Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bunbury and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,294 a month against $2,158 in Bunbury, rent and utilities included – about $10,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

104

Cost of Living Index in Bunbury
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Bunbury Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Bunbury

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,158

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,158 in Bunbury versus $1,294 in Phuket.

Bunbury $2,158
Phuket $1,294

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,353 in Bunbury versus $2,204 in Phuket.

Bunbury $3,353
Phuket $2,204

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,548 in Bunbury versus $3,115 in Phuket.

Bunbury $4,548
Phuket $3,115

Living in Bunbury is roughly 67% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bunbury is 60% above, Phuket is 4% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.22 A$30.23

$4.39 ฿147

383.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$85.6 A$122

$32.31 ฿1,078

165.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.63 A$15.15

$8.70 ฿290

22.18%

Cappuccino

$4.16 A$5.93

$2.72 ฿90.9

52.94%

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

$2.85 A$4.07

$0.93 ฿31.06

206.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.20

$0.50 ฿16.67

350.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.50 A$12.11

$2.53 ฿84.5

235.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.49 A$12.10

$3.63 ฿121

133.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.09 A$1.56

$1.74 ฿58.1

-37.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.11 A$1.58

$1.45 ฿48.42

-23.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.03 A$2.89

$1.50 ฿50.1

35.33%

Eggs

$5.09 A$7.26

$2.17 ฿72.5

134.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.36 A$13.34

$19.09 ฿637

-50.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.27 A$11.79

$3.40 ฿113

143.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.64 A$12.31

$10.90 ฿364

-20.73%

Apples (1kg)

$3.63 A$5.17

$2.94 ฿98.2

23.47%

Banana (1kg)

$3.14 A$4.48

$1.69 ฿56.5

85.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.86 A$4.08

$2.19 ฿73.2

30.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.57 A$6.51

$2.12 ฿70.9

115.57%

Potato (1kg)

$2.72 A$3.87

$1.46 ฿48.68

86.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.95 A$2.78

$1.37 ฿45.66

42.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.74 A$2.47

$1.08 ฿35.91

61.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 A$1.18

$0.55 ฿18.21

50.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$25.49 A$36.33

$4.43 ฿148

475.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.98 A$9.95

$18.25 ฿609

-61.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.57 A$6.52

$1.77 ฿59.2

158.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 A$4.74

$2.88 ฿96.2

15.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.78 A$3.96

$1.45 ฿48.32

91.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$55.9 A$79.7

$54.9 ฿1,832

1.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.91 A$5.57

$1.51 ฿50.5

158.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.58 A$2.25

$0.78 ฿25.90

102.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.51 A$49.18

$3.84 ฿128

798.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.19 A$1.70

$1.49 ฿49.65

-20.13%

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

$20.8K A$29.7K

$26.9K ฿897.3K

-22.49%

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

$19.1K A$27.3K

$26.3K ฿879.4K

-27.37%

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

$157 A$224

$97.8 ฿3,265

60.70%

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

$33.09 A$47.15

$11.29 ฿377

193.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$62.3 A$88.8

$17.19 ฿574

262.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.3 A$80.2

$68.3 ฿2,281

-17.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.55 A$15.04

$10.92 ฿365

-3.39%

Cinema Ticket

$13.77 A$19.63

$7.43 ฿248

85.33%

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

$2,282 A$3,251

$530 ฿17.7K

330.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$32.8K A$46.8K

$18.8K ฿626.9K

74.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$77.4 A$110

$61.7 ฿2,059

25.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$64.1 A$91.4

$28.25 ฿943

126.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$123 A$176

$96.0 ฿3,204

28.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.9 A$132

$86.8 ฿2,898

6.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$993 A$1,416

$721 ฿24.1K

37.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$961 A$1,369

$509 ฿17.0K

88.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 A$2,567

$1,950 ฿65.1K

-7.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 A$2,566

$1,397 ฿46.6K

28.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,815 A$6,861

$4,192 ฿139.9K

14.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,011 A$5,715

$3,298 ฿110.1K

21.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,729 A$6,739

$492 ฿16.4K

861.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

5.57

5.92%

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

Last update for Bunbury: November 1, 2026

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bunbury

$961 44.5%

Phuket

$509 39.3% 47% $452

Eating Out

Bunbury

$331 15.4%

Phuket

$120 9.2% 63.9% $212

Groceries & Markets

Bunbury

$290 13.4%

Phuket

$267 20.6% 7.9% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bunbury

$253 11.7%

Phuket

$126 9.8% 50% $126

Clothing & Footwear

Bunbury

$161 7.5%

Phuket

$123 9.5% 23.8% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Bunbury

$84 3.9%

Phuket

$83 6.4% 0.7% $0.6

Getting Around

Bunbury

$79 3.7%

Phuket

$66 5.1% 16.2% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $993 in Bunbury and $721 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bunbury pays about 9.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $86 in Bunbury vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $290 vs $267 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Bunbury

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

13:30 1:30 PM

12:30 12:30 PM

1 h behind Bunbury

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

75,196

79,308

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.702 USD

1 AUD = 0.625 EUR

100 THB = 3 USD

100 THB = 2.67 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 November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.702 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.625 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 33.38 THB (100 THB = 3 USD). 1 EUR = 37.47 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bunbury Phuket 4,930 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Bunbury
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

Bunbury vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 40% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, utilities, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Bunbury is about 9.6 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: $993 in Bunbury versus $721 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 9% higher in Bunbury. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,158 per month in Bunbury versus $1,294 in Phuket – Phuket is about 40% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,294 in Phuket versus $2,158 in Bunbury, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Bunbury. 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, Bunbury 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, Bunbury on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.