Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Swansea and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,196 in Swansea, rent and utilities included – about $11,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

106

Cost of Living Index in Swansea
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Swansea Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Swansea

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,196

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,196 in Swansea versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Swansea $2,196
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,130 in Swansea versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Swansea $3,130
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,065 in Swansea versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Swansea $4,065
Phuket $3,154

Living in Swansea is roughly 72% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Swansea is 61% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.41 £15.24

$4.47 ฿151

356.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.1 £47.08

$32.41 ฿1,093

94.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.47 £7.82

$8.81 ฿297

18.84%

Cappuccino

$4.76 £3.56

$2.83 ฿95.4

68.20%

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

$2.36 £1.76

$0.87 ฿29.41

171.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.26 £0.94

$0.49 ฿16.65

157.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.89 £4.40

$2.56 ฿86.3

130.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.38 £4.77

$3.68 ฿124

73.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 £1.00

$1.66 ฿55.9

-19.28%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 £1.53

$1.46 ฿49.31

40.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.06 £1.54

$1.50 ฿50.5

37.33%

Eggs

$3.52 £2.62

$2.09 ฿70.5

68.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.78 £5.81

$19.07 ฿643

-59.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.33 £6.22

$3.30 ฿111

152.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.87 £9.61

$10.91 ฿368

17.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.32 £1.73

$2.93 ฿98.9

-20.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 £0.93

$1.69 ฿57.0

-26.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 £2.14

$2.25 ฿75.8

27.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.57 £2.67

$2.08 ฿70.0

71.63%

Potato (1kg)

$2.25 £1.68

$1.51 ฿51.0

49.01%

Onion (1kg)

$3.05 £2.28

$1.38 ฿46.52

121.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 £0.95

$1.07 ฿35.96

18.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.29 £1.71

$0.52 ฿17.51

340.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.23 £17.34

$4.20 ฿142

453.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.63 £7.93

$18.79 ฿634

-43.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.33 £1.74

$1.82 ฿61.5

28.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 £2.54

$2.84 ฿95.8

19.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.12 £3.08

$1.45 ฿48.98

184.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.1 £72.5

$56.7 ฿1,912

71.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 £2.95

$3.02 ฿102

30.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.68 £2.00

$1.02 ฿34.33

162.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.33 £24.88

$3.69 ฿125

803.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.95 £1.46

$1.47 ฿49.76

32.65%

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

$38.9K £29.1K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

45.31%

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

$40.5K £30.2K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

51.63%

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

$306 £229

$96.4 ฿3,251

218.08%

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

$14.81 £11.06

$11.26 ฿380

31.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.20 £32.26

$16.85 ฿568

156.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.28 £24.85

$67.2 ฿2,268

-50.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.52 £11.59

$10.73 ฿362

44.64%

Cinema Ticket

$9.85 £7.36

$7.50 ฿253

31.33%

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

$1,777 £1,327

$476 ฿16.1K

273.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.7 £66.9

$62.4 ฿2,104

43.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.22 £36.01

$28.41 ฿958

69.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$122 £91.3

$94.3 ฿3,181

29.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.6 £61.6

$85.8 ฿2,895

-3.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,112 £830

$716 ฿24.2K

55.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$891 £665

$491 ฿16.6K

81.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,500 £1,120

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-22.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 £999

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-6.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,563 £2,660

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-14.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,615 £1,952

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-14.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,263 £2,436

$502 ฿16.9K

549.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.04

5.57

8.44%

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

Last update for Swansea: 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

Swansea

$891 40.6%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 44.9% $400

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Swansea

$364 16.6%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 65.8% $240

Eating Out

Swansea

$309 14.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 60.6% $187

Groceries & Markets

Swansea

$293 13.4%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 9.3% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Swansea

$154 7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 20.9% $32

Getting Around

Swansea

$131 6%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 46.1% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Swansea

$53 2.4%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 55.2% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,112 in Swansea and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Swansea pays about 6.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $63 in Swansea 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

🇬🇧 Swansea

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

17:32 5:32 PM

00:32 12:32 AM

7 h ahead of Swansea

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

239,000

79,308

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 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 November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 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 GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Swansea Phuket 10,160 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Swansea
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

Swansea vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 42% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, transport, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Swansea is about 6.5 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: $1,112 in Swansea versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,777 in Swansea 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 10% higher in Swansea. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,196 in Swansea, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Swansea. 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 Swansea, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 42% less than in Swansea. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.