Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sveti Nikole and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Sveti Nikole: $858 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Sveti Nikole
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Sveti Nikole Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Sveti Nikole

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$858

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $858 in Sveti Nikole versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Sveti Nikole $858
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,309 in Sveti Nikole versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Sveti Nikole $1,309
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,760 in Sveti Nikole versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Sveti Nikole $1,760
Phuket $2,867

Living in Sveti Nikole costs roughly 29% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Sveti Nikole 36% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.81 MKD 481

$4.58 ฿153

92.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.98 MKD 1,799

$32.48 ฿1,086

1.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.36 MKD 292

$8.55 ฿286

-37.31%

Cappuccino

$1.61 MKD 88.0

$2.72 ฿91.0

-40.81%

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

$1.38 MKD 75.5

$0.94 ฿31.25

46.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MKD 56.2

$0.49 ฿16.39

110.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 MKD 82.2

$2.59 ฿86.6

-41.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 MKD 101

$3.83 ฿128

-51.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 MKD 72.6

$1.74 ฿58.1

-23.56%

White Bread (500g)

$0.55 MKD 30.14

$1.43 ฿47.82

-61.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.17 MKD 63.8

$1.53 ฿51.0

-23.53%

Eggs

$2.43 MKD 132

$2.17 ฿72.7

11.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.29 MKD 507

$19.15 ฿640

-51.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.62 MKD 252

$3.30 ฿110

40.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.58 MKD 632

$11.14 ฿372

3.95%

Apples (1kg)

$1.29 MKD 70.1

$2.95 ฿98.5

-56.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 MKD 71.1

$1.68 ฿56.1

-22.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.28 MKD 69.9

$2.30 ฿76.8

-44.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.74 MKD 94.7

$2.13 ฿71.3

-18.31%

Potato (1kg)

$0.74 MKD 40.20

$1.53 ฿51.1

-51.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.14 MKD 62.2

$1.36 ฿45.55

-16.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.86 MKD 46.91

$1.12 ฿37.44

-23.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.40 MKD 21.64

$0.55 ฿18.24

-27.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.07 MKD 168

$4.26 ฿142

-27.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.48 MKD 354

$18.19 ฿608

-64.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 MKD 55.9

$1.74 ฿58.2

-41.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 MKD 81.3

$2.79 ฿93.3

-46.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.71 MKD 38.82

$2.22 ฿74.1

-68.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$23.57 MKD 1,286

$22.06 ฿737

6.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.46 MKD 79.8

$2.91 ฿97.3

-49.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 MKD 55.2

$1.01 ฿33.79

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.65 MKD 199

$3.83 ฿128

-4.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 MKD 76.3

$1.49 ฿49.85

-6.04%

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

$31.4K MKD 1.7M

$26.7K ฿891.6K

17.80%

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

$27.7K MKD 1.5M

$26.7K ฿892.7K

3.80%

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

$127 MKD 6,901

$99.4 ฿3,321

27.31%

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

$15.70 MKD 857

$11.28 ฿377

39.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.97 MKD 653

$17.36 ฿580

-31.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.94 MKD 1,197

$52.3 ฿1,747

-58.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.74 MKD 1,077

$10.85 ฿362

81.94%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MKD 278

$7.57 ฿253

-32.63%

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

$280 MKD 15.3K

$558 ฿18.7K

-49.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,095 MKD 168.8K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-73.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.7 MKD 3,968

$62.9 ฿2,102

15.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.84 MKD 1,737

$28.58 ฿955

11.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.0 MKD 4,474

$96.1 ฿3,213

-14.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.4 MKD 4,765

$88.1 ฿2,943

-0.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$313 MKD 17.1K

$729 ฿24.4K

-57.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$207 MKD 11.3K

$460 ฿15.4K

-54.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$451 MKD 24.6K

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-78.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$315 MKD 17.2K

$1,222 ฿40.8K

-74.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,523 MKD 83.1K

$3,459 ฿115.6K

-55.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,169 MKD 63.8K

$2,489 ฿83.2K

-53.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$539 MKD 29.4K

$493 ฿16.5K

9.22%

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 Sveti Nikole: October 13, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sveti Nikole

$207 24.2%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 122% $253

Groceries & Markets

Sveti Nikole

$181 21.1%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 48% $87

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sveti Nikole

$154 18%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 17% $26

Eating Out

Sveti Nikole

$127 14.8%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 4.4% $5.5

Clothing & Footwear

Sveti Nikole

$123 14.4%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 0.6% $0.8

Getting Around

Sveti Nikole

$33 3.8%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 18% $5.9

Sport & Entertainment

Sveti Nikole

$32 3.8%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 110% $35

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $313 in Sveti Nikole and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sveti Nikole pays 9% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $33.00 in Sveti Nikole vs $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $181 vs $268, with Sveti Nikole cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇰 Sveti Nikole

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

17:54 5:54 PM

22:54 10:54 PM

5 h ahead of Sveti Nikole

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,220

79,308

💱 Currency

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MKD = 1.83 USD

100 MKD = 1.63 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 54.55 MKD (100 MKD = 1.83 USD). 1 EUR = 61.33 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 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 MKD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sveti Nikole Phuket 8,300 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Sveti Nikole
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

Sveti Nikole vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sveti Nikole is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and transport. The 41% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 9% higher in Sveti Nikole, 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: $313 in Sveti Nikole versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $280 in Sveti Nikole versus $558 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 48% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $858 in Sveti Nikole versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sveti Nikole but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Sveti Nikole the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Sveti Nikole is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Phuket, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Sveti Nikole 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 Sveti Nikole gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.