Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Zărnești

For one person, living is cheaper in Zărnești: $889 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Zărnești
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Zărnești Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Zărnești

🇷🇴 Romania

$889

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Zărnești

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $889 in Zărnești.

Phuket $1,208
Zărnești $889

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $1,383 in Zărnești.

Phuket $2,027
Zărnești $1,383

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $1,877 in Zărnești.

Phuket $2,845
Zărnești $1,877

Living in Phuket is roughly 36% more expensive than in Zărnești, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Zărnești 34% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$9.00 RON 42.60

-51.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$42.40 RON 201

-23.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$8.36 RON 39.57

4.78%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$2.18 RON 10.34

29.82%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$1.46 RON 6.90

-38.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$1.20 RON 5.66

-60.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$1.90 RON 9.00

34.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$2.28 RON 10.79

67.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$1.27 RON 6.02

36.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$1.07 RON 5.06

37.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$1.44 RON 6.81

4.86%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$2.79 RON 13.20

-22.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$7.89 RON 37.33

149.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$4.74 RON 22.42

-29.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$10.40 RON 49.21

7.31%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$0.93 RON 4.41

206.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$1.33 RON 6.30

27.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$1.27 RON 6.02

72.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$1.28 RON 6.06

60.16%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$0.78 RON 3.67

85.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$0.52 RON 2.45

165.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$0.80 RON 3.80

33.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$0.77 RON 3.63

-33.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$5.15 RON 24.37

-17.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$7.42 RON 35.09

150.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$1.07 RON 5.08

66.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$1.29 RON 6.12

120.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$0.70 RON 3.32

222.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

$21.32 RON 101

3.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$0.88 RON 4.15

242.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$0.86 RON 4.05

23.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$7.45 RON 35.26

-48.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$1.51 RON 7.16

-3.97%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$28.5K RON 134.9K

-7.65%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$26.0K RON 122.9K

3.73%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$99.0 RON 468

-2.60%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$9.28 RON 43.89

18.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$8.00 RON 37.86

114.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$37.82 RON 179

37.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

$19.41 RON 91.9

-42.50%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$6.24 RON 29.55

25.16%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$429 RON 2,031

29.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$7,733 RON 36.6K

49.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$44.43 RON 210

44.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$27.26 RON 129

5.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$68.9 RON 326

38.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$76.8 RON 363

14.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$434 RON 2,054

69.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$266 RON 1,258

73.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$576 RON 2,727

263.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$424 RON 2,008

182.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$1,751 RON 8,283

99.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$1,329 RON 6,288

89.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

$510 RON 2,415

-1.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

7.47

-25.44%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Zărnești: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Zărnești

$266 29.9% 42.5% $196

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Zărnești

$182 20.4% 32.4% $87

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Zărnești

$116 13.1% 6.7% $8.3

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Zărnești

$98 11% 21.3% $27

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Zărnești

$148 16.7% 22.1% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Zărnești

$50 5.7% 25.8% $17

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Zărnești

$29 3.3% 25.8% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $737 in Phuket and $434 in Zărnești. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zărnești pays 2% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $42.00 in Zărnești. Groceries flip the comparison at $269 vs $182, with Zărnești cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇷🇴 Zărnești

🕒 Local time

07:06 7:06 AM

03:06 3:06 AM

4 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

24,926

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Zărnești 8,070 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Zărnești

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 Zărnești: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Zărnești is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and leisure. The 36% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 2% lower in Zărnești. 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: $737 in Phuket versus $434 in Zărnești. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $556 in Phuket versus $429 in Zărnești. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 48% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $889 in Zărnești versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Zărnești but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Zărnești the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Zărnești is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Phuket, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Zărnești 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 Zărnești gentler on the wallet – expenses run 36% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.