Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Upington and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Upington: $1,111 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

53

Cost of Living Index in Upington
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Upington Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Upington

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,111

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,111 in Upington versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Upington $1,111
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,731 in Upington versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Upington $1,731
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,350 in Upington versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Upington $2,350
Phuket $3,154

Living in Upington costs roughly 13% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Upington 18% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.13 R 202

$4.47 ฿151

171.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.62 R 594

$32.41 ฿1,094

9.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.83 R 97.2

$8.81 ฿297

-33.83%

Cappuccino

$1.75 R 29.17

$2.83 ฿95.5

-38.16%

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

$1.02 R 17.06

$0.87 ฿29.43

17.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.77 R 12.87

$0.49 ฿16.67

57.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.70 R 28.38

$2.56 ฿86.4

-33.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 R 45.95

$3.68 ฿124

-25.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.93 R 15.45

$1.66 ฿56.0

-43.98%

White Bread (500g)

$1.22 R 20.27

$1.46 ฿49.35

-16.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 R 26.83

$1.50 ฿50.6

7.33%

Eggs

$2.22 R 36.95

$2.09 ฿70.5

6.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.31 R 138

$19.07 ฿644

-56.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.40 R 89.9

$3.30 ฿111

63.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.17 R 136

$10.91 ฿368

-25.11%

Apples (1kg)

$2.06 R 34.27

$2.93 ฿99.0

-29.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.76

$1.69 ฿57.1

-11.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.64 R 27.37

$2.25 ฿75.8

-27.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.76 R 29.31

$2.08 ฿70.1

-15.38%

Potato (1kg)

$1.34 R 22.33

$1.51 ฿51.0

-11.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.39 R 23.11

$1.38 ฿46.56

0.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 R 18.43

$1.07 ฿35.99

3.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 R 20.33

$0.52 ฿17.52

134.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.76 R 46.01

$4.20 ฿142

-34.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.73 R 62.1

$18.79 ฿634

-80.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 R 25.67

$1.82 ฿61.5

-15.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 R 34.77

$2.84 ฿95.9

-26.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.46 R 24.31

$1.45 ฿49.03

0.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 R 10.64

$3.02 ฿102

-78.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.79 R 13.16

$1.02 ฿34.36

-22.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.30 R 188

$3.69 ฿125

206.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 R 24.20

$1.47 ฿49.81

-1.36%

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

$40.3K R 671.8K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

50.55%

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

$34.8K R 579.4K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

30.27%

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

$148 R 2,472

$96.4 ฿3,254

53.99%

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

$39.28 R 655

$11.26 ฿380

248.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.62 R 627

$16.85 ฿569

123.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.10 R 468

$67.2 ฿2,270

-58.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.70 R 195

$10.73 ฿362

9.04%

Cinema Ticket

$8.00 R 133

$7.50 ฿253

6.67%

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

$103 R 1,709

$476 ฿16.1K

-78.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,540 R 92.3K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-50.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.8 R 929

$62.4 ฿2,106

-10.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.07 R 534

$28.41 ฿959

12.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 R 1,736

$94.3 ฿3,184

10.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.3 R 1,405

$85.8 ฿2,898

-1.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$389 R 6,474

$716 ฿24.2K

-45.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$358 R 5,958

$491 ฿16.6K

-27.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$613 R 10.2K

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-68.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$736 R 12.3K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-48.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$917 R 15.3K

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-78.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$739 R 12.3K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-75.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$781 R 13.0K

$502 ฿17.0K

55.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.38

5.57

104.31%

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

Last update for Upington: October 24, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Upington

$358 32.2%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 37.3% $133

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Upington

$225 20.3%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 44.7% $101

Groceries & Markets

Upington

$193 17.4%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 38% $73

Eating Out

Upington

$157 14.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 22.4% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Upington

$124 11.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 2% $2.5

Sport & Entertainment

Upington

$44 4%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 86.5% $38

Getting Around

Upington

$10 * 0.9%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 577% $60

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 $389 in Upington and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Upington pays 55% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $36 in Upington vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $193 vs $266, with Upington cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Upington

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

00:11 12:11 AM

05:11 5:11 AM

5 h ahead of Upington

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,834

79,308

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Upington Phuket 9,190 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Upington
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

Upington vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Upington is about 13% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 55% higher in Upington, 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: $389 in Upington versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $103 in Upington versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $36 in Upington. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Upington 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.