Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Portsmouth and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,765 in Portsmouth, rent and utilities included – about $17,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

134

Cost of Living Index in Portsmouth
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Portsmouth Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Portsmouth

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,765

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,765 in Portsmouth versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Portsmouth $2,765
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,781 in Portsmouth versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Portsmouth $3,781
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,798 in Portsmouth versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Portsmouth $4,798
Phuket $3,154

Living in Portsmouth is roughly 116% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Portsmouth is 103% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.08 £15.00

$4.47 ฿151

349.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.5 £49.63

$32.41 ฿1,093

105.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.54 £7.87

$8.81 ฿297

19.64%

Cappuccino

$4.78 £3.57

$2.83 ฿95.4

68.90%

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

$2.74 £2.05

$0.87 ฿29.41

214.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 £1.73

$0.49 ฿16.65

371.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.28 £4.69

$2.56 ฿86.3

145.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.85 £4.37

$3.68 ฿124

58.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 £1.04

$1.66 ฿55.9

-16.27%

White Bread (500g)

$1.61 £1.20

$1.46 ฿49.31

10.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.67 £2.74

$1.50 ฿50.5

144.67%

Eggs

$3.46 £2.58

$2.09 ฿70.5

65.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.49 £10.07

$19.07 ฿643

-29.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.16 £6.09

$3.30 ฿111

147.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 £9.85

$10.91 ฿368

20.81%

Apples (1kg)

$3.89 £2.91

$2.93 ฿98.9

32.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 £1.44

$1.69 ฿57.0

14.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.92 £2.18

$2.25 ฿75.8

29.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.52

$2.08 ฿70.0

62.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.25

$1.51 ฿51.0

10.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 £1.25

$1.38 ฿46.52

21.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 £0.90

$1.07 ฿35.96

13.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 £1.10

$0.52 ฿17.51

182.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.69 £16.94

$4.20 ฿142

440.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.13 £8.32

$18.79 ฿634

-40.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.13 £2.34

$1.82 ฿61.5

71.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 £1.61

$2.84 ฿95.8

-23.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.94 £2.94

$1.45 ฿48.98

171.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$86.3 £64.5

$56.7 ฿1,912

52.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.31 £3.97

$3.02 ฿102

75.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 £1.15

$1.02 ฿34.33

50.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.93 £14.89

$3.69 ฿125

440.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.56

$1.47 ฿49.76

42.18%

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

$38.5K £28.8K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

43.84%

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

$41.1K £30.7K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

53.91%

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

$661 £494

$96.4 ฿3,251

585.87%

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

$15.19 £11.35

$11.26 ฿380

34.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.05 £32.15

$16.85 ฿568

155.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.53 £25.79

$67.2 ฿2,268

-48.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.24 £12.88

$10.73 ฿362

60.67%

Cinema Ticket

$10.80 £8.07

$7.50 ฿253

44.00%

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

$1,602 £1,196

$476 ฿16.1K

236.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.0K £15.0K

$11.3K ฿380.0K

77.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.2 £68.1

$62.4 ฿2,104

46.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.80 £29.73

$28.41 ฿958

40.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 £75.0

$94.3 ฿3,181

6.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 £89.2

$85.8 ฿2,895

39.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,493 £1,115

$716 ฿24.2K

108.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,092 £815

$491 ฿16.6K

122.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,146 £1,603

$1,927 ฿65.0K

11.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,669 £1,246

$1,431 ฿48.3K

16.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,574 £3,416

$4,175 ฿140.9K

9.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,680 £2,748

$3,045 ฿102.7K

20.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,397 £2,537

$502 ฿16.9K

576.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.16

5.57

-7.36%

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

Last update for Portsmouth: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Portsmouth

$1.1K 39.5%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 55% $601

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Portsmouth

$719 26%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 82.7% $595

Eating Out

Portsmouth

$313 11.3%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 61.1% $191

Groceries & Markets

Portsmouth

$312 11.3%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 14.7% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Portsmouth

$158 5.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 22.8% $36

Getting Around

Portsmouth

$115 4.2%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 38.7% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Portsmouth

$56 2%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 46.5% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,493 in Portsmouth and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Portsmouth pays about 6.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $66 in Portsmouth vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $312 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Portsmouth

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

05:15 5:15 AM

12:15 12:15 PM

7 h ahead of Portsmouth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

198,974

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 1, 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 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

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Between locations

Portsmouth Phuket 9,990 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Portsmouth
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

Portsmouth vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 54% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Portsmouth is about 6.8 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: $1,493 in Portsmouth versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,602 in Portsmouth 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 17% higher in Portsmouth. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,765 in Portsmouth, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Portsmouth. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Portsmouth. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.