Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sibiu and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Sibiu: $1,112 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Sibiu
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Sibiu Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Sibiu

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,112

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,112 in Sibiu versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Sibiu $1,112
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,654 in Sibiu versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Sibiu $1,654
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,197 in Sibiu versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Sibiu $2,197
Phuket $2,845

Living in Sibiu costs roughly 8% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Sibiu 18% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.50 RON 40.21

$4.40 ฿147

93.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.33 RON 200

$32.26 ฿1,078

31.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 RON 35.37

$8.76 ฿293

-14.61%

Cappuccino

$3.27 RON 15.48

$2.83 ฿94.5

15.55%

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

$2.01 RON 9.50

$0.90 ฿30.14

123.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 RON 8.33

$0.47 ฿15.56

274.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.09 RON 14.60

$2.55 ฿85.2

21.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.87 RON 18.31

$3.83 ฿128

1.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 RON 6.78

$1.73 ฿57.7

-17.34%

White Bread (500g)

$1.14 RON 5.40

$1.47 ฿49.11

-22.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 RON 6.43

$1.51 ฿50.6

-9.93%

Eggs

$3.47 RON 16.41

$2.17 ฿72.7

59.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.95 RON 37.60

$19.70 ฿658

-59.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.86 RON 27.73

$3.34 ฿112

75.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.04 RON 38.05

$11.16 ฿373

-27.96%

Apples (1kg)

$1.15 RON 5.44

$2.85 ฿95.1

-59.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 RON 7.43

$1.70 ฿56.9

-7.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.44 RON 6.80

$2.19 ฿73.3

-34.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 RON 12.02

$2.05 ฿68.4

23.90%

Potato (1kg)

$0.66 RON 3.13

$1.45 ฿48.57

-54.48%

Onion (1kg)

$0.60 RON 2.84

$1.38 ฿46.16

-56.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 RON 4.68

$1.07 ฿35.69

-7.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 RON 4.03

$0.51 ฿16.91

66.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 RON 27.92

$4.26 ฿142

38.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.46 RON 35.28

$18.58 ฿621

-59.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 RON 4.36

$1.78 ฿59.7

-48.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.40 RON 6.61

$2.85 ฿95.2

-50.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.71 RON 3.34

$2.26 ฿75.6

-68.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$17.14 RON 81.1

$22.10 ฿738

-22.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.91 RON 4.28

$3.01 ฿101

-69.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.80 RON 3.79

$1.06 ฿35.34

-24.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.24 RON 39.00

$3.86 ฿129

113.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.94 RON 9.19

$1.45 ฿48.45

33.79%

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

$28.8K RON 136.4K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

9.49%

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

$25.6K RON 121.1K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

-4.97%

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

$117 RON 551

$96.4 ฿3,221

20.93%

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

$9.07 RON 42.90

$11.04 ฿369

-17.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.40 RON 58.7

$17.14 ฿573

-27.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.35 RON 167

$52.2 ฿1,744

-32.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.48 RON 68.5

$11.16 ฿373

29.75%

Cinema Ticket

$6.77 RON 32.04

$7.81 ฿261

-13.32%

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

$449 RON 2,123

$556 ฿18.6K

-19.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 RON 31.7K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

-42.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$74.7 RON 353

$64.2 ฿2,146

16.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.65 RON 150

$28.69 ฿959

10.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.3 RON 413

$95.4 ฿3,187

-8.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 RON 416

$88.0 ฿2,940

0.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$450 RON 2,131

$737 ฿24.6K

-38.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$410 RON 1,938

$462 ฿15.5K

-11.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$837 RON 3,960

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-60.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$606 RON 2,867

$1,201 ฿40.1K

-49.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,501 RON 11.8K

$3,488 ฿116.6K

-28.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,022 RON 9,566

$2,523 ฿84.3K

-19.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,111 RON 5,257

$501 ฿16.7K

121.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.02

5.57

26.03%

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

Last update for Sibiu: October 17, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sibiu

$410 36.8%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 12.9% $53

Groceries & Markets

Sibiu

$196 17.6%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 37.3% $73

Eating Out

Sibiu

$168 15.1%

Phuket

$121 10% 27.8% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sibiu

$138 12.4%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 9.8% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Sibiu

$127 11.4%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 1.9% $2.4

Sport & Entertainment

Sibiu

$49 4.4%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 38.7% $19

Getting Around

Sibiu

$25 2.2%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 58.6% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $450 in Sibiu and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sibiu pays 122% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $42.00 in Sibiu vs $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $196 vs $269, with Sibiu cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Sibiu

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

15:20 3:20 PM

19:20 7:20 PM

4 h ahead of Sibiu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

147,245

79,308

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 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 October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sibiu Phuket 8,160 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Sibiu
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

Sibiu vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sibiu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and transport. The 9% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 122% higher in Sibiu, 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: $450 in Sibiu versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $449 in Sibiu 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 37% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,112 in Sibiu versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sibiu but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Sibiu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Sibiu is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Phuket, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Sibiu 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 Sibiu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.