Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Scarborough and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $2,130 in Scarborough, rent and utilities included – about $11,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

103

Cost of Living Index in Scarborough
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Scarborough Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Scarborough

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,130

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,130 in Scarborough versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Scarborough $2,130
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,096 in Scarborough versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Scarborough $3,096
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,062 in Scarborough versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Scarborough $4,062
Phuket $2,845

Living in Scarborough is roughly 76% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Scarborough is 57% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.36 £11.53

$4.40 ฿147

249.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.1 £53.4

$32.26 ฿1,078

120.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.12 £9.09

$8.76 ฿293

38.36%

Cappuccino

$3.51 £2.63

$2.83 ฿94.5

24.03%

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

$2.05 £1.53

$0.90 ฿30.14

127.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.02 £0.77

$0.47 ฿15.56

117.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.58 £3.44

$2.55 ฿85.2

79.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.29 £3.22

$3.83 ฿128

12.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 £0.97

$1.73 ฿57.7

-25.43%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 £1.03

$1.47 ฿49.11

-6.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.08 £0.81

$1.51 ฿50.6

-28.48%

Eggs

$3.60 £2.70

$2.17 ฿72.7

65.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.92 £5.94

$19.70 ฿658

-59.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.18 £5.39

$3.34 ฿112

114.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.94 £10.46

$11.16 ฿373

24.91%

Apples (1kg)

$3.13 £2.35

$2.85 ฿95.1

9.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.99 £1.49

$1.70 ฿56.9

17.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 £1.99

$2.19 ฿73.3

21.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 £1.57

$2.05 ฿68.4

1.95%

Potato (1kg)

$1.74 £1.30

$1.45 ฿48.57

20.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.62 £1.21

$1.38 ฿46.16

17.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 £0.87

$1.07 ฿35.69

7.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 £1.43

$0.51 ฿16.91

274.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.58 £16.94

$4.26 ฿142

430.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 £7.19

$18.58 ฿621

-48.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.65 £2.74

$1.78 ฿59.7

105.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.60 £2.70

$2.85 ฿95.2

26.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.30 £2.48

$2.26 ฿75.6

46.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$86.0 £64.5

$22.10 ฿738

289.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.73 £4.30

$3.01 ฿101

90.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.97 £3.73

$1.06 ฿35.34

368.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.58 £25.19

$3.86 ฿129

769.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.98 £1.48

$1.45 ฿48.45

36.55%

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

$36.0K £27.0K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

36.62%

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

$39.9K £29.9K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

48.13%

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

$356 £267

$96.4 ฿3,221

269.43%

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

$25.99 £19.50

$11.04 ฿369

135.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 £24.56

$17.14 ฿573

91.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.1 £49.59

$52.2 ฿1,744

26.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.67 £9.50

$11.16 ฿373

13.53%

Cinema Ticket

$10.66 £7.99

$7.81 ฿261

36.49%

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

$1,804 £1,353

$556 ฿18.6K

224.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.7K £11.1K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

27.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.3 £49.73

$64.2 ฿2,146

3.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.54 £26.66

$28.69 ฿959

23.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 £81.3

$95.4 ฿3,187

13.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 £85.2

$88.0 ฿2,940

29.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$867 £651

$737 ฿24.6K

17.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$831 £624

$462 ฿15.5K

79.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,524 £1,143

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-27.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,365 £1,024

$1,201 ฿40.1K

13.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$910 £683

$501 ฿16.7K

81.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.53

5.57

-0.72%

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

Last update for Scarborough: October 18, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Scarborough

$831 39%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 44.4% $369

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Scarborough

$415 19.5%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 70% $290

Groceries & Markets

Scarborough

$276 13%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 2.7% $7.4

Eating Out

Scarborough

$245 11.5%

Phuket

$121 10% 50.5% $124

Clothing & Footwear

Scarborough

$146 6.8%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 14.7% $21

Getting Around

Scarborough

$130 6.1%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 69.6% $90

Sport & Entertainment

Scarborough

$87 4.1%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 22.5% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $867 in Scarborough and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Scarborough pays 82% 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: $71.0 in Scarborough vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $276 vs $269 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Scarborough

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

04:05 4:05 AM

10:05 10:05 AM

6 h ahead of Scarborough

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

61,749

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 21, 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 21, 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

Scarborough Phuket 9,860 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Scarborough
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

Scarborough vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 76% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 82% higher in Scarborough, 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: $867 in Scarborough versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,804 in Scarborough 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 3% higher in Scarborough. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,130 in Scarborough, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Scarborough. 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 Scarborough, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Scarborough 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 76% less than in Scarborough. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.