Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Southwark and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $1,486 in Southwark, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. The total is higher in Southwark despite lower rent and utilities.

72

Cost of Living Index in Southwark
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Southwark Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Southwark

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,486

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,486 in Southwark versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Southwark $1,486
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,262 in Southwark versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Southwark $4,262
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,038 in Southwark versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Southwark $7,038
Phuket $2,845

Living in Southwark is roughly 23% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Southwark is 10% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.00 £18.76

$4.40 ฿147

468.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$101 £75.6

$32.26 ฿1,078

212.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.67 £8.00

$8.76 ฿293

21.80%

Cappuccino

$5.70 £4.28

$2.83 ฿94.5

101.41%

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

$3.05 £2.29

$0.90 ฿30.14

238.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.60 £1.95

$0.47 ฿15.56

453.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.29 £6.97

$2.55 ฿85.2

264.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.28 £6.21

$3.83 ฿128

116.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 £1.44

$1.73 ฿57.7

10.98%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 £1.54

$1.47 ฿49.11

39.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 £1.65

$1.51 ฿50.6

45.70%

Eggs

$4.38 £3.29

$2.17 ฿72.7

101.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.90 £8.93

$19.70 ฿658

-39.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.07 £6.80

$3.34 ฿112

171.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.57 £11.68

$11.16 ฿373

39.52%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 £2.29

$2.85 ฿95.1

7.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 £1.08

$1.70 ฿56.9

-15.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.98 £2.24

$2.19 ฿73.3

36.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.52 £2.64

$2.05 ฿68.4

71.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.66 £1.25

$1.45 ฿48.57

14.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.79 £1.34

$1.38 ฿46.16

29.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 £1.02

$1.07 ฿35.69

27.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 £1.39

$0.51 ฿16.91

264.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.44 £17.59

$4.26 ฿142

450.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.16 £9.12

$18.58 ฿621

-34.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.05 £2.29

$1.78 ฿59.7

71.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 £2.42

$2.85 ฿95.2

12.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.89 £2.92

$2.26 ฿75.6

72.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$157 £118

$22.10 ฿738

609.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 £3.73

$3.01 ฿101

65.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.72 £2.04

$1.06 ฿35.34

156.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.66 £29.75

$3.86 ฿129

927.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.15 £1.62

$1.45 ฿48.45

48.28%

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

$37.9K £28.4K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

43.76%

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

$39.9K £30.0K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

48.27%

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

$335 £251

$96.4 ฿3,221

247.26%

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

$18.37 £13.78

$11.04 ฿369

66.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.35 £30.27

$17.14 ฿573

135.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

Cinema Ticket

$18.05 £13.54

$7.81 ฿261

131.11%

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

$2,557 £1,919

$556 ฿18.6K

360.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.4K £22.8K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

162.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.1 £69.9

$64.2 ฿2,146

45.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.53 £34.91

$28.69 ฿959

62.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 £77.5

$95.4 ฿3,187

8.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.0 £67.5

$88.0 ฿2,940

2.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,307 £1,731

$737 ฿24.6K

212.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,586 £4,190

$2,095 ฿70.0K

166.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,792 £2,844

$1,201 ฿40.1K

215.75%

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)

$4,185 £3,140

$501 ฿16.7K

735.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.12

5.57

-8.08%

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

Last update for Southwark: October 18, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Southwark

$393 26.5%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 68.3% $269

Eating Out

Southwark

$386 26%

Phuket

$121 10% 68.6% $265

Groceries & Markets

Southwark

$329 22.2%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 18.5% $61

Getting Around

Southwark

$191 12.9%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 79.4% $152

Clothing & Footwear

Southwark

$150 10.1%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 17% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Southwark

$36 * 2.4%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 87.8% $32

Accommodation & Living

Southwark

- * 0%

Phuket

$462 38.3%

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 $2,307 in Southwark and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Southwark pays 736% 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: $101 in Southwark vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $329 vs $269 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Southwark

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

14:19 2:19 PM

20:19 8:19 PM

6 h ahead of Southwark

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

71,552

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 20, 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 20, 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

Southwark Phuket 9,900 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Southwark
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

Southwark vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. The 23% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 736% higher in Southwark, 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: $2,307 in Southwark versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,557 in Southwark 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 23% higher in Southwark. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,486 in Southwark, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Southwark. 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 Southwark, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Southwark 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 23% less than in Southwark. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.