Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Pogradec and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Pogradec: $820 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Pogradec
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Pogradec Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Pogradec

🇦🇱 Albania

$820

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Pogradec and in Phuket

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Pogradec and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $820 in Pogradec versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Pogradec $820
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,353 in Pogradec versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Pogradec $1,353
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,887 in Pogradec versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Pogradec $1,887
Phuket $3,154

Living in Pogradec costs roughly 36% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Pogradec 40% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.62 ALL 781

$4.47 ฿151

115.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.12 ALL 3,177

$32.41 ฿1,093

20.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.30 ALL 593

$8.81 ฿297

-17.14%

Cappuccino

$1.58 ALL 129

$2.83 ฿95.4

-44.17%

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

$1.81 ALL 147

$0.87 ฿29.41

108.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.68 ALL 55.6

$0.49 ฿16.65

38.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.49 ALL 121

$2.56 ฿86.3

-41.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 ALL 216

$3.68 ฿124

-27.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 ALL 160

$1.66 ฿55.9

18.67%

White Bread (500g)

$0.91 ALL 73.8

$1.46 ฿49.31

-37.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.05 ALL 167

$1.50 ฿50.5

36.67%

Eggs

$2.28 ALL 186

$2.09 ฿70.5

9.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.19 ALL 665

$19.07 ฿643

-57.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.36 ALL 354

$3.30 ฿111

32.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.35 ALL 1,166

$10.91 ฿368

31.53%

Apples (1kg)

$1.27 ALL 103

$2.93 ฿98.9

-56.66%

Banana (1kg)

$2.35 ALL 191

$1.69 ฿57.0

39.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.50 ALL 122

$2.25 ฿75.8

-33.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.26 ALL 102

$2.08 ฿70.0

-39.42%

Potato (1kg)

$0.97 ALL 79.0

$1.51 ฿51.0

-35.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 ALL 83.1

$1.38 ฿46.52

-26.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 ALL 82.6

$1.07 ฿35.96

-4.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.84 ALL 68.4

$0.52 ฿17.51

61.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.28 ALL 348

$4.20 ฿142

1.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.80 ALL 634

$18.79 ฿634

-58.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 ALL 102

$1.82 ฿61.5

-31.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.82 ALL 148

$2.84 ฿95.8

-35.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 ALL 41.08

$1.45 ฿48.98

-64.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.76 ALL 1,524

$56.7 ฿1,912

-66.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.64 ALL 296

$3.02 ฿102

20.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.86 ALL 151

$1.02 ฿34.33

82.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.50 ALL 1,503

$3.69 ฿125

401.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 ALL 185

$1.47 ฿49.76

55.10%

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

$33.1K ALL 2.7M

$26.8K ฿903.4K

23.50%

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

$24.3K ALL 2.0M

$26.7K ฿900.5K

-8.91%

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

$61.3 ALL 4,976

$96.4 ฿3,251

-36.41%

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

$16.66 ALL 1,353

$11.26 ฿380

47.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.47 ALL 1,419

$16.85 ฿568

3.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.29 ALL 2,947

$67.2 ฿2,268

-46.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.73 ALL 1,521

$10.73 ฿362

74.56%

Cinema Ticket

$8.62 ALL 700

$7.50 ฿253

14.93%

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

$99.8 ALL 8,105

$476 ฿16.1K

-79.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.22 ALL 3,998

$62.4 ฿2,104

-21.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.0 ALL 4,549

$28.41 ฿958

97.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.9 ALL 7,871

$94.3 ฿3,181

2.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$149 ALL 12.1K

$85.8 ฿2,895

73.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$185 ALL 15.1K

$716 ฿24.2K

-74.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$126 ALL 10.2K

$491 ฿16.6K

-74.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$366 ALL 29.7K

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-81.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$251 ALL 20.4K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-82.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,626 ALL 132.1K

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-61.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,499 ALL 121.8K

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-50.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$478 ALL 38.9K

$502 ฿16.9K

-4.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

-10.23%

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

Last update for Pogradec: October 27, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Pogradec

$213 26%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 25.1% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Pogradec

$158 19.3%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 22.9% $36

Eating Out

Pogradec

$141 17.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 13.4% $19

Accommodation & Living

Pogradec

$126 15.3%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 291% $365

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Pogradec

$95 11.6%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 30.5% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Pogradec

$54 6.5%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 53.6% $29

Getting Around

Pogradec

$34 4.1%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 109% $37

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $185 in Pogradec and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 5% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $39 in Pogradec vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $213 vs $266, with Pogradec cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇱 Pogradec

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

10:31 10:31 AM

16:31 4:31 PM

6 h ahead of Pogradec

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,848

79,308

💱 Currency

Albanian Lek ALL L

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 ALL = 1.23 USD

100 ALL = 1.1 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to ALL – Albanian Lek Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇱 Albanian Lek (L)

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 81.22 ALL (100 ALL = 1.23 USD). 1 EUR = 90.69 ALL (100 ALL = 1.1 EUR).

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).

USD to ALL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Pogradec Phuket 8,400 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Pogradec
Phuket

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

Pogradec vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Pogradec is about 36% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 5% lower in Pogradec. 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: $185 in Pogradec versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $100 in Pogradec versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 25% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Pogradec is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

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