Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ballarat and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $1,902 in Ballarat, rent and utilities included – about $8,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

93

Cost of Living Index in Ballarat
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Ballarat Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Ballarat

🇦🇺 Australia

$1,902

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,902 in Ballarat versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Ballarat $1,902
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,035 in Ballarat versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Ballarat $3,035
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,168 in Ballarat versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Ballarat $4,168
Phuket $2,867

Living in Ballarat is roughly 58% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ballarat is 41% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.70 A$25.47

$4.58 ฿153

286.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.9 A$101

$32.48 ฿1,086

115.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.27 A$14.78

$8.55 ฿286

20.12%

Cappuccino

$3.79 A$5.45

$2.72 ฿91.0

39.34%

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

$2.95 A$4.24

$0.94 ฿31.25

213.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 A$2.72

$0.49 ฿16.39

285.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.06 A$8.72

$2.59 ฿86.6

133.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.09 A$8.77

$3.83 ฿128

59.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 A$2.27

$1.74 ฿58.1

-9.77%

White Bread (500g)

$2.65 A$3.82

$1.43 ฿47.82

85.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.32 A$3.35

$1.53 ฿51.0

51.63%

Eggs

$4.09 A$5.88

$2.17 ฿72.7

88.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.56 A$15.20

$19.15 ฿640

-44.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.96 A$14.33

$3.30 ฿110

201.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.97 A$21.55

$11.14 ฿372

34.38%

Apples (1kg)

$3.51 A$5.04

$2.95 ฿98.5

18.98%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.68 ฿56.1

79.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.11 A$4.48

$2.30 ฿76.8

35.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.68 A$6.73

$2.13 ฿71.3

119.72%

Potato (1kg)

$3.07 A$4.42

$1.53 ฿51.1

100.65%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.67

$1.36 ฿45.55

87.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.35 A$3.38

$1.12 ฿37.44

109.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 A$2.14

$0.55 ฿18.24

169.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$34.39 A$49.49

$4.26 ฿142

707.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.66 A$18.21

$18.19 ฿608

-30.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.31 A$3.33

$1.74 ฿58.2

32.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 A$4.48

$2.79 ฿93.3

11.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.76 A$3.97

$2.22 ฿74.1

24.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$69.9 A$101

$22.06 ฿737

216.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.53 A$3.65

$2.91 ฿97.3

-13.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.34 A$1.93

$1.01 ฿33.79

32.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.64 A$38.33

$3.83 ฿128

595.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 A$1.70

$1.49 ฿49.85

-20.81%

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

$28.4K A$40.9K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

6.58%

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

$26.0K A$37.4K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

-2.68%

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

$206 A$296

$99.4 ฿3,321

106.87%

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

$27.76 A$39.95

$11.28 ฿377

146.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.4 A$82.6

$17.36 ฿580

230.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.36 A$45.13

$52.3 ฿1,747

-40.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.18 A$16.09

$10.85 ฿362

3.04%

Cinema Ticket

$15.38 A$22.14

$7.57 ฿253

103.17%

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

$2,144 A$3,085

$558 ฿18.7K

284.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.4K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

162.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.7 A$98.8

$62.9 ฿2,102

9.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.1 A$72.2

$28.58 ฿955

75.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.6 A$143

$96.1 ฿3,213

3.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$88.1 ฿2,943

51.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$923 A$1,329

$729 ฿24.4K

26.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 A$965

$460 ฿15.4K

45.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,288 A$1,854

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-38.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,454 A$2,092

$1,222 ฿40.8K

18.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,622 A$6,651

$3,459 ฿115.6K

33.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,449 A$4,963

$2,489 ฿83.2K

38.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,136 A$4,512

$493 ฿16.5K

535.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.55

5.57

-0.36%

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

Last update for Ballarat: October 11, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ballarat

$671 35.3%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 31.4% $211

Groceries & Markets

Ballarat

$350 18.4%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 23.7% $83

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ballarat

$291 15.3%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 56% $163

Eating Out

Ballarat

$280 14.7%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 56.6% $158

Clothing & Footwear

Ballarat

$158 8.3%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 21.7% $34

Getting Around

Ballarat

$90 4.7%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 56.9% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Ballarat

$62 3.3%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 8.5% $5.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $923 in Ballarat and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ballarat pays 536% 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: $70.0 in Ballarat vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $350 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Ballarat

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

02:47 2:47 AM

22:47 10:47 PM

4 h behind Ballarat

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

105,348

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 17, 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 17, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Ballarat Phuket 6,910 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

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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

Ballarat vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 58% lower than in Ballarat. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 536% higher in Ballarat, 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: $923 in Ballarat versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,144 in Ballarat versus $558 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 31% higher in Ballarat. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,902 in Ballarat, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Ballarat. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Phuket delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,207 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Phuket hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ballarat 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 58% less than in Ballarat. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.