Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Burnaby and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,678 in Burnaby, rent and utilities included – about $16,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

128

Cost of Living Index in Burnaby
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Burnaby Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Burnaby

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,678

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,678 in Burnaby versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Burnaby $2,678
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,827 in Burnaby versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Burnaby $3,827
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,976 in Burnaby versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Burnaby $4,976
Phuket $3,154

Living in Burnaby is roughly 110% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Burnaby is 97% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.23 CA$29.79

$4.47 ฿151

374.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.5 CA$121

$32.41 ฿1,094

166.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.53 CA$13.37

$8.81 ฿297

8.17%

Cappuccino

$4.67 CA$6.56

$2.83 ฿95.5

65.02%

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

$2.45 CA$3.44

$0.87 ฿29.43

181.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 CA$2.52

$0.49 ฿16.67

267.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.57 CA$12.03

$2.56 ฿86.4

234.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.18 CA$8.67

$3.68 ฿124

67.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.34 CA$3.28

$1.66 ฿56.0

40.96%

White Bread (500g)

$2.76 CA$3.88

$1.46 ฿49.35

89.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.52 CA$4.95

$1.50 ฿50.6

134.67%

Eggs

$3.17 CA$4.45

$2.09 ฿70.5

51.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.05 CA$19.72

$19.07 ฿644

-26.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.07 CA$19.75

$3.30 ฿111

326.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.31 CA$35.52

$10.91 ฿368

131.99%

Apples (1kg)

$4.42 CA$6.20

$2.93 ฿99.0

50.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.28 CA$1.80

$1.69 ฿57.1

-24.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.61 CA$6.47

$2.25 ฿75.8

104.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.61 CA$6.48

$2.08 ฿70.1

121.63%

Potato (1kg)

$2.81 CA$3.95

$1.51 ฿51.0

86.09%

Onion (1kg)

$3.54 CA$4.96

$1.38 ฿46.56

156.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.74 CA$3.84

$1.07 ฿35.99

156.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.10 CA$2.95

$0.52 ฿17.52

303.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.23 CA$19.96

$4.20 ฿142

238.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.39 CA$18.79

$18.79 ฿634

-28.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.05 CA$2.88

$1.82 ฿61.5

12.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 CA$3.27

$2.84 ฿95.9

-17.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.54 CA$3.56

$1.45 ฿49.03

75.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$81.6 CA$115

$56.7 ฿1,913

44.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.88 CA$4.04

$3.02 ฿102

-4.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.51 CA$2.12

$1.02 ฿34.36

48.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.45 CA$37.12

$3.69 ฿125

616.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 CA$1.92

$1.47 ฿49.81

-6.80%

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

$28.5K CA$40.1K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

6.60%

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

$20.9K CA$29.4K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-21.52%

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

$126 CA$177

$96.4 ฿3,254

31.04%

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

$44.96 CA$63.1

$11.26 ฿380

299.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.7 CA$74.0

$16.85 ฿569

212.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.23 CA$43.83

$67.2 ฿2,270

-53.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.52 CA$14.77

$10.73 ฿362

-1.96%

Cinema Ticket

$14.23 CA$19.97

$7.50 ฿253

89.73%

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

$649 CA$910

$476 ฿16.1K

36.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.2 CA$73.3

$62.4 ฿2,106

-16.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.4 CA$72.1

$28.41 ฿959

80.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 CA$145

$94.3 ฿3,184

9.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.0 CA$111

$85.8 ฿2,898

-7.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,693 CA$2,376

$716 ฿24.2K

136.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 CA$1,973

$491 ฿16.6K

186.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,623 CA$3,681

$1,927 ฿65.1K

36.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,985 CA$2,786

$1,431 ฿48.3K

38.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,886 CA$9,663

$4,175 ฿141.0K

64.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,338 CA$7,491

$3,045 ฿102.8K

75.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,149 CA$4,419

$502 ฿17.0K

526.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.76

5.57

-14.54%

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

Last update for Burnaby: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Burnaby

$1.4K 52.5%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 65.1% $915

Groceries & Markets

Burnaby

$431 16.1%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 38.2% $165

Eating Out

Burnaby

$327 12.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 62.7% $205

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Burnaby

$224 8.4%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 44.4% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Burnaby

$129 4.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 5.3% $6.8

Getting Around

Burnaby

$102 3.8%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 30.9% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Burnaby

$60 2.2%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 37.7% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,693 in Burnaby and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Burnaby pays about 6.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $87 in Burnaby vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $431 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Burnaby

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

13:47 1:47 PM

03:47 3:47 AM

14 h ahead of Burnaby

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

249,125

79,308

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.713 USD

1 CAD = 0.64 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.713 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.64 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

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Between locations

Burnaby Phuket 12,500 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Burnaby
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

Burnaby vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,678 in Burnaby and $1,278 in Phuket, so Phuket is about 52% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Burnaby is about 6.3 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: $1,693 in Burnaby versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $649 in Burnaby versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 62% higher in Burnaby. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,678 in Burnaby, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Burnaby. 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.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 52% less than in Burnaby. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.