Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Springs and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Springs: $979 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in Springs
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Springs Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Springs

🇿🇦 South Africa

$979

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $979 in Springs versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Springs $979
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,582 in Springs versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Springs $1,582
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,184 in Springs versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Springs $2,184
Phuket $3,154

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.15 R 152

$4.47 ฿151

104.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.40 R 588

$32.41 ฿1,092

9.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.18 R 86.0

$8.81 ฿297

-41.20%

Cappuccino

$2.19 R 36.44

$2.83 ฿95.3

-22.61%

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

$0.96 R 15.89

$0.87 ฿29.37

10.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 R 11.05

$0.49 ฿16.64

36.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.85 R 30.78

$2.56 ฿86.2

-27.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 R 35.43

$3.68 ฿124

-42.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 R 19.26

$1.66 ฿55.9

-30.12%

White Bread (500g)

$1.05 R 17.50

$1.46 ฿49.25

-28.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.45

$1.50 ฿50.4

18.00%

Eggs

$2.41 R 39.97

$2.09 ฿70.4

15.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.43 R 140

$19.07 ฿642

-55.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.00 R 83.0

$3.30 ฿111

51.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.25 R 120

$10.91 ฿368

-33.55%

Apples (1kg)

$1.28 R 21.29

$2.93 ฿98.7

-56.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.08 R 17.94

$1.69 ฿56.9

-36.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.71 R 28.40

$2.25 ฿75.7

-24.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.20 R 19.87

$2.08 ฿70.0

-42.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.06 R 17.60

$1.51 ฿50.9

-29.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.17 R 19.37

$1.38 ฿46.47

-15.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 R 20.18

$1.07 ฿35.91

13.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.74 R 12.26

$0.52 ฿17.49

42.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.12 R 51.8

$4.20 ฿142

-25.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.03 R 66.9

$18.79 ฿633

-78.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 R 18.58

$1.82 ฿61.4

-38.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 R 28.39

$2.84 ฿95.7

-39.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.93

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,909

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.29 R 4.80

$3.02 ฿102

-90.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.80 R 13.37

$1.02 ฿34.29

-21.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.37 R 239

$3.69 ฿124

289.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 R 24.56

$1.47 ฿49.70

0.68%

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

$35.6K R 591.4K

$26.8K ฿902.4K

32.98%

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

$32.7K R 543.5K

$26.7K ฿899.5K

22.58%

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

$148 R 2,460

$96.4 ฿3,247

53.71%

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

$37.52 R 623

$11.26 ฿380

233.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.28 R 586

$16.85 ฿568

109.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.37 R 654

$67.2 ฿2,266

-41.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿361

Cinema Ticket

$7.31 R 121

$7.50 ฿253

-2.53%

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

$89.2 R 1,481

$476 ฿16.0K

-81.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,794 R 29.8K

$11.3K ฿379.6K

-84.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.1 R 898

$62.4 ฿2,102

-13.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.78 R 528

$28.41 ฿957

11.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.6 R 1,521

$94.3 ฿3,178

-2.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.0 R 1,363

$85.8 ฿2,892

-4.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$284 R 4,721

$716 ฿24.1K

-60.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$275 R 4,571

$491 ฿16.5K

-43.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$712 R 11.8K

$1,927 ฿64.9K

-63.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$694 R 11.5K

$1,431 ฿48.2K

-51.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,481 R 24.6K

$4,175 ฿140.7K

-64.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$692 R 11.5K

$3,045 ฿102.6K

-77.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,145 R 19.0K

$502 ฿16.9K

127.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.75

5.57

93.00%

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

Last update for Springs: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Springs

$275 28.1%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 78.4% $216

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Springs

$221 22.6%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 43.7% $96

Groceries & Markets

Springs

$173 17.7%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 54% $93

Eating Out

Springs

$135 13.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 9.9% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Springs

$117 11.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 4.4% $5.1

Sport & Entertainment

Springs

$54 5.5%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 52.3% $28

Getting Around

Springs

$4.3 * 0.4%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 1538% $66

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 $284 in Springs and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Springs pays about 2.3 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $35 in Springs vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $173 vs $266, with Springs cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Springs

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

07:51 7:51 AM

12:51 12:51 PM

5 h ahead of Springs

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,996

79,308

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 16.61 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.02 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Springs Phuket 8,440 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Springs
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

Springs vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Springs is about 23% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Springs is about 2.3 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: $284 in Springs versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $89 in Springs versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $35 in Springs. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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.