Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Zaandam

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,346 in Zaandam, rent and utilities included – about $820 less a year. The total is higher in Zaandam despite lower rent and utilities.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Zaandam
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Zaandam Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Zaandam

🇳🇱 Netherlands

$1,346

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Zaandam

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,346 in Zaandam.

Phuket $1,278
Zaandam $1,346

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $3,401 in Zaandam.

Phuket $2,216
Zaandam $3,401

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $5,457 in Zaandam.

Phuket $3,154
Zaandam $5,457

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$21.36 €19.19

-79.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$80.5 €72.3

-59.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$13.43 €12.07

-34.40%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$4.18 €3.76

-32.30%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$3.91 €3.51

-77.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$3.24 €2.91

-84.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$5.69 €5.11

-55.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$5.29 €4.75

-30.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.34 €1.20

23.88%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$2.84 €2.55

-48.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$2.74 €2.46

-45.26%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$4.74 €4.26

-55.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$13.67 €12.29

39.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$12.83 €11.53

-74.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$16.85 €15.14

-35.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$2.57 €2.31

14.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$2.36 €2.12

-28.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$1.89 €1.70

19.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$4.42 €3.97

-52.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.90 €1.71

-20.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$2.28 €2.05

-39.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$1.19 €1.07

-10.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$1.05 €0.94

-50.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$14.13 €12.70

-70.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$6.90 €6.20

172.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.45 €1.30

25.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.37 €2.13

19.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$3.38 €3.03

-57.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$82.9 €74.5

-31.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$6.24 €5.61

-51.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$2.27 €2.04

-55.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$25.45 €22.87

-85.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$2.48 €2.23

-40.73%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$41.5K €37.3K

-35.43%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$39.5K €35.5K

-32.42%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$260 €234

-62.95%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$23.77 €21.36

-52.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$56.4 €50.7

-70.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$45.34 €40.74

48.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$27.64 €24.84

-61.18%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$16.41 €14.74

-54.30%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$2,665 €2,394

-82.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$6,619 €5,948

70.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$86.4 €77.6

-27.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$40.70 €36.57

-30.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$97.8 €87.8

-3.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$102 €91.9

-16.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$1,336 €1,200

-46.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$1,701 €1,528

13.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$2,484 €2,232

-42.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$5,349 €4,806

-21.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$4,318 €3,880

-29.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$4,636 €4,166

-89.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.8

46.58%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Zaandam: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Zaandam

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Zaandam

$337 25.1% 26.8% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Zaandam

$340 25.3% 173% $216

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Zaandam

$147 10.9% 20.8% $25

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Zaandam

$329 24.4% 170% $207

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Zaandam

$78 5.8% 4.9% $4.1

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Zaandam

$114 8.5% 61.5% $43

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 $1,336 in Zaandam. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zaandam pays about 9.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $80 in Zaandam for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $337 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇳🇱 Zaandam

🕒 Local time

20:02 8:02 PM

14:02 2:02 PM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

76,804

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Zaandam 9,550 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Zaandam

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 Zaandam: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. The 5% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 89% 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 $1,336 in Zaandam. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $2,665 in Zaandam. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 27% higher in Zaandam. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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 Zaandam 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 5% less than in Zaandam. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.