Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Poole and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,641 in Poole, rent and utilities included – about $16,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

127

Cost of Living Index in Poole
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Poole Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Poole

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,641

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Poole 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 Poole and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,641 in Poole versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Poole $2,641
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,917 in Poole versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Poole $3,917
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,193 in Poole versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Poole $5,193
Phuket $3,154

Living in Poole is roughly 107% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Poole is 94% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.28 £17.39

$4.47 ฿151

420.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$102 £76.0

$32.41 ฿1,094

213.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.75 £8.03

$8.81 ฿297

22.02%

Cappuccino

$5.19 £3.88

$2.83 ฿95.4

83.39%

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

$3.08 £2.30

$0.87 ฿29.42

254.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 £1.68

$0.49 ฿16.66

359.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.86 £5.12

$2.56 ฿86.3

167.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.08 £5.29

$3.68 ฿124

92.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 £1.27

$1.66 ฿56.0

2.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 £1.16

$1.46 ฿49.32

6.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.25 £1.68

$1.50 ฿50.5

50.00%

Eggs

$4.21 £3.14

$2.09 ฿70.5

101.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.50 £4.85

$19.07 ฿643

-65.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.76 £8.04

$3.30 ฿111

226.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.70 £9.49

$10.91 ฿368

16.41%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 £1.69

$2.93 ฿98.9

-22.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 £1.29

$1.69 ฿57.0

2.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.95 £1.46

$2.25 ฿75.8

-13.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.16 £1.62

$2.08 ฿70.1

3.85%

Potato (1kg)

$2.03 £1.51

$1.51 ฿51.0

34.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.50 £1.12

$1.38 ฿46.54

8.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.78 £1.33

$1.07 ฿35.97

66.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 £1.43

$0.52 ฿17.51

269.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.87 £17.83

$4.20 ฿142

468.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.72 £7.26

$18.79 ฿634

-48.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.01 £2.25

$1.82 ฿61.5

65.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.46 £1.84

$2.84 ฿95.9

-13.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.89 £2.90

$1.45 ฿49.00

168.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 £56.8

$56.7 ฿1,912

34.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 £2.45

$3.02 ฿102

8.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.45 £1.83

$1.02 ฿34.34

140.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.62 £16.15

$3.69 ฿125

485.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.03 £1.52

$1.47 ฿49.78

38.10%

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

$39.1K £29.2K

$26.8K ฿903.7K

45.85%

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

$40.5K £30.3K

$26.7K ฿900.8K

51.89%

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

$359 £268

$96.4 ฿3,252

272.52%

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

$20.32 £15.18

$11.26 ฿380

80.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.31 £32.35

$16.85 ฿569

157.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$80.8 £60.4

$67.2 ฿2,269

20.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$20.54 £15.35

$7.50 ฿253

173.87%

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

$2,128 £1,590

$476 ฿16.1K

347.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$33.8K £25.2K

$11.3K ฿380.1K

200.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.6 £65.4

$62.4 ฿2,105

40.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.27 £29.34

$28.41 ฿959

38.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 £76.0

$94.3 ฿3,182

7.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.8 £62.6

$85.8 ฿2,896

-2.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,176 £879

$716 ฿24.2K

64.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,210 £904

$491 ฿16.6K

146.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,272 £1,698

$1,927 ฿65.0K

17.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,093 £1,564

$1,431 ฿48.3K

46.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,119 £1,583

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-30.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,307 £2,470

$502 ฿17.0K

558.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.96

5.57

-10.95%

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

Last update for Poole: October 27, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Poole

$1.2K 45.8%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 59.4% $719

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Poole

$423 16%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 70.5% $298

Eating Out

Poole

$351 13.3%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 65.3% $229

Groceries & Markets

Poole

$289 10.9%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 7.8% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Poole

$141 5.3%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 13.3% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Poole

$122 4.6%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 32.5% $40

Getting Around

Poole

$107 4.1%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 34.1% $36

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,176 in Poole and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Poole pays about 6.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $102 in Poole vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $289 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Poole

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

05:49 5:49 AM

12:49 12:49 PM

7 h ahead of Poole

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

154,718

79,308

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Poole Phuket 10,050 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Poole
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

Poole vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 52% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, leisure, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Poole is about 6.6 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,176 in Poole versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,128 in Poole 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 8% higher in Poole. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,641 in Poole, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Poole. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 52% less than in Poole. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.