Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Thiva and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Thiva: $1,156 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

Thiva, Greece
Phuket, Thailand
Thiva
🇬🇷 Greece
$1,156
/mo nomad
Phuket
🇹🇭 Thailand
$1,278
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,156 in Thiva versus $1,278 in Phuket.

  • Thiva $1,156
  • Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,580 in Thiva versus $2,216 in Phuket.

  • Thiva $1,580
  • Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,005 in Thiva versus $3,154 in Phuket.

  • Thiva $2,005
  • Phuket $3,154

Living in Thiva costs roughly 10% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Thiva 15% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Thiva
Phuket
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.12 €9.99
$4.47 ฿151
148.77%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$59.4 €53.4
$32.41 ฿1,094
83.25%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$6.74 €6.05
$8.81 ฿297
-23.50%
Cappuccino
$2.58 €2.32
$2.83 ฿95.5
-8.83%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.41 €2.16
$0.87 ฿29.43
177.01%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.48 €0.44
$0.49 ฿16.67
-2.04%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$4.51 €4.05
$2.56 ฿86.4
76.17%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.74 €2.46
$3.68 ฿124
-25.54%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Thiva
Phuket
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.65 €1.48
$1.66 ฿56.0
-0.60%
White Bread (500g)
$1.43 €1.29
$1.46 ฿49.35
-2.05%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.53 €2.27
$1.50 ฿50.6
68.67%
Eggs
$5.01 €4.50
$2.09 ฿70.5
139.71%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$12.42 €11.16
$19.07 ฿644
-34.87%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$10.23 €9.20
$3.30 ฿111
210.00%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$14.31 €12.85
$10.91 ฿368
31.16%
Apples (1kg)
$1.71 €1.54
$2.93 ฿99.0
-41.64%
Banana (1kg)
$1.93 €1.74
$1.69 ฿57.1
14.20%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.08 €0.97
$2.25 ฿75.8
-52.00%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.86 €1.67
$2.08 ฿70.1
-10.58%
Potato (1kg)
$0.94 €0.85
$1.51 ฿51.0
-37.75%
Onion (1kg)
$1.19 €1.07
$1.38 ฿46.56
-13.77%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.88 €0.79
$1.07 ฿35.99
-17.76%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.69 €0.62
$0.52 ฿17.52
32.69%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.62 €4.15
$4.20 ฿142
10.00%
Wine (Bottle)
$7.24 €6.50
$18.79 ฿634
-61.47%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.78 €1.60
$1.82 ฿61.5
-2.20%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.87 €1.68
$2.84 ฿95.9
-34.15%
🚌 Getting Around
Thiva
Phuket
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.31 €1.18
$1.45 ฿49.03
-9.66%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$56.7 ฿1,913
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.67 €3.30
$3.02 ฿102
21.52%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.13 €1.02
$1.02 ฿34.36
10.78%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$17.08 €15.34
$3.69 ฿125
362.87%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.09 €1.88
$1.47 ฿49.81
42.18%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$28.4K €25.5K
$26.8K ฿904.3K
6.17%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24.3K €21.8K
$26.7K ฿901.3K
-8.93%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Thiva
Phuket
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$173 €156
$96.4 ฿3,254
79.64%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$25.12 €22.57
$11.26 ฿380
123.09%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$27.42 €24.63
$16.85 ฿569
62.73%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Thiva
Phuket
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$48.31 €43.40
$67.2 ฿2,270
-28.14%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$25.47 €22.88
$10.73 ฿362
137.37%
Cinema Ticket
$7.88 €7.08
$7.50 ฿253
5.07%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Thiva
Phuket
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$332 €298
$476 ฿16.1K
-30.25%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$4,653 €4,181
$11.3K ฿380.4K
-58.69%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Thiva
Phuket
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$50.5 €45.41
$62.4 ฿2,106
-18.97%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$32.90 €29.56
$28.41 ฿959
15.80%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$82.6 €74.2
$94.3 ฿3,184
-12.39%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$108 €97.4
$85.8 ฿2,898
26.34%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Thiva
Phuket
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$329 €296
$716 ฿24.2K
-53.97%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$278 €250
$491 ฿16.6K
-43.37%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$624 €560
$1,927 ฿65.1K
-67.63%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
-
$1,431 ฿48.3K
-
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$1,707 €1,533
$4,175 ฿141.0K
-59.13%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,414 €1,270
$3,045 ฿102.8K
-53.56%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Thiva
Phuket
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,141 €1,025
$502 ฿17.0K
127.16%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
4.38
5.57
-21.36%

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

Last update for Thiva: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Thiva
$278
Phuket
$491 76.6% $213
Groceries & Markets
Thiva
$270
Phuket
$266 1.5% $3.9
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Thiva
$226
Phuket
$124 44.8% $101
Eating Out
Thiva
$180
Phuket
$122 32.3% $58
Clothing & Footwear
Thiva
$124
Phuket
$122 1.3% $1.6
Sport & Entertainment
Thiva
$64
Phuket
$82 28.3% $18
Getting Around
Thiva
$15 *
Phuket
$71 384% $56

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 $329 in Thiva and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Thiva pays about 2.3 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $59 in Thiva vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $270 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇬🇷 Thiva
🇹🇭 Phuket
🕒 Local time
13:03 1:03 PM
18:03 6:03 PM
5 h ahead of Thiva
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
22,883
79,308
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Thai Baht THB ฿
Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Thiva Phuket 8,160 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Thiva
  • 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
Thiva vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Thiva cheaper than Phuket?
Thiva is cheaper overall, especially in transport and leisure. The 11% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
Where can you earn more: Thiva or Phuket?
Average pay in Thiva is about 2.3 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
What is the rent difference between Thiva and Phuket?
Rent for a central apartment: $329 in Thiva versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Is eating out cheaper in Thiva or in Phuket?
Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $59 in Thiva. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Childcare runs $332 in Thiva versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Is $1,000 enough to cover costs in Thiva or in Phuket?
Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Thiva is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.
Is it better to live in Thiva or in Phuket?
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.
Which city is safer, Thiva or Phuket?
Safety-wise, Thiva 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.

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