Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Romford and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $2,706 in Romford, rent and utilities included – about $18,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

131

Cost of Living Index in Romford
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Romford Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Romford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,706

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,706 in Romford versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Romford $2,706
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,122 in Romford versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Romford $4,122
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,538 in Romford versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Romford $5,538
Phuket $2,845

Living in Romford is roughly 124% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Romford is 100% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.90 £17.93

$4.40 ฿147

443.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$32.26 ฿1,078

235.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.75 £8.07

$8.76 ฿293

22.72%

Cappuccino

$4.88 £3.66

$2.83 ฿94.5

72.44%

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

$2.68 £2.01

$0.90 ฿30.14

197.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 £1.39

$0.47 ฿15.56

293.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.62 £5.72

$2.55 ฿85.2

198.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.78 £5.09

$3.83 ฿128

77.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.83 £1.37

$1.73 ฿57.7

5.78%

White Bread (500g)

$1.74 £1.30

$1.47 ฿49.11

18.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.62 £1.96

$1.51 ฿50.6

73.51%

Eggs

$4.88 £3.66

$2.17 ฿72.7

124.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.51 £7.13

$19.70 ฿658

-51.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.56 £7.17

$3.34 ฿112

186.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.02 £12.02

$11.16 ฿373

43.55%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.28

$2.85 ฿95.1

6.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 £1.03

$1.70 ฿56.9

-19.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.24 £2.43

$2.19 ฿73.3

47.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.55 £2.66

$2.05 ฿68.4

73.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.66 £1.25

$1.45 ฿48.57

14.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 £1.37

$1.38 ฿46.16

31.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 £0.93

$1.07 ฿35.69

16.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$0.51 ฿16.91

252.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.41 £17.56

$4.26 ฿142

449.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.22 £9.92

$18.58 ฿621

-28.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.21 £2.41

$1.78 ฿59.7

80.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.14 £3.11

$2.85 ฿95.2

45.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.58 £3.43

$2.26 ฿75.6

102.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.1 £72.8

$22.10 ฿738

339.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.51 £4.13

$3.01 ฿101

83.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.59 £1.94

$1.06 ฿35.34

144.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.48 £19.11

$3.86 ฿129

560.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.08 £1.56

$1.45 ฿48.45

43.45%

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

$38.9K £29.2K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

47.85%

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

$40.4K £30.3K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

49.86%

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

$381 £286

$96.4 ฿3,221

295.41%

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

$18.84 £14.13

$11.04 ฿369

70.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.29 £32.48

$17.14 ฿573

152.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.6 £37.94

$52.2 ฿1,744

-3.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

Cinema Ticket

$17.03 £12.78

$7.81 ฿261

118.05%

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

$2,581 £1,936

$556 ฿18.6K

364.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.1K £26.4K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

203.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.0 £67.6

$64.2 ฿2,146

40.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.87 £35.16

$28.69 ฿959

63.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.7 £68.8

$95.4 ฿3,187

-3.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 £97.3

$88.0 ฿2,940

47.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,852 £1,389

$737 ฿24.6K

151.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 £901

$462 ฿15.5K

159.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,269 £2,452

$2,095 ฿70.0K

56.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,259 £1,695

$1,201 ฿40.1K

88.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,605 £4,205

$3,488 ฿116.6K

60.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,693 £2,770

$2,523 ฿84.3K

46.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,863 £2,148

$501 ฿16.7K

471.79%

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 Romford: October 19, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Romford

$1.2K 44.4%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 61.5% $739

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Romford

$443 16.4%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 71.9% $319

Eating Out

Romford

$352 13%

Phuket

$121 10% 65.5% $231

Groceries & Markets

Romford

$330 12.2%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 18.6% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Romford

$161 6%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 22.9% $37

Getting Around

Romford

$134 5%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 70.5% $94

Sport & Entertainment

Romford

$85 3.1%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 19.9% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,852 in Romford and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Romford pays 472% 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: $108 in Romford vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $330 vs $269 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Romford

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

02:07 2:07 AM

08:07 8:07 AM

6 h ahead of Romford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

95,894

79,308

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 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 October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Romford Phuket 9,880 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Romford
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

Romford vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 124% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 472% higher in Romford, 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: $1,852 in Romford versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,581 in Romford versus $556 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 23% higher in Romford. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,706 in Romford, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Romford. 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 Romford, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Romford and Phuket are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 124% less than in Romford. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.