Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Wicklow and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,446 in Wicklow, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

118

Cost of Living Index in Wicklow
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Wicklow Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Wicklow

🇮🇪 Ireland

$2,446

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,446 in Wicklow versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Wicklow $2,446
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,745 in Wicklow versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Wicklow $3,745
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,045 in Wicklow versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Wicklow $5,045
Phuket $3,154

Living in Wicklow is roughly 91% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Wicklow is 80% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.44 €13.83

$4.47 ฿151

245.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$110 €98.3

$32.41 ฿1,093

238.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.24 €8.27

$8.81 ฿297

4.88%

Cappuccino

$4.07 €3.65

$2.83 ฿95.4

43.82%

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

$2.57 €2.30

$0.87 ฿29.41

195.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.49 ฿16.65

322.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.79 €6.08

$2.56 ฿86.3

165.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.89 €5.28

$3.68 ฿124

60.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 €1.40

$1.66 ฿55.9

-6.02%

White Bread (500g)

$1.71 €1.53

$1.46 ฿49.31

17.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.27 €2.03

$1.50 ฿50.5

51.33%

Eggs

$4.35 €3.89

$2.09 ฿70.5

108.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$19.07 ฿643

-12.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.10 €9.05

$3.30 ฿111

206.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.70 €6.90

$10.91 ฿368

-29.42%

Apples (1kg)

$3.09 €2.77

$2.93 ฿98.9

5.46%

Banana (1kg)

$2.16 €1.94

$1.69 ฿57.0

27.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 €2.73

$2.25 ฿75.8

35.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.06 €3.64

$2.08 ฿70.0

95.19%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 €1.79

$1.51 ฿51.0

32.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 €1.33

$1.38 ฿46.52

7.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 €1.17

$1.07 ฿35.96

21.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 €1.64

$0.52 ฿17.51

251.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.47 €18.33

$4.20 ฿142

387.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.83 €12.39

$18.79 ฿634

-26.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 €2.02

$1.82 ฿61.5

24.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.05

$2.84 ฿95.8

19.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.89 €2.59

$1.45 ฿48.98

99.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.53 €2.27

$3.02 ฿102

-16.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.41 €1.27

$1.02 ฿34.33

38.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.88 €28.56

$3.69 ฿125

763.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.01 €1.80

$1.47 ฿49.76

36.73%

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

$36.8K €32.9K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

37.27%

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

$38.0K €34.1K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

42.46%

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

$225 €202

$96.4 ฿3,251

133.73%

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

$20.97 €18.78

$11.26 ฿380

86.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.98 €30.44

$16.85 ฿568

101.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 €52.3

$67.2 ฿2,268

-13.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$13.38 €11.98

$7.50 ฿253

78.40%

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

$1,871 €1,676

$476 ฿16.1K

293.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.6 €89.2

$62.4 ฿2,104

59.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.04 €30.49

$28.41 ฿958

19.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.0 €60.0

$94.3 ฿3,181

-28.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 €103

$85.8 ฿2,895

33.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,700 €1,523

$716 ฿24.2K

137.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 €1,189

$491 ฿16.6K

170.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,977 €2,666

$1,927 ฿65.0K

54.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 €2,143

$1,431 ฿48.3K

67.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,481 €4,909

$502 ฿16.9K

991.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.68

5.57

-33.93%

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

Last update for Wicklow: 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

Wicklow

$1.3K 54.3%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 63% $837

Groceries & Markets

Wicklow

$326 13.3%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 18.3% $60

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Wicklow

$280 11.5%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 55.6% $156

Eating Out

Wicklow

$264 10.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 54% $143

Clothing & Footwear

Wicklow

$142 5.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 14.1% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Wicklow

$85 3.5%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 3.4% $2.9

Getting Around

Wicklow

$21 * 0.9%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 234% $49

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 $1,700 in Wicklow and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Wicklow pays about 11 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $110 in Wicklow vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $326 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇪 Wicklow

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

13:58 1:58 PM

20:58 8:58 PM

7 h ahead of Wicklow

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

12,957

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Wicklow Phuket 10,260 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Wicklow
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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

Wicklow vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 48% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Wicklow is about 11 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: $1,700 in Wicklow versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,871 in Wicklow 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 $110 in Wicklow. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,446 in Wicklow, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Wicklow. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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, Wicklow 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, Wicklow on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.