Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Zenica

For one person, living is cheaper in Zenica: $850 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 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
41

Cost of Living Index in Zenica
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Zenica Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Zenica

🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina

$850

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Zenica

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Phuket versus $850 in Zenica.

Phuket $1,207
Zenica $850

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $1,245 in Zenica.

Phuket $2,037
Zenica $1,245

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $1,639 in Zenica.

Phuket $2,867
Zenica $1,639

Living in Phuket is roughly 42% more expensive than in Zenica, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Zenica 37% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ฿154

$6.98 BAM 12.19

-34.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.48 ฿1,089

$18.26 BAM 31.88

77.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿287

$4.09 BAM 7.14

109.05%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.3

$1.59 BAM 2.78

71.07%

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

$0.94 ฿31.35

$1.69 BAM 2.96

-44.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.45

$1.23 BAM 2.16

-60.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.9

$1.99 BAM 3.47

30.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$2.01 BAM 3.52

90.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.3

$1.27 BAM 2.22

37.01%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿47.98

$0.94 BAM 1.64

52.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.2

$1.73 BAM 3.01

-11.56%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.9

$2.70 BAM 4.72

-19.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.15 ฿642

$7.58 BAM 13.23

152.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$7.07 BAM 12.34

-53.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿374

$12.55 BAM 21.90

-11.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ฿98.8

$1.35 BAM 2.35

118.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.3

$1.59 BAM 2.78

5.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 ฿77.1

$1.55 BAM 2.71

48.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ฿71.5

$1.76 BAM 3.07

21.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.3

$1.01 BAM 1.77

51.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.70

$1.22 BAM 2.14

11.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.57

$0.58 BAM 1.01

93.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.30

$0.70 BAM 1.23

-21.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿143

$3.35 BAM 5.85

27.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿610

$5.58 BAM 9.75

225.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.4

$0.85 BAM 1.48

104.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.6

$0.99 BAM 1.74

181.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.3

$0.90 BAM 1.57

146.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿740

$31.58 BAM 55.1

-30.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 ฿97.6

$1.54 BAM 2.69

88.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.91

$0.87 BAM 1.52

16.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

$8.73 BAM 15.24

-56.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿50.0

$1.50 BAM 2.61

-0.67%

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

$26.7K ฿894.6K

$30.7K BAM 53.5K

-12.97%

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

$26.7K ฿895.6K

$21.7K BAM 37.9K

23.15%

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

$99.4 ฿3,332

$161 BAM 281

-38.27%

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

$11.28 ฿378

$18.28 BAM 31.91

-38.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.36 ฿582

$23.97 BAM 41.83

-27.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,753

$24.06 BAM 41.99

117.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿364

$14.24 BAM 24.86

-23.81%

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ฿254

$4.50 BAM 7.86

68.22%

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

$558 ฿18.7K

$134 BAM 235

315.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿385.2K

$3,848 BAM 6,716

198.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,109

$50.4 BAM 87.9

24.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿958

$30.31 BAM 52.9

-5.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 ฿3,224

$92.8 BAM 162

3.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,953

$86.9 BAM 152

1.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.5K

$191 BAM 334

281.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

$142 BAM 248

223.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.3K

$267 BAM 467

683.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿41.0K

$200 BAM 349

511.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿116.0K

$1,584 BAM 2,764

118.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.5K

$1,280 BAM 2,235

94.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

$653 BAM 1,140

-24.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

85.67%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Last update for Zenica: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$460 38.1%

Zenica

$142 16.7% 69.1% $318

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.2%

Zenica

$201 23.6% 25% $67

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$128 10.6%

Zenica

$203 23.9% 58.8% $75

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Zenica

$117 13.8% 5.6% $6.9

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10.1%

Zenica

$113 13.3% 6.9% $8.4

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$67 5.6%

Zenica

$33 3.9% 51% $34

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.2%

Zenica

$41 4.8% 5.6% $2.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $729 in Phuket and $191 in Zenica. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zenica pays 33% 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 $18.00 in Zenica for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $201 per month, with Zenica cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇧🇦 Zenica

🕒 Local time

19:06 7:06 PM

14:06 2:06 PM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

70,533

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark BAM KM

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.98 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 BAM = 0.573 USD

1 BAM = 0.511 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BAM, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 33.53 THB (100 THB = 2.98 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BAM (1 BAM = 0.573 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BAM (1 BAM = 0.511 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Zenica 8,640 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Zenica

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 Zenica: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Zenica is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 42% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 33% lower in Zenica. 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: $729 in Phuket versus $191 in Zenica. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $558 in Phuket versus $134 in Zenica. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 33% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $850 in Zenica versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Zenica but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Zenica the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Zenica 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 Zenica 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 Zenica gentler on the wallet – expenses run 42% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.