Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Surrey, United Kingdom and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $3,025 in Surrey, rent and utilities included – about $21,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

148

Cost of Living Index in Surrey
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Surrey Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Surrey

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,025

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,025 in Surrey versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Surrey $3,025
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,456 in Surrey versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Surrey $4,456
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,887 in Surrey versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Surrey $5,887
Phuket $3,154

Living in Surrey is roughly 137% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Surrey is 122% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.47 £17.66

$4.47 ฿151

425.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$59.5 £44.75

$32.41 ฿1,094

83.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.62 £7.24

$8.81 ฿297

9.19%

Cappuccino

$4.77 £3.59

$2.83 ฿95.5

68.55%

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

$2.26 £1.70

$0.87 ฿29.43

159.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.48 £1.11

$0.49 ฿16.67

202.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.54 £4.92

$2.56 ฿86.4

155.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.15 £4.63

$3.68 ฿124

67.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 £0.99

$1.66 ฿56.0

-21.08%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 £1.58

$1.46 ฿49.35

43.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.60 £1.21

$1.50 ฿50.6

6.67%

Eggs

$4.15 £3.13

$2.09 ฿70.5

98.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.62 £6.49

$19.07 ฿644

-54.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 £7.02

$3.30 ฿111

182.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.52 £12.43

$10.91 ฿368

51.42%

Apples (1kg)

$3.19 £2.40

$2.93 ฿99.0

8.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.48 £1.12

$1.69 ฿57.1

-12.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 £1.53

$2.25 ฿75.8

-9.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.26 £2.45

$2.08 ฿70.1

56.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.38 £1.04

$1.51 ฿51.0

-8.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.38 ฿46.56

29.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 £1.06

$1.07 ฿35.99

30.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.17 £0.88

$0.52 ฿17.52

125.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.32 £17.55

$4.20 ฿142

455.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.47 £7.88

$18.79 ฿634

-44.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.22 £1.67

$1.82 ฿61.5

21.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 £1.88

$2.84 ฿95.9

-11.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.90 £2.93

$1.45 ฿49.03

168.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.22 £3.93

$3.02 ฿102

72.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.93 £1.45

$1.47 ฿49.81

31.29%

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

$38.1K £28.7K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

42.42%

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

$41.0K £30.8K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

53.50%

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

$263 £198

$96.4 ฿3,254

172.66%

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

$13.29 £10.00

$11.26 ฿380

18.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.87 £27.00

$16.85 ฿569

112.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 £39.69

$67.2 ฿2,270

-21.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.44 £13.88

$10.73 ฿362

71.85%

Cinema Ticket

$13.07 £9.84

$7.50 ฿253

74.27%

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

$2,137 £1,609

$476 ฿16.1K

349.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.9K £22.5K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

165.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.7 £39.69

$62.4 ฿2,106

-15.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.02 £30.12

$28.41 ฿959

40.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.4 £65.8

$94.3 ฿3,184

-7.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.0 £70.0

$85.8 ฿2,898

8.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,945 £1,463

$716 ฿24.2K

171.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,864 £1,403

$491 ฿16.6K

279.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,308 £2,489

$1,927 ฿65.1K

71.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,400 £2,559

$1,431 ฿48.3K

137.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,255 £5,460

$3,045 ฿102.8K

138.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,565 £3,436

$502 ฿17.0K

808.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.4

5.57

-3.05%

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

Last update for Surrey: October 27, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Surrey

$1.9K 61.6%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 73.7% $1.4K

Eating Out

Surrey

$334 11%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 63.5% $212

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Surrey

$312 10.3%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 60.1% $187

Groceries & Markets

Surrey

$293 9.7%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 9.1% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Surrey

$123 4.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 0.8% $1

Sport & Entertainment

Surrey

$79 2.6%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 4.2% $3.3

Getting Around

Surrey

$21 * 0.7%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 239% $50

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,945 in Surrey and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Surrey pays about 9.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $59 in Surrey vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $293 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Surrey

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

17:45 5:45 PM

00:45 12:45 AM

7 h ahead of Surrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

585

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 = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Surrey Phuket 9,930 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Surrey
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

Surrey vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. The 137% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Surrey is about 9.1 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: $1,945 in Surrey versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,137 in Surrey 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 Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $59 in Surrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $3,025 in Surrey, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Surrey. 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, Surrey 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.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Surrey on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.