Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stafford and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,241 in Stafford, rent and utilities included – about $11,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Stafford
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Stafford Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Stafford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,241

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,241 in Stafford versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Stafford $2,241
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,310 in Stafford versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Stafford $3,310
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,379 in Stafford versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Stafford $4,379
Phuket $3,154

Living in Stafford is roughly 75% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Stafford is 65% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.91 £14.98

$4.47 ฿151

345.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.5 £55.3

$32.41 ฿1,094

126.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.48 £7.89

$8.81 ฿297

18.96%

Cappuccino

$4.54 £3.42

$2.83 ฿95.5

60.42%

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

$2.09 £1.57

$0.87 ฿29.43

140.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 £1.28

$0.49 ฿16.67

248.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.59 £4.96

$2.56 ฿86.4

157.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.20 £3.91

$3.68 ฿124

41.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.75 £1.32

$1.66 ฿56.0

5.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.52 £1.14

$1.46 ฿49.35

4.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.50 ฿50.6

42.00%

Eggs

$3.46 £2.60

$2.09 ฿70.5

65.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.97 £7.50

$19.07 ฿644

-47.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.13 £6.87

$3.30 ฿111

176.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.81 £9.64

$10.91 ฿368

17.42%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 £2.24

$2.93 ฿99.0

1.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 £1.34

$1.69 ฿57.1

5.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.69 £2.78

$2.25 ฿75.8

64.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.53 £2.66

$2.08 ฿70.1

69.71%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 £1.55

$1.51 ฿51.0

36.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$1.38 ฿46.56

26.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 £0.90

$1.07 ฿35.99

11.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 £1.30

$0.52 ฿17.52

230.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.68 £16.31

$4.20 ฿142

416.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.49 £7.14

$18.79 ฿634

-49.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.49 £2.62

$1.82 ฿61.5

91.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.81 £2.86

$2.84 ฿95.9

34.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.62 £3.48

$1.45 ฿49.03

218.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$93.9 £70.6

$56.7 ฿1,913

65.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.74 £2.06

$3.02 ฿102

-9.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 £1.02

$1.02 ฿34.36

33.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.18 £18.95

$3.69 ฿125

582.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 £1.55

$1.47 ฿49.81

40.14%

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

$37.9K £28.5K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

41.66%

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

$40.1K £30.1K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

50.08%

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

$296 £223

$96.4 ฿3,254

207.07%

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

$20.06 £15.10

$11.26 ฿380

78.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.85 £31.50

$16.85 ฿569

148.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.70 £30.63

$67.2 ฿2,270

-39.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.31 £14.53

$10.73 ฿362

79.96%

Cinema Ticket

$15.75 £11.85

$7.50 ฿253

110.00%

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

$1,246 £938

$476 ฿16.1K

161.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.7K £20.8K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

145.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$75.2 £56.6

$62.4 ฿2,106

20.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.72 £35.16

$28.41 ฿959

64.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.2 £63.4

$94.3 ฿3,184

-10.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.5 £74.2

$85.8 ฿2,898

14.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,134 £853

$716 ฿24.2K

58.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$942 £709

$491 ฿16.6K

91.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,620 £1,219

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-15.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,596 £1,202

$1,431 ฿48.3K

11.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,987 £3,001

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-4.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,432 £2,583

$3,045 ฿102.8K

12.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,991 £2,251

$502 ฿17.0K

495.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.37

5.57

-3.59%

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

Last update for Stafford: 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

Stafford

$942 42%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 47.9% $451

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stafford

$358 16%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 65.2% $233

Groceries & Markets

Stafford

$306 13.7%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 13% $40

Eating Out

Stafford

$304 13.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 59.9% $182

Clothing & Footwear

Stafford

$137 6.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 11.1% $15

Getting Around

Stafford

$122 5.4%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 42.1% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Stafford

$72 3.2%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 13.9% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,134 in Stafford and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Stafford pays about 6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $74 in Stafford vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $306 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Stafford

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

16:51 4:51 PM

23:51 11:51 PM

7 h ahead of Stafford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

71,673

79,308

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.753 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.838 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Stafford Phuket 10,010 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Stafford
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

Stafford vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, transport, and groceries. The 75% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Stafford is about 6 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: $1,134 in Stafford versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,246 in Stafford 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 15% higher in Stafford. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,241 in Stafford, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Stafford. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket 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, Stafford 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 43% less than in Stafford. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.