Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Randburg and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Randburg: $1,061 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

51

Cost of Living Index in Randburg
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Randburg Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Randburg

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,061

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,061 in Randburg versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Randburg $1,061
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,716 in Randburg versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Randburg $1,716
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,370 in Randburg versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Randburg $2,370
Phuket $3,154

Living in Randburg costs roughly 17% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Randburg 22% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.36 R 173

$4.47 ฿151

131.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.80 R 749

$32.41 ฿1,093

38.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.29 R 88.3

$8.81 ฿297

-39.95%

Cappuccino

$2.49 R 41.53

$2.83 ฿95.4

-12.01%

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

$1.27 R 21.29

$0.87 ฿29.41

45.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 R 15.24

$0.49 ฿16.65

85.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.57 R 43.02

$2.56 ฿86.3

0.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.29 R 54.9

$3.68 ฿124

-10.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 R 21.27

$1.66 ฿55.9

-23.49%

White Bread (500g)

$1.14 R 19.06

$1.46 ฿49.31

-21.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 R 28.43

$1.50 ฿50.5

13.33%

Eggs

$2.74 R 45.85

$2.09 ฿70.5

31.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.57 R 143

$19.07 ฿643

-55.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.62 R 93.8

$3.30 ฿111

70.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.17 R 120

$10.91 ฿368

-34.28%

Apples (1kg)

$1.98 R 33.13

$2.93 ฿98.9

-32.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 R 26.68

$1.69 ฿57.0

-5.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.81 R 30.22

$2.25 ฿75.8

-19.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 R 26.92

$2.08 ฿70.0

-22.60%

Potato (1kg)

$1.69 R 28.27

$1.51 ฿51.0

11.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.81

$1.38 ฿46.52

20.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 R 19.29

$1.07 ฿35.96

7.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 R 21.56

$0.52 ฿17.51

148.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.42 R 57.1

$4.20 ฿142

-18.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.96 R 82.8

$18.79 ฿634

-73.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 R 25.28

$1.82 ฿61.5

-17.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 R 36.01

$2.84 ฿95.8

-23.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.29 R 4.83

$3.02 ฿102

-90.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 R 15.37

$1.02 ฿34.33

-9.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.52 R 243

$3.69 ฿125

293.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 R 24.66

$1.47 ฿49.76

0.68%

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

$35.6K R 594.2K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

32.82%

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

$34.7K R 579.2K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

29.89%

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

$152 R 2,535

$96.4 ฿3,251

57.48%

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

$38.96 R 651

$11.26 ฿380

246.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.21 R 622

$16.85 ฿568

120.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$20.38 R 341

$67.2 ฿2,268

-69.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.46 R 74.6

$10.73 ฿362

-58.43%

Cinema Ticket

$7.35 R 123

$7.50 ฿253

-2.00%

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

$262 R 4,377

$476 ฿16.1K

-44.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,433 R 90.8K

$11.3K ฿380.0K

-51.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 R 899

$62.4 ฿2,104

-13.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.23 R 756

$28.41 ฿958

59.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 R 1,882

$94.3 ฿3,181

19.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.7 R 1,381

$85.8 ฿2,895

-3.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$313 R 5,235

$716 ฿24.2K

-56.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$302 R 5,042

$491 ฿16.6K

-38.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$616 R 10.3K

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-68.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$713 R 11.9K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-50.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$608 R 10.2K

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-85.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$764 R 12.8K

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-74.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,885 R 31.5K

$502 ฿16.9K

275.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.34

5.57

103.59%

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

Last update for Randburg: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Randburg

$302 28.4%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 62.7% $189

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Randburg

$228 21.5%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 45.4% $103

Groceries & Markets

Randburg

$202 19.1%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 31.6% $64

Eating Out

Randburg

$157 14.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 22.4% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Randburg

$132 12.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 8% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Randburg

$35 3.3%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 134% $47

Getting Around

Randburg

$4.9 * 0.5%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 1343% $66

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $313 in Randburg and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Randburg pays about 3.8 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $45 in Randburg vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $202 vs $266, with Randburg cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Randburg

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

21:18 9:18 PM

02:18 2:18 AM

5 h ahead of Randburg

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

335,000

79,308

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.36 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 16.71 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.36 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 ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Randburg Phuket 8,470 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Randburg
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

Randburg vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Randburg is about 17% cheaper overall, especially in transport, groceries, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Randburg is about 3.8 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: $313 in Randburg versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $262 in Randburg versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $45 in Randburg. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Randburg 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.