Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Shkoder and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Shkoder: $980 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in Shkoder
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Shkoder Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Shkoder

🇦🇱 Albania

$980

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $980 in Shkoder versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Shkoder $980
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,474 in Shkoder versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Shkoder $1,474
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,969 in Shkoder versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Shkoder $1,969
Phuket $3,154

Living in Shkoder costs roughly 23% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Shkoder 28% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.30 ALL 751

$4.47 ฿151

108.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.93 ALL 3,144

$32.41 ฿1,094

20.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.21 ALL 502

$8.81 ฿297

-29.51%

Cappuccino

$1.93 ALL 156

$2.83 ฿95.5

-31.80%

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

$1.83 ALL 148

$0.87 ฿29.43

110.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 ALL 52.4

$0.49 ฿16.67

32.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.84 ALL 148

$2.56 ฿86.4

-28.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.18 ALL 257

$3.68 ฿124

-13.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.89 ALL 153

$1.66 ฿56.0

13.86%

White Bread (500g)

$0.97 ALL 78.7

$1.46 ฿49.35

-33.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 ALL 163

$1.50 ฿50.6

34.00%

Eggs

$2.60 ALL 210

$2.09 ฿70.5

24.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.23 ALL 584

$19.07 ฿644

-62.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.11 ALL 412

$3.30 ฿111

54.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.81 ALL 873

$10.91 ฿368

-0.92%

Apples (1kg)

$1.65 ALL 134

$2.93 ฿99.0

-43.69%

Banana (1kg)

$2.35 ALL 190

$1.69 ฿57.1

39.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.72 ALL 139

$2.25 ฿75.8

-23.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.45 ALL 117

$2.08 ฿70.1

-30.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 ALL 82.4

$1.51 ฿51.0

-32.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.23 ALL 99.0

$1.38 ฿46.56

-10.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 ALL 92.0

$1.07 ฿35.99

6.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ALL 62.3

$0.52 ฿17.52

48.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.23 ALL 341

$4.20 ฿142

0.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.14 ALL 496

$18.79 ฿634

-67.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 ALL 122

$1.82 ฿61.5

-17.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 ALL 148

$2.84 ฿95.9

-35.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.49 ALL 39.69

$1.45 ฿49.03

-66.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.12 ALL 898

$56.7 ฿1,913

-80.37%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.72 ALL 301

$3.02 ฿102

23.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.85 ALL 311

$1.02 ฿34.36

277.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.71 ALL 1,511

$3.69 ฿125

407.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.17 ALL 176

$1.47 ฿49.81

47.62%

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

$33.7K ALL 2.7M

$26.8K ฿904.3K

25.72%

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

$24.7K ALL 2.0M

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-7.49%

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

$61.7 ALL 4,981

$96.4 ฿3,254

-35.99%

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

$16.47 ALL 1,331

$11.26 ฿380

46.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.10 ALL 1,381

$16.85 ฿569

1.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.68 ALL 3,448

$67.2 ฿2,270

-36.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.53 ALL 1,012

$10.73 ฿362

16.78%

Cinema Ticket

$7.20 ALL 581

$7.50 ฿253

-4.00%

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

$91.1 ALL 7,358

$476 ฿16.1K

-80.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,835 ALL 148.2K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-83.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.16 ALL 3,970

$62.4 ฿2,106

-21.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$12.34 ALL 997

$28.41 ฿959

-56.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.0 ALL 5,975

$94.3 ฿3,184

-21.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$147 ALL 11.8K

$85.8 ฿2,898

70.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$489 ALL 39.5K

$716 ฿24.2K

-31.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$317 ALL 25.6K

$491 ฿16.6K

-35.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$484 ALL 39.1K

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-74.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$412 ALL 33.3K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-71.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,866 ALL 150.7K

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-55.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,232 ALL 99.5K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-59.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$567 ALL 45.8K

$502 ฿17.0K

12.82%

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 Shkoder: 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

Shkoder

$317 32.4%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 54.7% $174

Groceries & Markets

Shkoder

$206 21%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 29.3% $60

Eating Out

Shkoder

$142 14.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 14.1% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Shkoder

$127 13%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 4% $5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Shkoder

$95 9.7%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 30.7% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Shkoder

$57 5.8%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 44.1% $25

Getting Around

Shkoder

$36 3.7%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 95.6% $35

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $489 in Shkoder and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shkoder pays 13% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $39 in Shkoder vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $206 vs $266, with Shkoder cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇱 Shkoder

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

12:02 12:02 PM

18:02 6:02 PM

6 h ahead of Shkoder

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

77,075

79,308

💱 Currency

Albanian Lek ALL L

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 ALL = 1.24 USD

100 ALL = 1.11 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to ALL – Albanian Lek Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇱 Albanian Lek (L)

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 80.77 ALL (100 ALL = 1.24 USD). 1 EUR = 89.89 ALL (100 ALL = 1.11 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to ALL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Shkoder Phuket 8,500 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Shkoder
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

Shkoder vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Shkoder is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and leisure. The 30% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 13% higher in Shkoder, 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: $489 in Shkoder versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $91 in Shkoder 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 29% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $980 in Shkoder versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Shkoder but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Shkoder 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.