Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St Francis Bay and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in St Francis Bay: $979 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in St Francis Bay
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St Francis Bay Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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St Francis Bay

🇿🇦 South Africa

$979

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $979 in St Francis Bay versus $1,294 in Phuket.

St Francis Bay $979
Phuket $1,294

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,629 in St Francis Bay versus $2,204 in Phuket.

St Francis Bay $1,629
Phuket $2,204

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,279 in St Francis Bay versus $3,115 in Phuket.

St Francis Bay $2,279
Phuket $3,115

Living in St Francis Bay costs roughly 24% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: St Francis Bay 28% lower, Phuket 4% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.81 R 178

$4.39 ฿148

146.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.74 R 687

$32.31 ฿1,086

29.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.53 R 58.1

$8.70 ฿293

-59.43%

Cappuccino

$2.14 R 35.16

$2.72 ฿91.6

-21.32%

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

$1.01 R 16.66

$0.93 ฿31.28

8.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.72 R 11.93

$0.50 ฿16.79

44.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.06 R 33.81

$2.53 ฿85.1

-18.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 R 30.32

$3.63 ฿122

-49.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.94 R 15.47

$1.74 ฿58.5

-45.98%

White Bread (500g)

$1.00 R 16.37

$1.45 ฿48.77

-31.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 R 24.70

$1.50 ฿50.5

Eggs

$2.70 R 44.44

$2.17 ฿73.0

24.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.11 R 117

$19.09 ฿642

-62.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.22 R 85.9

$3.40 ฿114

53.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.63 R 142

$10.90 ฿366

-20.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.18 R 35.80

$2.94 ฿98.9

-25.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 R 23.99

$1.69 ฿56.9

-13.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.70 R 28.03

$2.19 ฿73.8

-22.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.81 R 29.70

$2.12 ฿71.4

-14.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.74 R 28.56

$1.46 ฿49.03

19.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 R 22.62

$1.37 ฿45.99

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 R 20.35

$1.08 ฿36.17

14.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.88

$0.55 ฿18.34

87.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.14 R 51.6

$4.43 ฿149

-29.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.74 R 77.9

$18.25 ฿614

-74.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 R 20.90

$1.77 ฿59.6

-28.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 R 29.80

$2.88 ฿96.8

-37.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.78 R 29.24

$1.45 ฿48.66

22.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,845

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.82 R 13.47

$1.51 ฿50.9

-45.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.46 R 7.53

$0.78 ฿26.08

-41.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.62 R 142

$3.84 ฿129

124.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 R 21.50

$1.49 ฿50.0

-12.08%

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

$21.0K R 345.5K

$26.9K ฿903.7K

-21.86%

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

$35.2K R 578.5K

$26.3K ฿885.7K

33.48%

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

$60.8 R 999

$97.8 ฿3,288

-37.89%

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

$34.39 R 566

$11.29 ฿380

204.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.35 R 680

$17.19 ฿578

140.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.64 R 471

$68.3 ฿2,297

-58.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.00 R 197

$10.92 ฿367

9.89%

Cinema Ticket

$9.20 R 151

$7.43 ฿250

23.82%

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

$179 R 2,941

$530 ฿17.8K

-66.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,135 R 100.9K

$18.8K ฿631.4K

-67.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.9 R 1,182

$61.7 ฿2,073

16.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.31 R 647

$28.25 ฿950

39.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 R 1,846

$96.0 ฿3,228

16.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.1 R 1,564

$86.8 ฿2,919

9.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$420 R 6,910

$721 ฿24.2K

-41.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$308 R 5,069

$509 ฿17.1K

-39.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$834 R 13.7K

$1,950 ฿65.6K

-57.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$711 R 11.7K

$1,397 ฿47.0K

-49.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$784 R 12.9K

$4,192 ฿140.9K

-81.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$648 R 10.7K

$3,298 ฿110.9K

-80.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.94

5.57

114.36%

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

Last update for St Francis Bay: November 1, 2026

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St Francis Bay

$308 31.5%

Phuket

$509 39.3% 65.1% $201

Groceries & Markets

St Francis Bay

$190 19.4%

Phuket

$267 20.6% 40.7% $77

Eating Out

St Francis Bay

$144 14.7%

Phuket

$120 9.2% 16.8% $24

Clothing & Footwear

St Francis Bay

$143 14.7%

Phuket

$123 9.5% 14.4% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St Francis Bay

$136 14%

Phuket

$126 9.8% 7.5% $10

Sport & Entertainment

St Francis Bay

$47 4.8%

Phuket

$83 6.4% 76.8% $36

Getting Around

St Francis Bay

$10 * 1%

Phuket

$66 5.1% 547% $56

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 $420 in St Francis Bay and $721 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $42 in St Francis Bay vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $190 vs $267, with St Francis Bay cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇿🇦 St Francis Bay

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

14:10 2:10 PM

19:10 7:10 PM

5 h ahead of St Francis Bay

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,910

79,308

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.08 USD

100 ZAR = 5.42 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 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 November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 16.45 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.08 USD). 1 EUR = 18.44 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.42 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.69 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

St Francis Bay Phuket 9,020 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

St Francis Bay
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

St Francis Bay vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

St Francis Bay is about 24% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,468 in St Francis Bay and $1,940 in Phuket to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $420 in St Francis Bay versus $721 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $179 in St Francis Bay versus $530 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 $42 in St Francis Bay. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $979 in St Francis Bay versus $1,294 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in St Francis Bay but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes St Francis Bay 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.

Safety-wise, St Francis Bay and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.