

28.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$28.11 BGN 49.19

101.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.56 BGN 2.74

93.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.33

$0.88 BGN 1.55

15.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$12.19 BGN 21.34

-69.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.76

$1.74 BGN 3.05

-15.52%

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

$26.8K ฿903.4K

$29.6K BGN 51.7K

-9.39%

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

$26.7K ฿900.5K

$24.7K BGN 43.3K

7.87%

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

$96.4 ฿3,251

$176 BGN 308

-45.27%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$20.41 BGN 35.71

-44.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$15.68 BGN 27.43

7.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$51.4 BGN 90.0

30.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$19.47 BGN 34.07

-44.89%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$9.06 BGN 15.86

-17.22%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$498 BGN 872

-4.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

$6,292 BGN 11.0K

79.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,104

$65.3 BGN 114

-4.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$33.01 BGN 57.8

-13.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,181

$102 BGN 179

-7.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,895

$99.7 BGN 174

-13.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$640 BGN 1,120

11.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$482 BGN 843

1.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,362 BGN 2,383

41.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$916 BGN 1,602

56.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$2,998 BGN 5,246

39.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$2,090 BGN 3,657

45.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$1,286 BGN 2,250

-60.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

2.82

97.52%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Varna: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Varna

$482 34.2% 1.9% $9.3

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Varna

$272 19.3% 2.1% $5.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Varna

$212 15.1% 70.4% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Varna

$135 9.6% 10.9% $13

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Varna

$200 14.2% 64% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Varna

$70 4.9% 15.4% $13

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Varna

$39 2.7% 45.3% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $640 in Varna. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Varna pays about 2.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $60 in Varna for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $272 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇧🇬 Varna

🕒 Local time

21:05 9:05 PM

16:05 4:05 PM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

348,058

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BGN (1 BGN = 0.571 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BGN (1 BGN = 0.512 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Varna 7,830 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Varna

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 Varna: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 9% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 61% 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 $640 in Varna. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $498 in Varna. 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 versus $60 in Varna. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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

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