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Cost of living

The real monthly budget. No surprises.

A comfortable family of four in Phuket lives on roughly ฿200,000 – ฿400,000 / month excluding international school. Add ฿70K – ฿180K per kid if you use UWC or BISP. Numbers below are 2026 ranges from actual ZEN tenant data.

Adults
2
Kids in school
2
Housing (long-term villa)฿130,000 — ฿180,000
International school × 2฿70,000 — ฿90,000
Helper / housekeeper฿15,000 — ฿20,000
Groceries + dining฿60,000 — ฿84,000
Transport (car + driver/lease)฿18,000 — ฿23,000
Utilities (electric AC-heavy)฿6,000 — ฿12,000
Healthcare + insurance฿10,000 — ฿15,000
Leisure (beach club, gym, weekends)฿15,000 — ฿25,000
Total monthly฿324,000 – ฿449,000

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Three things people underestimate

  • Electricity in April. Peak AC season pushes utility bills to ฿15-25K for a 4-bed villa. Plan for it. Most people budget ฿6K and get a shock.
  • Pool + garden maintenance. If not included in rent, expect ฿8K-15K/month for pool chemicals + service + gardener.
  • Driver vs self-drive. A full-time driver is ฿20-30K/month. Self-drive with car lease is ฿18-25K including fuel and insurance. Most expat families default to a driver and regret it after 6 months.

Three things people overestimate

  • Healthcare costs. A doctor visit at Bangkok Hospital Phuket is ฿1,500-3,000. Routine pediatric care is genuinely cheaper than UK / US private.
  • Groceries. If you mix local markets with Villa Market for European staples, a family of 4 eats well on ฿35-50K/month.
  • Dining out. ฿200-400 per person for a great local meal; ฿800-1,500 for a beach club lunch. Less expensive than expected unless you live at Boat Avenue.

What we tell new tenants

Plan your first three months at ฿300-400K/month for a family of 4 in a 3-4BR villa with one kid in HeadStart / QSI. You'll absolutely settle into a rhythm and likely come down to ฿250K. If both kids are at UWC or BISP and you want a Bang Tao villa, plan for ฿500-650K. Don't move with less than 12 months runway in liquid savings — visa renewals, school payments and unexpected medical can crater a tight budget.

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