Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stirling and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $2,088 in Stirling, rent and utilities included – about $10,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

102

Cost of Living Index in Stirling
Learn more

Stirling Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Stirling

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,088

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,088 in Stirling versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Stirling $2,088
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,217 in Stirling versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Stirling $3,217
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,347 in Stirling versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Stirling $4,347
Phuket $2,867

Living in Stirling is roughly 73% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Stirling is 55% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.80 £14.86

$4.58 ฿153

332.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$93.8 £70.4

$32.48 ฿1,086

188.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.54 £7.91

$8.55 ฿286

23.27%

Cappuccino

$4.66 £3.50

$2.72 ฿91.0

71.32%

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

$2.45 £1.83

$0.94 ฿31.25

160.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 £1.42

$0.49 ฿16.39

285.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.96 £4.47

$2.59 ฿86.6

130.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 £3.40

$3.83 ฿128

18.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.36 £1.02

$1.74 ฿58.1

-21.84%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 £1.02

$1.43 ฿47.82

-4.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.91 £1.43

$1.53 ฿51.0

24.84%

Eggs

$3.52 £2.64

$2.17 ฿72.7

62.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 £6.64

$19.15 ฿640

-53.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.63 £5.72

$3.30 ฿110

131.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.74 £5.06

$11.14 ฿372

-39.50%

Apples (1kg)

$2.96 £2.22

$2.95 ฿98.5

0.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.34 £1.01

$1.68 ฿56.1

-20.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.71 £2.03

$2.30 ฿76.8

17.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.58 £1.93

$2.13 ฿71.3

21.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.63 £1.22

$1.53 ฿51.1

6.54%

Onion (1kg)

$1.44 £1.08

$1.36 ฿45.55

5.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.03 £0.77

$1.12 ฿37.44

-8.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 £1.07

$0.55 ฿18.24

160.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.77 £16.33

$4.26 ฿142

411.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.91 £8.18

$18.19 ฿608

-40.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.76 £2.07

$1.74 ฿58.2

58.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 £2.23

$2.79 ฿93.3

6.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$6.17 £4.63

$2.22 ฿74.1

177.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.6 £56.7

$22.06 ฿737

242.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 £2.96

$2.91 ฿97.3

35.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.44 £1.83

$1.01 ฿33.79

141.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.54 £17.66

$3.83 ฿128

514.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.00 £1.50

$1.49 ฿49.85

34.23%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

43.10%

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

$39.9K £29.9K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

49.25%

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

$274 £206

$99.4 ฿3,321

176.20%

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

$15.17 £11.38

$11.28 ฿377

34.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.10 £29.33

$17.36 ฿580

125.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.86 £23.90

$52.3 ฿1,747

-39.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.57 £12.43

$10.85 ฿362

52.72%

Cinema Ticket

$8.96 £6.72

$7.57 ฿253

18.36%

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

$1,729 £1,297

$558 ฿18.7K

209.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.0K £17.3K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

100.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$95.4 £71.6

$62.9 ฿2,102

51.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.37 £27.28

$28.58 ฿955

27.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.2 £70.7

$96.1 ฿3,213

-2.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$53.0 £39.73

$88.1 ฿2,943

-39.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,042 £782

$729 ฿24.4K

42.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$914 £686

$460 ฿15.4K

98.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,379 £1,785

$2,096 ฿70.0K

13.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,714 £1,286

$1,222 ฿40.8K

40.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,411 £2,559

$493 ฿16.5K

591.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

5.57

-8.26%

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

Last update for Stirling: October 12, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Stirling

$914 43.8%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 49.7% $454

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stirling

$329 15.8%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 61.1% $201

Eating Out

Stirling

$302 14.5%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 59.9% $181

Groceries & Markets

Stirling

$251 12%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 6.6% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Stirling

$126 6%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 1.2% $1.5

Getting Around

Stirling

$116 5.6%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 66.6% $77

Sport & Entertainment

Stirling

$50 2.4%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 35.4% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,042 in Stirling and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Stirling pays 592% 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: $94.0 in Stirling vs $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $251 vs $268, with Stirling cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Stirling

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

17:45 5:45 PM

23:45 11:45 PM

6 h ahead of Stirling

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

37,800

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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Stirling Phuket 10,030 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Stirling
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

Stirling vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and transport. The 73% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 592% higher in Stirling, 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: $1,042 in Stirling versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,729 in Stirling versus $558 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Stirling pay roughly 7% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,088 in Stirling, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Stirling. 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 Stirling, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Stirling 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 73% less than in Stirling. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.