Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Yoshkar-Ola and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Yoshkar-Ola: $989 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

48

Cost of Living Index in Yoshkar-Ola
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Yoshkar-Ola Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Yoshkar-Ola

🇷🇺 Russia

$989

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $989 in Yoshkar-Ola versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Yoshkar-Ola $989
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,609 in Yoshkar-Ola versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Yoshkar-Ola $1,609
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,229 in Yoshkar-Ola versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Yoshkar-Ola $2,229
Phuket $3,154

Living in Yoshkar-Ola costs roughly 23% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Yoshkar-Ola 27% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.07 ₽490

$4.47 ฿151

35.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.1 ₽4,445

$32.41 ฿1,094

70.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.83 ₽389

$8.81 ฿297

-45.18%

Cappuccino

$1.72 ₽138

$2.83 ฿95.5

-39.22%

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

$0.79 ₽63.5

$0.87 ฿29.43

-9.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 ₽21.72

$0.49 ฿16.67

-44.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.88 ₽70.6

$2.56 ฿86.4

-65.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 ₽135

$3.68 ฿124

-54.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.75 ₽60.7

$1.66 ฿56.0

-54.82%

White Bread (500g)

$0.75 ₽60.4

$1.46 ฿49.35

-48.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.41 ₽114

$1.50 ฿50.6

-6.00%

Eggs

$1.60 ₽129

$2.09 ฿70.5

-23.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.01 ₽968

$19.07 ฿644

-37.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.98 ₽401

$3.30 ฿111

50.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.58 ₽1,095

$10.91 ฿368

24.47%

Apples (1kg)

$1.77 ₽143

$2.93 ฿99.0

-39.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ₽137

$1.69 ฿57.1

0.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 ₽143

$2.25 ฿75.8

-21.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.61 ₽291

$2.08 ฿70.1

73.56%

Potato (1kg)

$0.73 ₽59.1

$1.51 ฿51.0

-51.66%

Onion (1kg)

$0.59 ₽47.87

$1.38 ฿46.56

-57.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 ₽109

$1.07 ฿35.99

26.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.74 ₽60.0

$0.52 ฿17.52

42.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.28 ₽264

$4.20 ฿142

-21.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.40 ₽677

$18.79 ฿634

-55.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 ₽91.0

$1.82 ฿61.5

-37.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 ₽203

$2.84 ฿95.9

-11.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.48 ₽38.55

$1.45 ฿49.03

-66.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.74 ₽2,318

$56.7 ฿1,913

-49.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.42 ₽115

$3.02 ฿102

-52.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.41 ₽33.16

$1.02 ฿34.36

-59.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.29 ₽588

$3.69 ฿125

97.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.87 ₽69.9

$1.47 ฿49.81

-40.82%

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

$54.7K ₽4.4M

$26.8K ฿904.3K

104.17%

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

$39.8K ₽3.2M

$26.7K ฿901.3K

49.06%

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

$97.1 ₽7,830

$96.4 ฿3,254

0.77%

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

$7.00 ₽565

$11.26 ฿380

-37.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.77 ₽708

$16.85 ฿569

-47.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.19 ₽2,677

$67.2 ฿2,270

-50.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.24 ₽1,875

$10.73 ฿362

116.59%

Cinema Ticket

$7.34 ₽592

$7.50 ฿253

-2.13%

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

$316 ₽25.5K

$476 ฿16.1K

-33.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,210 ₽581.5K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-35.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$77.7 ₽6,267

$62.4 ฿2,106

24.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.5 ₽4,555

$28.41 ฿959

98.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$136 ₽10.9K

$94.3 ฿3,184

43.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.3 ₽6,795

$85.8 ฿2,898

-1.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ₽38.9K

$716 ฿24.2K

-32.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$321 ₽25.9K

$491 ฿16.6K

-34.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$921 ₽74.3K

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-52.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$592 ₽47.7K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-58.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,472 ₽199.3K

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-40.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,396 ₽112.6K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-54.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

20.29

5.57

264.27%

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

Last update for Yoshkar-Ola: 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

Yoshkar-Ola

$321 32.5%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 52.8% $170

Groceries & Markets

Yoshkar-Ola

$218 22%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 22.1% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Yoshkar-Ola

$159 16.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 23.5% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Yoshkar-Ola

$113 11.4%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 10.3% $12

Eating Out

Yoshkar-Ola

$96 9.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 27.3% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Yoshkar-Ola

$48 4.8%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 71.8% $34

Getting Around

Yoshkar-Ola

$34 3.5%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 107% $36

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $482 in Yoshkar-Ola and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $55 in Yoshkar-Ola vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $218 vs $266, with Yoshkar-Ola cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇺 Yoshkar-Ola

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

01:55 1:55 AM

05:55 5:55 AM

4 h ahead of Yoshkar-Ola

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

276,155

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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 80.65 RUB (100 RUB = 1.24 USD). 1 EUR = 89.78 RUB (100 RUB = 1.11 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 RUB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Yoshkar-Ola Phuket 6,950 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Yoshkar-Ola
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

Yoshkar-Ola vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yoshkar-Ola is about 23% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,484 in Yoshkar-Ola and $1,917 in Phuket to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $482 in Yoshkar-Ola versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $316 in Yoshkar-Ola 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 22% 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, Yoshkar-Ola and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.