Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St Helens and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $1,993 in St Helens, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

97

Cost of Living Index in St Helens
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St Helens Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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St Helens

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,993

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,993 in St Helens versus $1,207 in Phuket.

St Helens $1,993
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,045 in St Helens versus $2,037 in Phuket.

St Helens $3,045
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,098 in St Helens versus $2,867 in Phuket.

St Helens $4,098
Phuket $2,867

Living in St Helens is roughly 65% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: St Helens is 48% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.90 £20.18

$4.58 ฿153

487.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$78.6 £59.0

$32.48 ฿1,086

141.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.48 £7.86

$8.55 ฿286

22.57%

Cappuccino

$4.08 £3.06

$2.72 ฿91.0

50.00%

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

$2.37 £1.78

$0.94 ฿31.25

152.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.99 £1.50

$0.49 ฿16.39

306.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.36 £4.02

$2.59 ฿86.6

106.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.54 £3.41

$3.83 ฿128

18.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 £1.01

$1.74 ฿58.1

-22.99%

White Bread (500g)

$1.77 £1.33

$1.43 ฿47.82

23.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 £1.46

$1.53 ฿51.0

26.80%

Eggs

$4.01 £3.01

$2.17 ฿72.7

84.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.00 £6.75

$19.15 ฿640

-53.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.28 £6.21

$3.30 ฿110

150.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.66 £7.99

$11.14 ฿372

-4.31%

Apples (1kg)

$3.25 £2.44

$2.95 ฿98.5

10.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 £0.97

$1.68 ฿56.1

-22.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.03 £2.27

$2.30 ฿76.8

31.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.45 £2.59

$2.13 ฿71.3

61.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.15 £0.86

$1.53 ฿51.1

-24.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.83 £1.37

$1.36 ฿45.55

34.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 £0.98

$1.12 ฿37.44

16.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 £0.98

$0.55 ฿18.24

136.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$19.59 £14.70

$4.26 ฿142

359.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.96 £7.47

$18.19 ฿608

-45.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.86 £2.14

$1.74 ฿58.2

64.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.61 £1.95

$2.79 ฿93.3

-6.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.65 £1.99

$2.22 ฿74.1

19.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$100 £75.1

$22.06 ฿737

353.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.37 £2.53

$2.91 ฿97.3

15.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 £1.56

$1.01 ฿33.79

104.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.82 £11.87

$3.83 ฿128

313.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.94 £1.46

$1.49 ฿49.85

30.20%

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

$26.4K £19.8K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

-1.00%

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

$33.6K £25.2K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

25.94%

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

$365 £274

$99.4 ฿3,321

266.93%

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

$17.20 £12.91

$11.28 ฿377

52.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.87 £32.91

$17.36 ฿580

152.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.94 £20.21

$52.3 ฿1,747

-48.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.85 £2.89

$10.85 ฿362

-64.52%

Cinema Ticket

$13.42 £10.07

$7.57 ฿253

77.28%

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

$805 £604

$558 ฿18.7K

44.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,625 £4,971

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-42.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$65.0 £48.78

$62.9 ฿2,102

3.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.08 £29.32

$28.58 ฿955

36.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.3 £54.3

$96.1 ฿3,213

-24.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$109 £81.7

$88.1 ฿2,943

23.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$797 £598

$729 ฿24.4K

9.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$636 £477

$460 ฿15.4K

38.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,503 £1,128

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-28.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,257 £943

$1,222 ฿40.8K

2.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,315 £2,487

$3,459 ฿115.6K

-4.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,308 £1,731

$2,489 ฿83.2K

-7.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,863 £1,398

$493 ฿16.5K

277.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.21

5.57

-6.46%

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

Last update for St Helens: October 11, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St Helens

$636 31.9%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 27.6% $176

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St Helens

$426 21.4%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 69.9% $298

Eating Out

St Helens

$349 17.5%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 65.2% $228

Groceries & Markets

St Helens

$276 13.9%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 3.1% $8.5

Clothing & Footwear

St Helens

$128 6.4%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 3.4% $4.4

Getting Around

St Helens

$124 6.2%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 68.8% $86

Sport & Entertainment

St Helens

$54 2.7%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 25.4% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $797 in St Helens and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

St Helens pays 278% 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: $79.0 in St Helens vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $276 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 St Helens

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

00:08 12:08 AM

06:08 6:08 AM

6 h ahead of St Helens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

183,200

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 19, 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 19, 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

St Helens Phuket 10,030 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

St Helens
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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 Helens vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 65% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 278% higher in St Helens, 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: $797 in St Helens versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $805 in St Helens versus $558 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 3% higher in St Helens. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,993 in St Helens, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in St Helens. 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 St Helens, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, St Helens 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 65% less than in St Helens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.