What it costs to live in Phuket
I have lived on Phuket for more than five years, and I work this budget out from my own receipts rather than from articles online. The headline is this: the island is cheaper than Europe and more expensive than people expect. Let me break it into three scenarios so you can find yours.
Housing is the line that sets everything else
Long-term rent varies sharply by area and by season. Taking a place for a year is always noticeably cheaper than renting month to month in high season. Chalong, Rawai and Kathu are cheaper; Bang Tao, Layan and Kamala are dearer. Budget utilities separately: electricity, driven almost entirely by air conditioning, is the most underestimated line in a newcomer's budget.
If you own the property, rent is replaced by building fees calculated per square metre plus utilities, and the monthly figure drops dramatically. That is precisely why most families who intend to stay rent for a year first and buy afterwards. The running costs of ownership are set out in the cost of owning property in Thailand, and where each area sits is in the best areas in Phuket to buy.
Food is where two identical lives diverge
This is the real fork in the road. Thai food at local markets and simple cafes costs very little. Western groceries in the supermarkets, cheese, wine, imported meat, are expensive. Two people with the same lifestyle but different eating habits can spend amounts that differ by a factor of several.
Nobody has to choose one extreme. Most residents I know settle into a mix and find their own ratio within the first few months, and that ratio is what your food budget actually is.
Transport
A scooter is the cheapest way to get around the island and the single largest source of injuries on it. Renting a car costs more, but with children in the family I do not think it is a discussion. Taxis and ride apps are convenient and, over a long period, noticeably more expensive than running your own car.
Most households here end up with one car and one scooter, which is a sensible compromise, and most people underestimate how much time they will spend driving. Phuket is not a small island in practice, and where you live relative to where you go every day matters more to your quality of life than the finish of the kitchen.
Healthcare and insurance
Healthcare on Phuket is good. The private hospitals are international standard and the language is not a barrier. Insurance is not optional: one bad episode without it wipes out a year of savings. For a family with children it is a separate line you plan for from the start, not something you get round to.
School, if you are coming with children
International school is the largest single item in a family budget on this island, and the spread between schools is enormous. Fees are paid termly in advance, and on top of them sit a registration fee, uniform, the bus, meals and after-school activities. Plan this annually rather than monthly, and start choosing before you move: the strong schools have waiting lists. The detail is in moving to Phuket with children.
Visa and formalities
What your status costs depends on the route you take, from an annual extension at one end to a one-off membership fee in a long-stay programme at the other. Add to that the residence reporting and the periodic trips to immigration. It is less a matter of money than of discipline. The routes are compared in Thai visa options for property buyers.
Three scenarios
- Lean. One person, housing inland, local food, a scooter, basic insurance. Genuinely comfortable if you are not attached to Western groceries.
- Comfortable. A couple, housing in a working location closer to the sea, a mixed kitchen, a car, proper insurance, sport and restaurants.
- Family. Two adults and a child in international school. Here the school decides everything: it easily becomes half the budget.
What not to do, and what changes in year two
Do not build your budget from what you spent on a holiday here. A holiday and a life are different economies. On holiday you are not paying for school, insurance, servicing a car or a year's rent, and you are not paying an electricity bill in April. The only figure you can trust is the one you produce after a month of actually living here in low season.
The second mistake is buying in the first week. Rent first, in the area you think you want, and let the island correct you. It usually does, and a year of rent costs far less than a well-meant purchase in the wrong place. The buyers I work with who waited a year almost never change their mind about the island, but a good number of them change their mind about the area.
And expect the first six months to cost more than anything that follows. You are furnishing, you are eating out because the kitchen is not sorted, you are taking taxis because you have not bought the car, you are doing the tourist version of the island because it is all still new. The steady-state figure emerges somewhere around month eight, and it is usually a good deal lower than the one that alarmed you in month two. Plan a cushion for that first stretch and do not read it as your real cost of living.
Phuket is an island where people live in very different ways, and almost any budget has a scenario here that works. Once you own rather than rent, the monthly figure drops enough to change the arithmetic of the whole plan, which is why I always suggest renting a year first and then deciding properly. I have lived here more than five years and still consider it one of the better decisions I have made. If you are weighing it up, write to me and I will tell you how it really is, including the rainy season, the school fees and what happens to the budget in the second year.
- Rentals on the island — if you would rather live here first and look around
- Projects I work with — developments where I hold direct terms from the developer
- Yield calculator — run your own numbers in a minute
Legal, visa and tax work is not mine — it belongs to partners I use constantly
I am an investment strategist: I select the property, calculate the net return, check the developer and run the transaction. Anything that needs a legal, immigration or tax qualification goes to specialists I have worked with for years.
- Thai lawyers — document and contract review, land title, registration at the Land Office, wills, powers of attorney, corporate questions
- Visa partners — choosing and filing the right route for your situation: investment-based, LTR, Thailand Privilege, retirement, DTV
- Tax specialists — reporting in your country of tax residence, treaty credit for Thai tax, declarations on foreign assets
- Company formation in Thailand — when a structure is genuinely needed and lawful
- Rental management and concierge — letting the property, transfers, yachts, events
I introduce partners personally, matched to your actual question, so that you speak to the specialist who handles it rather than to a general inbox. Message me and I will make the introduction.
Frequently asked
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Lyubov Fortunova
Investment strategist and founder of Fortunova Capital Group. I have lived on Phuket for more than five years and run every deal myself: I select the property, calculate the net return, check the developer and hold the process together until the keys are handed over. Lawyers, visa and tax specialists come from my own circle.
“I count net, not dreams”
Could you help me sketch out a realistic monthly budget for moving to Phuket with my situation?
I answer personally, within the working day, in any time zone. No calls unless you want them. A question about the article is free and commits you to nothing.
