Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Adelaide and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $2,640 in Adelaide, rent and utilities included – about $17,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

128

Cost of Living Index in Adelaide
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Adelaide Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Adelaide

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,640

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,640 in Adelaide versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Adelaide $2,640
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,759 in Adelaide versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Adelaide $3,759
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,878 in Adelaide versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Adelaide $4,878
Phuket $2,845

Living in Adelaide is roughly 118% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Adelaide is 95% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.10 A$24.61

$4.40 ฿147

288.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.5 A$116

$32.26 ฿1,078

149.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.64 A$16.75

$8.76 ฿293

32.88%

Cappuccino

$4.05 A$5.83

$2.83 ฿94.5

43.11%

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

$2.78 A$4.00

$0.90 ฿30.14

208.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.55 A$3.68

$0.47 ฿15.56

442.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.79 A$11.20

$2.55 ฿85.2

205.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.26 A$11.89

$3.83 ฿128

115.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.98 A$2.85

$1.73 ฿57.7

14.45%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 A$4.00

$1.47 ฿49.11

89.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.24 A$3.23

$1.51 ฿50.6

48.34%

Eggs

$5.69 A$8.19

$2.17 ฿72.7

162.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 A$16.94

$19.70 ฿658

-40.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.20 A$13.24

$3.34 ฿112

175.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.97 A$27.29

$11.16 ฿373

69.98%

Apples (1kg)

$3.94 A$5.67

$2.85 ฿95.1

38.25%

Banana (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$1.70 ฿56.9

78.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.63 A$5.22

$2.19 ฿73.3

65.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.06 A$7.28

$2.05 ฿68.4

146.83%

Potato (1kg)

$3.20 A$4.60

$1.45 ฿48.57

120.69%

Onion (1kg)

$2.47 A$3.56

$1.38 ฿46.16

78.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.49 A$3.58

$1.07 ฿35.69

132.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.31 A$3.33

$0.51 ฿16.91

352.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.26 A$65.1

$4.26 ฿142

962.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.93 A$20.05

$18.58 ฿621

-25.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.52 A$7.94

$1.78 ฿59.7

210.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.91 A$8.51

$2.85 ฿95.2

107.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.20 A$4.61

$2.26 ฿75.6

41.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$83.6 A$120

$22.10 ฿738

278.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.53 A$5.07

$3.01 ฿101

17.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.98 A$2.85

$1.06 ฿35.34

86.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.11 A$44.77

$3.86 ฿129

705.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.41 A$2.03

$1.45 ฿48.45

-2.76%

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

$29.3K A$42.2K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

11.40%

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

$25.7K A$36.9K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

-4.70%

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

$192 A$276

$96.4 ฿3,221

99.14%

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

$25.71 A$36.99

$11.04 ฿369

132.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.7 A$81.6

$17.14 ฿573

230.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 A$90.6

$52.2 ฿1,744

20.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.06 A$20.24

$11.16 ฿373

25.99%

Cinema Ticket

$17.14 A$24.67

$7.81 ฿261

119.46%

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

$2,072 A$2,982

$556 ฿18.6K

272.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.3K A$20.5K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

23.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.3 A$101

$64.2 ฿2,146

9.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.9 A$78.9

$28.69 ฿959

91.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 A$165

$95.4 ฿3,187

20.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$135 A$195

$88.0 ฿2,940

53.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 A$2,466

$737 ฿24.6K

132.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,278 A$1,839

$462 ฿15.5K

176.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,431 A$3,498

$2,095 ฿70.0K

16.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,833 A$2,637

$1,201 ฿40.1K

52.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$10.1K A$14.5K

$3,488 ฿116.6K

189.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,880 A$9,901

$2,523 ฿84.3K

172.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,830 A$5,511

$501 ฿16.7K

664.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.92

5.57

6.28%

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

Last update for Adelaide: October 19, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Adelaide

$1.3K 48.4%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 63.8% $816

Groceries & Markets

Adelaide

$415 15.7%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 35.2% $146

Eating Out

Adelaide

$297 11.3%

Phuket

$121 10% 59.2% $176

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Adelaide

$274 10.4%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 54.6% $150

Clothing & Footwear

Adelaide

$169 6.4%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 26.3% $44

Getting Around

Adelaide

$110 4.2%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 64.1% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Adelaide

$97 3.7%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 30.3% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,713 in Adelaide and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Adelaide pays 665% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $81.0 in Adelaide vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $415 vs $269 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Adelaide

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

10:57 10:57 AM

07:27 7:27 AM

3 h 30 min behind Adelaide

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,245,011

79,308

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Adelaide Phuket 6,360 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Adelaide
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

Adelaide vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Adelaide and Phuket differ by about 118% in total monthly costs ($2,640 vs $1,208 including rent). Phuket is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 665% higher in Adelaide, 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: $1,713 in Adelaide versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,072 in Adelaide versus $556 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 54% higher in Adelaide. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,640 in Adelaide, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Adelaide. 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, Adelaide and Phuket are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 118% less than in Adelaide. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.