Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stip and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Stip: $809 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Stip
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Stip Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Stip

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$809

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $809 in Stip versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Stip $809
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,210 in Stip versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Stip $1,210
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,611 in Stip versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Stip $1,611
Phuket $3,154

Living in Stip costs roughly 37% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Stip 41% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.45 MKD 410

$4.47 ฿151

66.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.08 MKD 1,270

$32.41 ฿1,092

-28.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.30 MKD 347

$8.81 ฿297

-28.49%

Cappuccino

$1.81 MKD 99.3

$2.83 ฿95.3

-36.04%

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

$1.43 MKD 78.7

$0.87 ฿29.37

64.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.07 MKD 58.8

$0.49 ฿16.64

118.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.84 MKD 101

$2.56 ฿86.2

-28.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MKD 151

$3.68 ฿124

-25.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 MKD 70.1

$1.66 ฿55.9

-23.49%

White Bread (500g)

$0.74 MKD 40.87

$1.46 ฿49.25

-49.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.11 MKD 61.1

$1.50 ฿50.4

-26.00%

Eggs

$2.52 MKD 139

$2.09 ฿70.4

20.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.96 MKD 438

$19.07 ฿642

-58.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.26 MKD 399

$3.30 ฿111

120.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.21 MKD 397

$10.91 ฿368

-33.91%

Apples (1kg)

$0.90 MKD 49.31

$2.93 ฿98.7

-69.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 MKD 79.6

$1.69 ฿56.9

-14.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.32 MKD 72.7

$2.25 ฿75.7

-41.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.60 MKD 87.8

$2.08 ฿70.0

-23.08%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 MKD 48.68

$1.51 ฿50.9

-41.72%

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 MKD 43.97

$1.38 ฿46.47

-42.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.56 MKD 30.98

$1.07 ฿35.91

-47.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.42 MKD 23.11

$0.52 ฿17.49

-19.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.25 MKD 179

$4.20 ฿142

-22.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 MKD 409

$18.79 ฿633

-60.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 MKD 56.8

$1.82 ฿61.4

-43.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 MKD 81.9

$2.84 ฿95.7

-47.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.67 MKD 36.88

$1.45 ฿48.93

-53.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$23.98 MKD 1,319

$56.7 ฿1,909

-57.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.08 MKD 59.3

$3.02 ฿102

-64.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.58 MKD 31.74

$1.02 ฿34.29

-43.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.54 MKD 305

$3.69 ฿124

50.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MKD 84.2

$1.47 ฿49.70

4.08%

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

$33.1K MKD 1.8M

$26.8K ฿902.4K

23.74%

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

$26.0K MKD 1.4M

$26.7K ฿899.5K

-2.70%

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

$158 MKD 8,680

$96.4 ฿3,247

63.75%

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

$8.95 MKD 492

$11.26 ฿380

-20.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.29 MKD 896

$16.85 ฿568

-3.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.01 MKD 1,486

$67.2 ฿2,266

-59.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.36 MKD 955

$10.73 ฿361

61.79%

Cinema Ticket

$6.50 MKD 358

$7.50 ฿253

-13.33%

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

$357 MKD 19.6K

$476 ฿16.0K

-25.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,645 MKD 310.6K

$11.3K ฿379.6K

-49.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.74 MKD 1,966

$62.4 ฿2,102

-42.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.66 MKD 1,687

$28.41 ฿957

7.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 MKD 5,556

$94.3 ฿3,178

7.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MKD 6,203

$85.8 ฿2,892

31.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$201 MKD 11.1K

$716 ฿24.1K

-71.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$127 MKD 6,989

$491 ฿16.5K

-74.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$331 MKD 18.2K

$1,927 ฿64.9K

-82.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$201 MKD 11.0K

$1,431 ฿48.2K

-85.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,210 MKD 66.6K

$4,175 ฿140.7K

-71.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$976 MKD 53.7K

$3,045 ฿102.6K

-67.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$463 MKD 25.5K

$502 ฿16.9K

-7.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.23

5.57

-24.06%

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

Last update for Stip: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stip

$183 22.6%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 32% $59

Groceries & Markets

Stip

$177 21.9%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 50% $89

Accommodation & Living

Stip

$127 15.7%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 287% $364

Clothing & Footwear

Stip

$126 15.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 3.3% $4.2

Eating Out

Stip

$125 15.4%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 2.6% $3.2

Sport & Entertainment

Stip

$40 5%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 106% $42

Getting Around

Stip

$31 3.8%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 131% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $201 in Stip and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 8% 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: $23 in Stip vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $177 vs $266 per month, with Stip cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇰 Stip

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

02:01 2:01 AM

08:01 8:01 AM

6 h ahead of Stip

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

65,000

79,308

💱 Currency

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MKD = 1.82 USD

100 MKD = 1.63 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to MKD – North Macedonian Denar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇰 North Macedonian Denar (ден)

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 55.02 MKD (100 MKD = 1.82 USD). 1 EUR = 61.25 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 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 MKD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Stip Phuket 8,280 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Stip
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

Stip vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Stip is about 37% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 8% lower in Stip. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $201 in Stip versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $357 in Stip 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 50% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $809 in Stip versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Stip but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Stip 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, Stip and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Stip gentler on the wallet – expenses run 37% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.