Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Struga and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Struga: $861 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Struga
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Struga Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Struga

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$861

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $861 in Struga versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Struga $861
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,317 in Struga versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Struga $1,317
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,772 in Struga versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Struga $1,772
Phuket $3,154

Living in Struga costs roughly 33% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Struga 37% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.12 MKD 391

$4.47 ฿151

59.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.20 MKD 1,606

$32.41 ฿1,093

-9.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.43 MKD 299

$8.81 ฿297

-38.37%

Cappuccino

$1.56 MKD 85.9

$2.83 ฿95.4

-44.88%

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

$1.82 MKD 100

$0.87 ฿29.41

109.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.20 MKD 65.8

$0.49 ฿16.65

144.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.68 MKD 148

$2.56 ฿86.3

4.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.03 MKD 166

$3.68 ฿124

-17.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.23 MKD 67.5

$1.66 ฿55.9

-25.90%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 MKD 40.01

$1.46 ฿49.31

-50.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.62 MKD 88.8

$1.50 ฿50.5

8.00%

Eggs

$1.96 MKD 108

$2.09 ฿70.5

-6.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.41 MKD 408

$19.07 ฿643

-61.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.24 MKD 343

$3.30 ฿111

89.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.68 MKD 697

$10.91 ฿368

16.22%

Apples (1kg)

$1.47 MKD 81.1

$2.93 ฿98.9

-49.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.35 MKD 74.4

$1.69 ฿57.0

-20.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.25 MKD 68.7

$2.25 ฿75.8

-44.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 MKD 84.7

$2.08 ฿70.0

-25.96%

Potato (1kg)

$0.89 MKD 49.03

$1.51 ฿51.0

-41.06%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 MKD 46.50

$1.38 ฿46.52

-38.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.59 MKD 32.64

$1.07 ฿35.96

-44.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 MKD 30.24

$0.52 ฿17.51

5.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.50 MKD 193

$4.20 ฿142

-16.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.65 MKD 256

$18.79 ฿634

-75.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.06 MKD 58.5

$1.82 ฿61.5

-41.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 MKD 78.0

$2.84 ฿95.8

-50.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 MKD 48.66

$1.45 ฿48.98

-39.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$55.3 MKD 3,044

$56.7 ฿1,912

-2.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.07 MKD 58.7

$3.02 ฿102

-64.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 MKD 33.28

$1.02 ฿34.33

-40.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.01 MKD 276

$3.69 ฿125

35.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 MKD 78.6

$1.47 ฿49.76

-2.72%

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

$33.1K MKD 1.8M

$26.8K ฿903.4K

23.63%

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

$25.9K MKD 1.4M

$26.7K ฿900.5K

-2.91%

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

$100 MKD 5,507

$96.4 ฿3,251

3.91%

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

$10.81 MKD 595

$11.26 ฿380

-4.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.92 MKD 1,040

$16.85 ฿568

12.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$20.03 MKD 1,102

$67.2 ฿2,268

-70.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.44 MKD 629

$10.73 ฿362

6.62%

Cinema Ticket

$7.46 MKD 410

$7.50 ฿253

-0.53%

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

$118 MKD 6,501

$476 ฿16.1K

-75.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,583 MKD 87.1K

$11.3K ฿380.0K

-85.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.7 MKD 4,713

$62.4 ฿2,104

37.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.08 MKD 1,709

$28.41 ฿958

9.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.0 MKD 3,905

$94.3 ฿3,181

-24.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$52.5 MKD 2,888

$85.8 ฿2,895

-38.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$278 MKD 15.3K

$716 ฿24.2K

-61.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$217 MKD 12.0K

$491 ฿16.6K

-55.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$441 MKD 24.3K

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-77.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$356 MKD 19.6K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-75.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,544 MKD 84.9K

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-63.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,364 MKD 75.0K

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-55.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$852 MKD 46.9K

$502 ฿16.9K

69.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.75

5.57

-32.68%

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

Last update for Struga: October 24, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Struga

$217 25.2%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 126% $274

Groceries & Markets

Struga

$184 21.4%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 44.4% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Struga

$130 15.1%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 4.1% $5.4

Eating Out

Struga

$124 14.4%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 1.5% $1.8

Clothing & Footwear

Struga

$108 12.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 12.7% $14

Getting Around

Struga

$63 7.3%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 12.1% $7.6

Sport & Entertainment

Struga

$35 4.1%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 135% $47

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $278 in Struga and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Struga pays 70% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $29 in Struga vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $184 vs $266 per month, with Struga cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇰 Struga

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

18:22 6:22 PM

00:22 12:22 AM

6 h ahead of Struga

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

33,000

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 = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 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 November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 55 MKD (100 MKD = 1.82 USD). 1 EUR = 61.41 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to MKD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Struga Phuket 8,400 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Struga
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

Struga vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Struga is about 33% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 70% higher in Struga, 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: $278 in Struga versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $118 in Struga versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Struga – a meal for two runs $29 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $861 in Struga versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Struga but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Struga 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, Struga and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.