Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Andong and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,294 a month against $1,415 in Andong, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. The total is higher in Andong despite lower rent and utilities.

67

Cost of Living Index in Andong
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Andong Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Andong

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,415

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,415 in Andong versus $1,294 in Phuket.

Andong $1,415
Phuket $1,294

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,294 in Andong versus $2,204 in Phuket.

Andong $2,294
Phuket $2,204

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,172 in Andong versus $3,115 in Phuket.

Andong $3,172
Phuket $3,115

Living in Andong is roughly 9% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Andong is 5% above, Phuket is 4% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.11 ₩8,225

$4.39 ฿148

39.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.73 ₩46.7K

$32.31 ฿1,090

7.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.66 ₩8,961

$8.70 ฿294

-23.45%

Cappuccino

$3.62 ₩4,872

$2.72 ฿91.9

33.09%

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

$1.59 ₩2,143

$0.93 ฿31.39

70.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 ₩829

$0.50 ฿16.85

24.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.55 ₩4,772

$2.53 ฿85.4

40.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 ₩5,858

$3.63 ฿122

19.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.17 ₩2,922

$1.74 ฿58.7

24.71%

White Bread (500g)

$3.11 ₩4,187

$1.45 ฿48.95

114.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.64 ₩3,553

$1.50 ฿50.7

76.00%

Eggs

$3.34 ₩4,488

$2.17 ฿73.3

53.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.35 ₩20.6K

$19.09 ฿644

-19.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.55 ₩14.2K

$3.40 ฿115

210.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.31 ₩15.2K

$10.90 ฿368

3.76%

Apples (1kg)

$6.79 ₩9,129

$2.94 ฿99.2

130.95%

Banana (1kg)

$2.41 ₩3,248

$1.69 ฿57.1

42.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.38 ₩5,895

$2.19 ฿74.0

100.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$7.08 ₩9,521

$2.12 ฿71.7

233.96%

Potato (1kg)

$3.26 ₩4,388

$1.46 ฿49.21

123.29%

Onion (1kg)

$2.65 ₩3,559

$1.37 ฿46.15

93.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.02 ₩2,723

$1.08 ฿36.30

87.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 ₩1,701

$0.55 ฿18.41

129.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.43 ₩4,609

$4.43 ฿149

-22.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.87 ₩18.7K

$18.25 ฿616

-24.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.01 ₩2,710

$1.77 ฿59.8

13.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.05 ₩5,451

$2.88 ฿97.2

40.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.14 ₩1,533

$1.45 ฿48.84

-21.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,852

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.05 ₩4,109

$1.51 ฿51.0

101.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 ₩817

$0.78 ฿26.18

-21.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.64 ₩10.3K

$3.84 ฿130

98.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 ₩1,884

$1.49 ฿50.2

-6.04%

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

$28.9K ₩38.8M

$26.9K ฿907.0K

7.41%

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

$35.4K ₩47.6M

$26.3K ฿888.9K

34.26%

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

$208 ₩279.4K

$97.8 ฿3,300

112.36%

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

$42.50 ₩57.2K

$11.29 ฿381

276.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.79 ₩28.0K

$17.19 ฿580

20.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.85 ₩61.7K

$68.3 ฿2,305

-32.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.48 ₩19.5K

$10.92 ฿368

32.60%

Cinema Ticket

$11.01 ₩14.8K

$7.43 ฿251

48.18%

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

$298 ₩401.0K

$530 ฿17.9K

-43.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.8K ₩24.0M

$18.8K ฿633.7K

-4.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.8 ₩85.8K

$61.7 ฿2,081

3.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.2 ₩83.7K

$28.25 ฿953

120.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.9 ₩99.5K

$96.0 ฿3,239

-22.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.1 ₩130.6K

$86.8 ฿2,929

11.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$476 ₩641.0K

$721 ฿24.3K

-33.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$389 ₩523.4K

$509 ฿17.2K

-23.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,172 ₩1.6M

$1,950 ฿65.8K

-39.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,010 ₩1.4M

$1,397 ฿47.1K

-27.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,153 ₩8.3M

$4,192 ฿141.4K

46.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,922 ₩6.6M

$3,298 ฿111.3K

49.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,826 ₩2.5M

$492 ฿16.6K

271.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.1

5.57

-26.39%

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

Last update for Andong: November 2, 2026

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Andong

$395 27.9%

Phuket

$267 20.6% 32.5% $128

Accommodation & Living

Andong

$389 27.5%

Phuket

$509 39.3% 30.8% $120

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Andong

$271 19.2%

Phuket

$126 9.8% 53.4% $145

Eating Out

Andong

$148 10.4%

Phuket

$120 9.2% 19% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Andong

$134 9.5%

Phuket

$123 9.5% 8.2% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Andong

$68 4.8%

Phuket

$83 6.4% 22.6% $15

Getting Around

Andong

$11 * 0.8%

Phuket

$66 5.1% 520% $55

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $476 in Andong and $721 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Andong pays about 3.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $35 in Andong vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $395 vs $267 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇷 Andong

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

10:21 10:21 AM

08:21 8:21 AM

2 h behind Andong

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

166,274

79,308

💱 Currency

South Korean Won KRW ₩

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KRW = 7.43 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.65 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to KRW – South Korean Won Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇷 South Korean Won (₩)

South Korean Won exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 1,345 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.43 USD). 1 EUR = 1,504 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.65 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.73 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to KRW in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Andong Phuket 4,420 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Andong
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

Andong vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 9% lower than in Andong. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Andong is about 3.7 times higher, 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: $476 in Andong versus $721 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $298 in Andong versus $530 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $35 in Andong. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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, Andong and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Andong on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.