Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Roman and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Roman: $842 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

40

Cost of Living Index in Roman
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Roman Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Roman

🇷🇴 Romania

$842

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $842 in Roman versus $1,294 in Phuket.

Roman $842
Phuket $1,294

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,393 in Roman versus $2,204 in Phuket.

Roman $1,393
Phuket $2,204

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,944 in Roman versus $3,115 in Phuket.

Roman $1,944
Phuket $3,115

Living in Roman costs roughly 35% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Roman 38% lower, Phuket 4% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.46 RON 49.67

$4.39 ฿148

138.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.05 RON 157

$32.31 ฿1,086

2.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.27 RON 34.51

$8.70 ฿293

-16.44%

Cappuccino

$2.54 RON 12.05

$2.72 ฿91.6

-6.62%

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

$1.35 RON 6.40

$0.93 ฿31.28

45.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.04 RON 4.93

$0.50 ฿16.79

108.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.14 RON 10.16

$2.53 ฿85.1

-15.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 RON 10.35

$3.63 ฿122

-39.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.18 RON 5.61

$1.74 ฿58.5

-32.18%

White Bread (500g)

$0.66 RON 3.14

$1.45 ฿48.77

-54.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 RON 6.81

$1.50 ฿50.5

-4.67%

Eggs

$2.91 RON 13.82

$2.17 ฿73.0

34.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.85 RON 37.28

$19.09 ฿642

-58.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.76 RON 27.35

$3.40 ฿114

69.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.25 RON 39.18

$10.90 ฿366

-24.31%

Apples (1kg)

$1.07 RON 5.06

$2.94 ฿98.9

-63.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.49 RON 7.10

$1.69 ฿56.9

-11.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.39 RON 6.58

$2.19 ฿73.8

-36.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.83 RON 8.69

$2.12 ฿71.4

-13.68%

Potato (1kg)

$0.68 RON 3.25

$1.46 ฿49.03

-53.42%

Onion (1kg)

$0.83 RON 3.94

$1.37 ฿45.99

-39.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.81 RON 3.86

$1.08 ฿36.17

-25.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.73 RON 3.45

$0.55 ฿18.34

32.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.32 RON 25.24

$4.43 ฿149

20.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.38 RON 25.56

$18.25 ฿614

-70.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 RON 4.55

$1.77 ฿59.6

-45.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.17 RON 5.58

$2.88 ฿96.8

-59.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.74 RON 3.53

$1.45 ฿48.66

-48.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.48 RON 97.3

$54.9 ฿1,845

-62.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.65 RON 3.11

$1.51 ฿50.9

-56.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.65 RON 3.08

$0.78 ฿26.08

-16.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.36 RON 34.94

$3.84 ฿129

91.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 RON 8.65

$1.49 ฿50.0

22.15%

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

$28.3K RON 134.4K

$26.9K ฿903.7K

5.32%

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

$24.7K RON 117.5K

$26.3K ฿885.7K

-6.07%

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

$147 RON 698

$97.8 ฿3,288

50.40%

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

$6.70 RON 31.82

$11.29 ฿380

-40.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.03 RON 38.14

$17.19 ฿578

-53.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.42 RON 178

$68.3 ฿2,297

-45.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.23 RON 81.8

$10.92 ฿367

57.78%

Cinema Ticket

$6.26 RON 29.70

$7.43 ฿250

-15.75%

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

$290 RON 1,375

$530 ฿17.8K

-45.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,433 RON 30.5K

$18.8K ฿631.4K

-65.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$96.0 RON 456

$61.7 ฿2,073

55.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.20 RON 120

$28.25 ฿950

-10.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.6 RON 292

$96.0 ฿3,228

-35.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.4 RON 277

$86.8 ฿2,919

-32.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$213 RON 1,013

$721 ฿24.2K

-70.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$159 RON 754

$509 ฿17.1K

-68.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$611 RON 2,903

$1,950 ฿65.6K

-68.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$459 RON 2,179

$1,397 ฿47.0K

-67.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,818 RON 8,634

$4,192 ฿140.9K

-56.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,519 RON 7,212

$3,298 ฿110.9K

-53.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$828 RON 3,931

$492 ฿16.5K

68.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

5.57

29.26%

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

Last update for Roman: November 2, 2026

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Roman

$176 20.8%

Phuket

$267 20.6% 52.1% $91

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Roman

$162 19.2%

Phuket

$126 9.8% 22% $36

Eating Out

Roman

$161 19.1%

Phuket

$120 9.2% 25.5% $41

Accommodation & Living

Roman

$159 18.8%

Phuket

$509 39.3% 221% $350

Clothing & Footwear

Roman

$109 12.9%

Phuket

$123 9.5% 13.1% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Roman

$50 5.9%

Phuket

$83 6.4% 66.6% $33

Getting Around

Roman

$27 3.3%

Phuket

$66 5.1% 142% $39

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $213 in Roman and $721 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Roman pays 68% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $33 in Roman vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $176 vs $267, with Roman cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Roman

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

03:36 3:36 AM

08:36 8:36 AM

5 h ahead of Roman

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

80,328

79,308

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 4.75 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.85 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Roman Phuket 7,960 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Roman
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

Roman vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Roman is about 35% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 68% higher in Roman, 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: $213 in Roman versus $721 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $290 in Roman versus $530 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 52% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $842 in Roman versus $1,294 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Roman but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Roman 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.