Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Southampton and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,655 in Southampton, rent and utilities included – about $16,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

128

Cost of Living Index in Southampton
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Southampton Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Southampton

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,655

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,655 in Southampton versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Southampton $2,655
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,818 in Southampton versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Southampton $3,818
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,981 in Southampton versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Southampton $4,981
Phuket $3,154

Living in Southampton is roughly 108% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Southampton is 95% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.76 £19.95

$4.47 ฿151

498.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$89.6 £66.8

$32.41 ฿1,093

176.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.12 £8.29

$8.81 ฿297

26.22%

Cappuccino

$5.43 £4.05

$2.83 ฿95.4

91.87%

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

$2.98 £2.22

$0.87 ฿29.40

242.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 £1.67

$0.49 ฿16.65

357.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.46 £5.56

$2.56 ฿86.3

191.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.75 £5.03

$3.68 ฿124

83.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.99 £1.49

$1.66 ฿55.9

19.88%

White Bread (500g)

$1.72 £1.28

$1.46 ฿49.29

17.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.04 £2.27

$1.50 ฿50.5

102.67%

Eggs

$4.42 £3.29

$2.09 ฿70.5

111.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.84 £7.34

$19.07 ฿643

-48.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.68 £7.21

$3.30 ฿111

193.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 £10.76

$10.91 ฿368

32.36%

Apples (1kg)

$2.86 £2.13

$2.93 ฿98.8

-2.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 £1.31

$1.69 ฿57.0

3.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.84 £2.12

$2.25 ฿75.7

26.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.39 £2.53

$2.08 ฿70.0

62.98%

Potato (1kg)

$1.84 £1.37

$1.51 ฿51.0

21.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.58 £1.18

$1.38 ฿46.51

14.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 £0.90

$1.07 ฿35.95

13.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 £1.36

$0.52 ฿17.50

250.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.33 £15.91

$4.20 ฿142

407.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.13 £8.30

$18.79 ฿634

-40.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.96 £2.20

$1.82 ฿61.4

62.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 £2.54

$2.84 ฿95.8

19.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.32 £2.47

$1.45 ฿48.97

128.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.1 £58.2

$56.7 ฿1,911

37.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.31 £3.22

$3.02 ฿102

42.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.95 £1.46

$1.02 ฿34.32

91.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.03 £23.88

$3.69 ฿124

768.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.16 £1.61

$1.47 ฿49.75

46.94%

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

$38.2K £28.5K

$26.8K ฿903.2K

42.67%

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

$40.9K £30.5K

$26.7K ฿900.3K

53.23%

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

$327 £244

$96.4 ฿3,250

239.36%

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

$29.33 £21.87

$11.26 ฿380

160.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.3 £39.71

$16.85 ฿568

216.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.74 £28.14

$67.2 ฿2,268

-43.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.78 £12.51

$10.73 ฿362

56.38%

Cinema Ticket

$15.96 £11.90

$7.50 ฿253

112.80%

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

$1,886 £1,406

$476 ฿16.1K

296.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K £13.7K

$11.3K ฿379.9K

62.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$106 £78.9

$62.4 ฿2,103

69.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.4 £38.28

$28.41 ฿958

80.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 £76.3

$94.3 ฿3,180

8.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 £97.5

$85.8 ฿2,894

52.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,520 £1,133

$716 ฿24.1K

112.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 £887

$491 ฿16.6K

142.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,360 £1,760

$1,927 ฿65.0K

22.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,812 £1,351

$1,431 ฿48.3K

26.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,632 £4,199

$4,175 ฿140.8K

34.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,849 £3,616

$3,045 ฿102.7K

59.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,372 £2,514

$502 ฿16.9K

571.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.96

5.57

-10.95%

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

Last update for Southampton: October 24, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Southampton

$1.2K 44.8%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 58.7% $699

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Southampton

$410 15.4%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 69.6% $285

Eating Out

Southampton

$384 14.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 68.3% $263

Groceries & Markets

Southampton

$320 12.1%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 16.9% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Southampton

$176 6.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 30.6% $54

Getting Around

Southampton

$105 4%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 33.1% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Southampton

$70 2.6%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 18% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,520 in Southampton and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Southampton pays about 6.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $90 in Southampton vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Southampton

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

15:58 3:58 PM

22:58 10:58 PM

7 h ahead of Southampton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

228,600

79,308

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.746 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.832 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.64 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

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Between locations

Southampton Phuket 10,010 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Southampton
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

Southampton vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 52% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, utilities, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Southampton is about 6.7 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: $1,520 in Southampton versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,886 in Southampton 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 20% higher in Southampton. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,655 in Southampton, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Southampton. 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 Southampton, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 52% less than in Southampton. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.