Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tivat and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $1,651 in Tivat, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Tivat
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Tivat Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Tivat

🇲🇪 Montenegro

$1,651

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,651 in Tivat versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Tivat $1,651
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,494 in Tivat versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Tivat $2,494
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,338 in Tivat versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Tivat $3,338
Phuket $2,845

Living in Tivat is roughly 37% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tivat is 22% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.18 €9.95

$4.40 ฿147

154.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.70 €40.65

$32.26 ฿1,078

41.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.86 €9.66

$8.76 ฿293

23.97%

Cappuccino

$2.21 €1.97

$2.83 ฿94.5

-21.91%

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

$2.58 €2.30

$0.90 ฿30.14

186.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.40 €1.25

$0.47 ฿15.56

197.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 €2.82

$2.55 ฿85.2

24.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.94

$3.83 ฿128

-13.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.14

$1.73 ฿57.7

-25.43%

White Bread (500g)

$1.09 €0.97

$1.47 ฿49.11

-25.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 €1.72

$1.51 ฿50.6

28.48%

Eggs

$3.36 €2.99

$2.17 ฿72.7

54.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.92 €7.93

$19.70 ฿658

-54.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.07 €7.18

$3.34 ฿112

141.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.30 €10.94

$11.16 ฿373

10.22%

Apples (1kg)

$1.62 €1.44

$2.85 ฿95.1

-43.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 €1.50

$1.70 ฿56.9

-1.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.73 €1.54

$2.19 ฿73.3

-21.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.56

$2.05 ฿68.4

40.49%

Potato (1kg)

$0.92 €0.82

$1.45 ฿48.57

-36.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.38 ฿46.16

-18.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.67 €1.48

$1.07 ฿35.69

56.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$0.51 ฿16.91

74.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.34 €3.86

$4.26 ฿142

1.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.56 €4.94

$18.58 ฿621

-70.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 €0.97

$1.78 ฿59.7

-38.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.49

$2.85 ฿95.2

-41.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.71 €1.52

$2.26 ฿75.6

-24.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$39.50 €35.14

$22.10 ฿738

78.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 €1.01

$3.01 ฿101

-62.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.15 €1.02

$1.06 ฿35.34

8.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.35 €10.10

$3.86 ฿129

194.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.60

$1.45 ฿48.45

23.45%

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

$27.8K €24.7K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

5.46%

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

$25.6K €22.8K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

-5.02%

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

$127 €113

$96.4 ฿3,221

32.13%

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

$15.03 €13.37

$11.04 ฿369

36.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.55 €29.84

$17.14 ฿573

95.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.87 €41.69

$52.2 ฿1,744

-10.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.38 €13.68

$11.16 ฿373

37.81%

Cinema Ticket

$6.00 €5.33

$7.81 ฿261

-23.18%

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

$407 €362

$556 ฿18.6K

-26.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,455 €6,632

$11.6K ฿387.0K

-35.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.4

$64.2 ฿2,146

35.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.46 €35.10

$28.69 ฿959

37.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.8 €87.0

$95.4 ฿3,187

2.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 €92.4

$88.0 ฿2,940

18.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$884 €786

$737 ฿24.6K

19.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$797 €709

$462 ฿15.5K

72.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,996 €1,775

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-4.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,433 €1,275

$1,201 ฿40.1K

19.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,841 €5,196

$3,488 ฿116.6K

67.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,688 €2,391

$2,523 ฿84.3K

6.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,214 €1,080

$501 ฿16.7K

142.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.38

5.57

-3.41%

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

Last update for Tivat: October 19, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tivat

$797 48.3%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 42% $335

Groceries & Markets

Tivat

$231 14%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 16.4% $38

Eating Out

Tivat

$187 11.3%

Phuket

$121 10% 35.2% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tivat

$176 10.7%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 29.2% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Tivat

$148 9%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 15.8% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Tivat

$59 3.6%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 15.2% $8.9

Getting Around

Tivat

$53 3.2%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 25.9% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $884 in Tivat and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tivat pays 143% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $46.00 in Tivat vs $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $231 vs $269, with Tivat cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇪 Tivat

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

12:17 12:17 PM

17:17 5:17 PM

5 h ahead of Tivat

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,500

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Tivat Phuket 8,570 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Tivat
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

Tivat vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and transport. The 37% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 143% higher in Tivat, 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: $884 in Tivat versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $407 in Tivat versus $556 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Tivat pay roughly 16% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,651 in Tivat, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Tivat. 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 Tivat, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Tivat 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 Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 37% less than in Tivat. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.