Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tomsk and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Tomsk: $1,147 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Tomsk
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Tomsk Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Tomsk

🇷🇺 Russia

$1,147

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,147 in Tomsk versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Tomsk $1,147
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,768 in Tomsk versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Tomsk $1,768
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,389 in Tomsk versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Tomsk $2,389
Phuket $3,154

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

Both cities sit below the global median: Tomsk 16% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.05 ₽649

$4.47 ฿151

80.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.48 ₽2,455

$32.41 ฿1,094

-5.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.68 ₽538

$8.81 ฿297

-24.18%

Cappuccino

$2.21 ₽178

$2.83 ฿95.4

-21.91%

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

$0.91 ₽73.0

$0.87 ฿29.42

4.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.42 ₽33.62

$0.49 ฿16.66

-14.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.17 ₽94.3

$2.56 ฿86.3

-54.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.34 ₽269

$3.68 ฿124

-9.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.23 ₽99.0

$1.66 ฿56.0

-25.90%

White Bread (500g)

$0.70 ₽56.5

$1.46 ฿49.32

-52.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.99 ₽79.7

$1.50 ฿50.5

-34.00%

Eggs

$1.36 ₽109

$2.09 ฿70.5

-34.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.20 ₽983

$19.07 ฿643

-36.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.71 ₽379

$3.30 ฿111

42.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.92 ₽799

$10.91 ฿368

-9.07%

Apples (1kg)

$1.73 ₽139

$2.93 ฿98.9

-40.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 ₽157

$1.69 ฿57.0

15.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 ₽179

$2.25 ฿75.8

-0.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.94 ₽237

$2.08 ฿70.1

41.35%

Potato (1kg)

$0.47 ₽37.55

$1.51 ฿51.0

-68.87%

Onion (1kg)

$0.36 ₽28.81

$1.38 ฿46.54

-73.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.74 ₽140

$1.07 ฿35.97

62.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ₽40.72

$0.52 ฿17.51

-1.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.79 ₽225

$4.20 ฿142

-33.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 ₽497

$18.79 ฿634

-67.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 ₽73.9

$1.82 ฿61.5

-49.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 ₽133

$2.84 ฿95.9

-41.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.45 ₽36.62

$1.45 ฿49.00

-68.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.51 ₽1,490

$56.7 ฿1,912

-67.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ₽195

$3.02 ฿102

-19.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.32 ₽26.00

$1.02 ฿34.34

-68.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.27 ₽586

$3.69 ฿125

97.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 ₽66.8

$1.47 ฿49.78

-43.54%

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

$54.1K ₽4.4M

$26.8K ฿903.7K

102.03%

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

$41.8K ₽3.4M

$26.7K ฿900.8K

56.51%

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

$169 ₽13.6K

$96.4 ฿3,252

75.42%

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

$8.39 ₽676

$11.26 ฿380

-25.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.60 ₽1,095

$16.85 ฿569

-19.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.40 ₽3,173

$67.2 ฿2,269

-41.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.58 ₽1,335

$10.73 ฿362

54.52%

Cinema Ticket

$4.87 ₽393

$7.50 ฿253

-35.07%

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

$252 ₽20.3K

$476 ฿16.1K

-47.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$122 ₽9,814

$62.4 ฿2,105

95.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$74.6 ₽6,010

$28.41 ฿959

162.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$176 ₽14.2K

$94.3 ฿3,182

86.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$126 ₽10.1K

$85.8 ฿2,896

46.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$511 ₽41.2K

$716 ฿24.2K

-28.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$332 ₽26.7K

$491 ฿16.6K

-32.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$828 ₽66.7K

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-57.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 ₽52.4K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-54.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,096 ₽168.8K

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-49.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,534 ₽123.5K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-49.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$930 ₽74.9K

$502 ฿17.0K

85.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

294.97%

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

Last update for Tomsk: 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

Tomsk

$332 28.9%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 48.1% $159

Clothing & Footwear

Tomsk

$224 19.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 45.7% $102

Groceries & Markets

Tomsk

$198 17.3%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 34.6% $68

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tomsk

$191 16.7%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 34.8% $67

Eating Out

Tomsk

$129 11.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 5.6% $7.2

Sport & Entertainment

Tomsk

$49 4.3%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 67.3% $33

Getting Around

Tomsk

$24 2.1%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 190% $46

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $511 in Tomsk and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tomsk pays 85% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $30 in Tomsk vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $198 vs $266 per month, with Tomsk cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇺 Tomsk

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

14:01 2:01 PM

Same time as Tomsk

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

551,505

79,308

💱 Currency

Russian Ruble RUB ₽

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 RUB = 1.24 USD

100 RUB = 1.11 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to RUB – Russian Ruble Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇺 Russian Ruble (₽)

Russian Ruble exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 80.53 RUB (100 RUB = 1.24 USD). 1 EUR = 89.92 RUB (100 RUB = 1.11 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to RUB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Tomsk Phuket 5,530 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Tomsk
Phuket

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Tomsk vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tomsk is about 10% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 85% higher in Tomsk, 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: $511 in Tomsk versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $252 in Tomsk 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 35% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Tomsk is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Tomsk and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Tomsk gentler on the wallet – expenses run 10% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.