Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Wigan and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,294 a month against $2,078 in Wigan, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Wigan, United Kingdom
Phuket, Thailand
Wigan
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
$2,078
/mo nomad
Phuket
🇹🇭 Thailand
$1,294
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,078 in Wigan versus $1,294 in Phuket.

  • Wigan $2,078
  • Phuket $1,294

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,025 in Wigan versus $2,204 in Phuket.

  • Wigan $3,025
  • Phuket $2,204

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,973 in Wigan versus $3,115 in Phuket.

  • Wigan $3,973
  • Phuket $3,115

Living in Wigan is roughly 61% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Wigan is 54% above, Phuket is 4% below.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Wigan
Phuket
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$20.17 £14.96
$4.39 ฿147
359.45%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$71.3 £52.9
$32.31 ฿1,085
120.58%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.10 £7.49
$8.70 ฿292
16.09%
Cappuccino
$4.09 £3.04
$2.72 ฿91.5
50.37%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.42 £1.80
$0.93 ฿31.25
160.22%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.59 £1.18
$0.50 ฿16.78
218.00%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$4.92 £3.65
$2.53 ฿85.0
94.47%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.21 £3.13
$3.63 ฿122
15.98%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Wigan
Phuket
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.30 £0.96
$1.74 ฿58.4
-25.29%
White Bread (500g)
$1.44 £1.07
$1.45 ฿48.73
-0.69%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.38 £1.02
$1.50 ฿50.5
-8.00%
Eggs
$3.62 £2.68
$2.17 ฿73.0
66.82%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$5.32 £3.95
$19.09 ฿641
-72.13%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$5.61 £4.16
$3.40 ฿114
65.00%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$7.81 £5.80
$10.90 ฿366
-28.35%
Apples (1kg)
$1.49 £1.10
$2.94 ฿98.8
-49.32%
Banana (1kg)
$1.75 £1.30
$1.69 ฿56.8
3.55%
Oranges (1kg)
$3.53 £2.62
$2.19 ฿73.7
61.19%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.70 £2.75
$2.12 ฿71.4
74.53%
Potato (1kg)
$1.82 £1.35
$1.46 ฿48.99
24.66%
Onion (1kg)
$1.77 £1.31
$1.37 ฿45.95
29.20%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.16 £0.86
$1.08 ฿36.14
7.41%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$2.02 £1.50
$0.55 ฿18.32
267.27%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$23.19 £17.21
$4.43 ฿149
423.48%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.23 £6.85
$18.25 ฿613
-49.42%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$4.43 £3.29
$1.77 ฿59.5
150.28%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.27 £2.42
$2.88 ฿96.8
13.54%
🚌 Getting Around
Wigan
Phuket
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$2.65 £1.97
$1.45 ฿48.62
82.76%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$107 £79.1
$54.9 ฿1,844
94.15%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.44 £2.55
$1.51 ฿50.8
127.81%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.61 £1.20
$0.78 ฿26.06
106.41%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$16.45 £12.21
$3.84 ฿129
328.39%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.91 £1.41
$1.49 ฿49.96
28.19%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$38.0K £28.2K
$26.9K ฿902.9K
41.52%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$39.8K £29.6K
$26.3K ฿884.9K
51.21%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Wigan
Phuket
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$349 £259
$97.8 ฿3,285
256.38%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$16.25 £12.06
$11.29 ฿379
43.93%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$40.40 £29.98
$17.19 ฿577
135.02%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Wigan
Phuket
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$59.5 £44.13
$68.3 ฿2,295
-12.97%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$10.92 ฿367
-
Cinema Ticket
$17.39 £12.90
$7.43 ฿250
134.05%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Wigan
Phuket
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$1,583 £1,174
$530 ฿17.8K
198.37%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$19.4K £14.4K
$18.8K ฿630.9K
3.05%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Wigan
Phuket
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$110 £81.9
$61.7 ฿2,072
79.05%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$56.2 £41.73
$28.25 ฿949
99.08%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$114 £84.4
$96.0 ฿3,225
18.53%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$116 £86.1
$86.8 ฿2,916
33.66%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Wigan
Phuket
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$937 £695
$721 ฿24.2K
30.00%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$731 £543
$509 ฿17.1K
43.71%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,438 £1,067
$1,950 ฿65.5K
-26.26%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,199 £890
$1,397 ฿46.9K
-14.17%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,807 £2,824
$4,192 ฿140.8K
-9.19%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,696 £2,001
$3,298 ฿110.8K
-18.25%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Wigan
Phuket
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$3,457 £2,565
$492 ฿16.5K
603.14%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
6.4
5.57
14.90%

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

Last update for Wigan: November 1, 2026

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Wigan
$731
Phuket
$509 30.4% $222
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Wigan
$405
Phuket
$126 68.8% $279
Eating Out
Wigan
$290
Phuket
$120 58.8% $170
Groceries & Markets
Wigan
$250
Phuket
$267 6.5% $16
Clothing & Footwear
Wigan
$178
Phuket
$123 31.2% $56
Getting Around
Wigan
$129
Phuket
$66 48.7% $63
Sport & Entertainment
Wigan
$94
Phuket
$83 11.7% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $937 in Wigan and $721 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Wigan pays about 7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $71 in Wigan vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $250 vs $267, with Wigan cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know
🇬🇧 Wigan
🇹🇭 Phuket
🕒 Local time
05:52 5:52 AM
12:52 12:52 PM
7 h ahead of Wigan
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
81,203
79,308
💱 Currency
Thai Baht THB ฿
Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

British Pound exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.742 GBP (1 GBP = 1.35 USD). 1 EUR = 0.835 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.59 THB (100 THB = 2.98 USD). 1 EUR = 37.81 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Wigan Phuket 10,020 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Wigan
  • 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
Wigan vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Phuket cheaper than Wigan?
Phuket is about 38% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, transport, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
Where can you earn more: Wigan or Phuket?
Average pay in Wigan is about 7 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
What is the rent difference between Wigan and Phuket?
Rent for a central apartment: $937 in Wigan versus $721 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Childcare runs $1,583 in Wigan versus $530 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
How do food prices compare in Wigan and in Phuket?
Shoppers in Wigan pay roughly 6% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Wigan or in Phuket?
At $1,294 in Phuket versus $2,078 in Wigan, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Wigan. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Is it better to live in Wigan or in Phuket?
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.
Which city is the better choice to relocate to?
It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Wigan on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.

Wigan vs other spots: cost of living compared

Similar cities

Show times on the 12-hour clock, temperatures in °F and distances in miles?