Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ulan Ude and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Ulan Ude: $1,138 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Ulan Ude
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Ulan Ude Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

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Ulan Ude

🇷🇺 Russia

$1,138

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,138 in Ulan Ude versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Ulan Ude $1,138
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,770 in Ulan Ude versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Ulan Ude $1,770
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,402 in Ulan Ude versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Ulan Ude $2,402
Phuket $3,154

Living in Ulan Ude costs roughly 11% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.01 ₽565

$4.47 ฿151

56.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.90 ₽4,019

$32.41 ฿1,094

53.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.38 ₽595

$8.81 ฿297

-16.23%

Cappuccino

$3.70 ₽298

$2.83 ฿95.4

30.74%

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

$1.82 ₽147

$0.87 ฿29.42

109.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 ₽153

$0.49 ฿16.66

285.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.80 ₽306

$2.56 ฿86.3

48.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.33 ₽510

$3.68 ฿124

72.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 ₽117

$1.66 ฿56.0

-12.05%

White Bread (500g)

$0.87 ₽70.1

$1.46 ฿49.32

-40.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 ₽115

$1.50 ฿50.5

-4.67%

Eggs

$2.22 ₽179

$2.09 ฿70.5

6.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.66 ₽1,019

$19.07 ฿643

-33.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.81 ₽548

$3.30 ฿111

106.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.50 ₽1,087

$10.91 ฿368

23.74%

Apples (1kg)

$2.12 ₽171

$2.93 ฿98.9

-27.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.86 ₽150

$1.69 ฿57.0

10.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.87 ₽151

$2.25 ฿75.8

-16.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.81 ₽226

$2.08 ฿70.1

35.10%

Potato (1kg)

$0.67 ₽53.9

$1.51 ฿51.0

-55.63%

Onion (1kg)

$0.79 ₽63.6

$1.38 ฿46.54

-42.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.19 ₽176

$1.07 ฿35.97

104.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.65 ₽52.7

$0.52 ฿17.51

25.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₽242

$4.20 ฿142

-28.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.99 ₽563

$18.79 ฿634

-62.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 ₽121

$1.82 ฿61.5

-17.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.28 ₽103

$2.84 ฿95.9

-54.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.49 ₽39.36

$1.45 ฿49.00

-66.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$24.50 ₽1,973

$56.7 ฿1,912

-56.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 ₽102

$3.02 ฿102

-57.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.15 ₽12.31

$1.02 ฿34.34

-85.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.50 ₽604

$3.69 ฿125

103.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.81 ₽65.6

$1.47 ฿49.78

-44.90%

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

$50.2K ₽4.0M

$26.8K ฿903.7K

87.54%

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

$37.7K ₽3.0M

$26.7K ฿900.8K

41.16%

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

$95.1 ₽7,655

$96.4 ฿3,252

-1.35%

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

$4.84 ₽390

$11.26 ฿380

-57.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.89 ₽635

$16.85 ฿569

-53.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$24.48 ₽1,971

$67.2 ฿2,269

-63.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$49.19 ₽3,962

$10.73 ฿362

358.43%

Cinema Ticket

$7.49 ₽603

$7.50 ฿253

-0.13%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$73.2 ₽5,895

$62.4 ฿2,105

17.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.56 ₽2,461

$28.41 ฿959

7.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$122 ₽9,859

$94.3 ฿3,182

29.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$126 ₽10.1K

$85.8 ฿2,896

46.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$526 ₽42.3K

$716 ฿24.2K

-26.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$396 ₽31.9K

$491 ฿16.6K

-19.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$814 ₽65.5K

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-57.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$616 ₽49.6K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-56.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,138 ₽172.2K

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-48.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,580 ₽127.3K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-48.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$911 ₽73.4K

$502 ฿17.0K

81.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

21.67

5.57

289.05%

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

Last update for Ulan Ude: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ulan Ude

$396 34.8%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 23.9% $95

Groceries & Markets

Ulan Ude

$238 20.9%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 11.9% $28

Eating Out

Ulan Ude

$169 14.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 28% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Ulan Ude

$158 13.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 23.1% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ulan Ude

$108 9.5%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 15.5% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Ulan Ude

$39 3.5%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 108% $43

Getting Around

Ulan Ude

$28 2.5%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 148% $42

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $526 in Ulan Ude and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ulan Ude pays 81% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $50 in Ulan Ude vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $238 vs $266, with Ulan Ude cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇺 Ulan Ude

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

16:00 4:00 PM

15:00 3:00 PM

1 h behind Ulan Ude

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

436,138

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 = 2.66 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 = 89.87 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 = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to RUB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ulan Ude Phuket 4,960 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Ulan Ude
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

Ulan Ude vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ulan Ude is about 11% cheaper overall, especially in leisure, transport, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 81% higher in Ulan Ude, 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: $526 in Ulan Ude versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $50 in Ulan Ude. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

A monthly transit pass in Ulan Ude runs roughly 57% less than in Phuket. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Ulan Ude gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.