Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Veles and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Veles: $766 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

37

Cost of Living Index in Veles
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Veles Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Veles

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$766

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $766 in Veles versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Veles $766
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,137 in Veles versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Veles $1,137
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,507 in Veles versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Veles $1,507
Phuket $3,154

Living in Veles costs roughly 40% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Veles 44% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.78 MKD 484

$4.47 ฿151

96.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.09 MKD 997

$32.41 ฿1,094

-44.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.43 MKD 299

$8.81 ฿297

-38.37%

Cappuccino

$1.56 MKD 85.9

$2.83 ฿95.5

-44.88%

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

$1.33 MKD 73.5

$0.87 ฿29.43

52.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MKD 45.09

$0.49 ฿16.67

67.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.47 MKD 81.3

$2.56 ฿86.4

-42.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 MKD 171

$3.68 ฿124

-15.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.03 MKD 56.7

$1.66 ฿56.0

-37.95%

White Bread (500g)

$0.53 MKD 29.34

$1.46 ฿49.35

-63.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 MKD 83.4

$1.50 ฿50.6

0.67%

Eggs

$2.48 MKD 137

$2.09 ฿70.5

18.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.97 MKD 164

$19.07 ฿644

-84.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.93 MKD 217

$3.30 ฿111

19.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 MKD 828

$10.91 ฿368

37.67%

Apples (1kg)

$1.44 MKD 79.2

$2.93 ฿99.0

-50.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 MKD 80.6

$1.69 ฿57.1

-13.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.34 MKD 73.8

$2.25 ฿75.8

-40.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.89 MKD 104

$2.08 ฿70.1

-9.13%

Potato (1kg)

$0.90 MKD 49.77

$1.51 ฿51.0

-40.40%

Onion (1kg)

$0.83 MKD 45.99

$1.38 ฿46.56

-39.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.59 MKD 32.79

$1.07 ฿35.99

-44.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.60 MKD 32.96

$0.52 ฿17.52

15.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.23 MKD 178

$4.20 ฿142

-23.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 MKD 343

$18.79 ฿634

-66.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 MKD 56.3

$1.82 ฿61.5

-43.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.44 MKD 79.5

$2.84 ฿95.9

-49.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.80 MKD 44.01

$1.45 ฿49.03

-44.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$23.73 MKD 1,308

$56.7 ฿1,913

-58.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.10 MKD 60.8

$3.02 ฿102

-63.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.58 MKD 31.76

$1.02 ฿34.36

-43.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.67 MKD 423

$3.69 ฿125

107.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 MKD 77.0

$1.47 ฿49.81

-4.76%

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

$26.5K MKD 1.5M

$26.8K ฿904.3K

-1.02%

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

$24.8K MKD 1.4M

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-7.12%

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

$108 MKD 5,974

$96.4 ฿3,254

12.50%

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

$16.80 MKD 926

$11.26 ฿380

49.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.21 MKD 673

$16.85 ฿569

-27.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.03 MKD 1,379

$67.2 ฿2,270

-62.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.81 MKD 981

$10.73 ฿362

65.98%

Cinema Ticket

$3.37 MKD 186

$7.50 ฿253

-55.07%

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

$214 MKD 11.8K

$476 ฿16.1K

-55.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,661 MKD 312.0K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-49.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$21.40 MKD 1,180

$62.4 ฿2,106

-65.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.01 MKD 993

$28.41 ฿959

-36.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.6 MKD 4,055

$94.3 ฿3,184

-21.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$109 MKD 5,988

$85.8 ฿2,898

26.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$223 MKD 12.3K

$716 ฿24.2K

-68.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$169 MKD 9,306

$491 ฿16.6K

-65.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$290 MKD 16.0K

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-84.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$232 MKD 12.8K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-83.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,181 MKD 65.1K

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-71.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$940 MKD 51.8K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-69.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$586 MKD 32.3K

$502 ฿17.0K

16.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.23

5.57

-24.06%

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

Last update for Veles: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Veles

$170 22.2%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 56.3% $96

Accommodation & Living

Veles

$169 22%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 191% $322

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Veles

$137 17.9%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 9.4% $13

Eating Out

Veles

$127 16.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 4.5% $5.7

Clothing & Footwear

Veles

$100 13%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 22.2% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Veles

$32 4.1%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 159% $50

Getting Around

Veles

$31 4%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 128% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $223 in Veles and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Veles pays 17% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $18 in Veles vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $170 vs $266 per month, with Veles cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇰 Veles

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

02:21 2:21 AM

08:21 8:21 AM

6 h ahead of Veles

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

43,716

79,308

💱 Currency

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MKD = 1.81 USD

100 MKD = 1.63 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to MKD – North Macedonian Denar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇰 North Macedonian Denar (ден)

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 55.12 MKD (100 MKD = 1.81 USD). 1 EUR = 61.36 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to MKD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Veles Phuket 8,320 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Veles
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

Veles vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Veles is about 40% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 17% higher in Veles, 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: $223 in Veles versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $214 in Veles 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 56% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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

Expats usually find Veles gentler on the wallet – expenses run 40% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.