Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Trieste and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,885 in Trieste, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

91

Cost of Living Index in Trieste
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Trieste Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Trieste

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,885

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,885 in Trieste versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Trieste $1,885
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,827 in Trieste versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Trieste $2,827
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,768 in Trieste versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Trieste $3,768
Phuket $3,154

Living in Trieste is roughly 48% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Trieste is 39% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.99 €19.70

$4.47 ฿151

391.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.4 €59.5

$32.41 ฿1,092

104.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.62 €10.42

$8.81 ฿297

31.90%

Cappuccino

$2.20 €1.97

$2.83 ฿95.3

-22.26%

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

$3.74 €3.35

$0.87 ฿29.37

329.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 €1.85

$0.49 ฿16.64

320.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.59 €5.91

$2.56 ฿86.2

157.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 €4.87

$3.68 ฿124

47.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.21 €1.98

$1.66 ฿55.9

33.13%

White Bread (500g)

$3.21 €2.88

$1.46 ฿49.25

119.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.74 €3.35

$1.50 ฿50.4

149.33%

Eggs

$4.13 €3.71

$2.09 ฿70.4

97.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.97 €13.41

$19.07 ฿642

-21.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.40 €10.22

$3.30 ฿111

245.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.03 €15.26

$10.91 ฿368

56.10%

Apples (1kg)

$2.87 €2.57

$2.93 ฿98.7

-2.05%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 €1.96

$1.69 ฿56.9

28.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.99 €2.68

$2.25 ฿75.7

32.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.68 €4.20

$2.08 ฿70.0

125.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.60 €2.33

$1.51 ฿50.9

72.19%

Onion (1kg)

$2.68 €2.40

$1.38 ฿46.47

94.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.31 €2.07

$1.07 ฿35.91

115.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$0.52 ฿17.49

48.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.61 €5.92

$4.20 ฿142

57.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.98

$18.79 ฿633

-58.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.84 €1.65

$1.82 ฿61.4

1.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 €2.22

$2.84 ฿95.7

-12.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 €1.47

$1.45 ฿48.93

13.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.10 €39.52

$56.7 ฿1,909

-22.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$8.85 €7.93

$3.02 ฿102

193.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.87 €1.68

$1.02 ฿34.29

83.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.07 €29.63

$3.69 ฿124

796.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.22 €1.99

$1.47 ฿49.70

51.02%

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

$36.2K €32.5K

$26.8K ฿902.4K

35.28%

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

$37.6K €33.7K

$26.7K ฿899.5K

40.72%

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

$218 €195

$96.4 ฿3,247

125.97%

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

$9.94 €8.91

$11.26 ฿380

-11.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.67 €27.49

$16.85 ฿568

82.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.99 €43.01

$67.2 ฿2,266

-28.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$40.76 €36.53

$10.73 ฿361

279.87%

Cinema Ticket

$9.06 €8.12

$7.50 ฿253

20.80%

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

$753 €675

$476 ฿16.0K

58.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K €10.5K

$11.3K ฿379.6K

3.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$109 €98.0

$62.4 ฿2,102

75.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.06 €30.52

$28.41 ฿957

19.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 €100.0

$94.3 ฿3,178

18.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 €120

$85.8 ฿2,892

55.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$791 €709

$716 ฿24.1K

10.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$650 €583

$491 ฿16.5K

32.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,368 €1,226

$1,927 ฿64.9K

-28.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$997 €894

$1,431 ฿48.2K

-30.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,746 €3,357

$4,175 ฿140.7K

-10.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,286 €2,048

$3,045 ฿102.6K

-24.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,911 €1,713

$502 ฿16.9K

280.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.26

5.57

-41.47%

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

Last update for Trieste: 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

Trieste

$650 34.5%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 24.5% $159

Groceries & Markets

Trieste

$363 19.2%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 26.6% $97

Eating Out

Trieste

$304 16.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 60% $182

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Trieste

$258 13.7%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 51.8% $134

Clothing & Footwear

Trieste

$175 9.3%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 30.3% $53

Getting Around

Trieste

$69 3.7%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 2.5% $1.7

Sport & Entertainment

Trieste

$66 3.5%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 24.4% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $791 in Trieste and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Trieste pays about 3.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $66 in Trieste vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $363 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Trieste

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

03:12 3:12 AM

09:12 9:12 AM

6 h ahead of Trieste

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

200,609

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Trieste Phuket 8,960 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Trieste
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

Trieste vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 32% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Trieste is about 3.8 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: $791 in Trieste versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $753 in Trieste 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 36% higher in Trieste. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,885 in Trieste, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Trieste. 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 Trieste, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

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

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Trieste on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.