Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Saint-Etienne and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,436 in Saint-Etienne, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. The total is higher in Saint-Etienne despite lower rent and utilities.

69

Cost of Living Index in Saint-Etienne
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Saint-Etienne Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Saint-Etienne

🇫🇷 France

$1,436

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,436 in Saint-Etienne versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Saint-Etienne $1,436
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,264 in Saint-Etienne versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Saint-Etienne $2,264
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,092 in Saint-Etienne versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Saint-Etienne $3,092
Phuket $3,154

Living in Saint-Etienne is roughly 12% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Saint-Etienne is 6% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.56 €14.88

$4.47 ฿151

270.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$56.7 €50.9

$32.41 ฿1,094

74.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.54 €12.16

$8.81 ฿297

53.69%

Cappuccino

$2.07 €1.86

$2.83 ฿95.5

-26.86%

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

$3.42 €3.07

$0.87 ฿29.43

293.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.70 €1.53

$0.49 ฿16.67

246.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.07 €4.55

$2.56 ฿86.4

98.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 €5.16

$3.68 ฿124

56.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.66 ฿56.0

-22.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 €0.99

$1.46 ฿49.35

-24.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.09 €1.88

$1.50 ฿50.6

39.33%

Eggs

$3.05 €2.74

$2.09 ฿70.5

45.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.01 €15.28

$19.07 ฿644

-10.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.17 €10.04

$3.30 ฿111

238.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.35 €14.69

$10.91 ฿368

49.86%

Apples (1kg)

$3.27 €2.94

$2.93 ฿99.0

11.60%

Banana (1kg)

$2.54 €2.28

$1.69 ฿57.1

50.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.45 €2.20

$2.25 ฿75.8

8.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.71 €2.43

$2.08 ฿70.1

30.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 €1.41

$1.51 ฿51.0

3.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.38 ฿46.56

25.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 €0.99

$1.07 ฿35.99

2.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.30 €2.07

$0.52 ฿17.52

342.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.15 €10.91

$4.20 ฿142

189.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.14 €9.11

$18.79 ฿634

-46.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.32 €2.99

$1.82 ฿61.5

82.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.26 €2.93

$2.84 ฿95.9

14.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.81 €1.62

$1.45 ฿49.03

24.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$39.87 €35.82

$56.7 ฿1,913

-29.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.83 €2.54

$3.02 ฿102

-6.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.11 €1.89

$1.47 ฿49.81

43.54%

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

$20.1K €18.0K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

-25.00%

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

$32.0K €28.7K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

19.81%

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

$164 €148

$96.4 ฿3,254

70.56%

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

$29.01 €26.07

$11.26 ฿380

157.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.04 €17.11

$16.85 ฿569

13.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.86 €26.83

$67.2 ฿2,270

-55.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.61 €5.94

$10.73 ฿362

-38.40%

Cinema Ticket

$9.89 €8.88

$7.50 ฿253

31.87%

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

$996 €895

$476 ฿16.1K

109.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.8K €14.2K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

40.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.1 €64.8

$62.4 ฿2,106

15.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.47 €27.38

$28.41 ฿959

7.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €92.3

$94.3 ฿3,184

8.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$151 €135

$85.8 ฿2,898

75.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$515 €463

$716 ฿24.2K

-28.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$370 €332

$491 ฿16.6K

-24.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$873 €785

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-54.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$716 €643

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-49.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,677 €1,506

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-59.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,619 €1,455

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-46.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,255 €2,026

$502 ฿17.0K

349.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.67

5.57

-34.11%

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

Last update for Saint-Etienne: 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

Saint-Etienne

$370 25.8%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 32.7% $121

Groceries & Markets

Saint-Etienne

$339 23.6%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 21.4% $73

Eating Out

Saint-Etienne

$255 17.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 52.3% $134

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Saint-Etienne

$212 14.8%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 41.4% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Saint-Etienne

$160 11.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 23.9% $38

Getting Around

Saint-Etienne

$50 * 3.5%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 41.4% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Saint-Etienne

$50 3.5%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 65.7% $33

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 $515 in Saint-Etienne and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Saint-Etienne pays about 4.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $57 in Saint-Etienne vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $339 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇫🇷 Saint-Etienne

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

12:04 12:04 PM

18:04 6:04 PM

6 h ahead of Saint-Etienne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

172,718

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Saint-Etienne Phuket 9,690 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

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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

Saint-Etienne vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 12% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Saint-Etienne is about 4.5 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: $515 in Saint-Etienne versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $996 in Saint-Etienne 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 27% higher in Saint-Etienne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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, Saint-Etienne 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.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Saint-Etienne on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.