Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Busan and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,842 in Busan, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in Busan
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Busan Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Busan

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,842

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,842 in Busan versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Busan $1,842
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,019 in Busan versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Busan $3,019
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,196 in Busan versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Busan $4,196
Phuket $3,154

Living in Busan is roughly 44% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Busan is 35% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.69 ₩10.3K

$4.47 ฿151

72.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.41 ₩66.3K

$32.41 ฿1,094

52.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.63 ₩8,907

$8.81 ฿297

-24.74%

Cappuccino

$3.68 ₩4,941

$2.83 ฿95.5

30.04%

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

$1.86 ₩2,494

$0.87 ฿29.43

113.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.39 ₩1,872

$0.49 ฿16.67

183.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.73 ₩5,014

$2.56 ฿86.4

45.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 ₩5,920

$3.68 ฿124

19.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.26 ₩3,033

$1.66 ฿56.0

36.14%

White Bread (500g)

$3.25 ₩4,365

$1.46 ฿49.35

122.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.11 ₩4,173

$1.50 ฿50.6

107.33%

Eggs

$2.67 ₩3,583

$2.09 ฿70.5

27.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.14 ₩15.0K

$19.07 ฿644

-41.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.70 ₩14.4K

$3.30 ฿111

224.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$24.98 ₩33.5K

$10.91 ฿368

128.96%

Apples (1kg)

$11.16 ₩15.0K

$2.93 ฿99.0

280.89%

Banana (1kg)

$3.59 ₩4,822

$1.69 ฿57.1

112.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$8.17 ₩11.0K

$2.25 ฿75.8

263.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.11 ₩8,199

$2.08 ฿70.1

193.75%

Potato (1kg)

$6.20 ₩8,324

$1.51 ฿51.0

310.60%

Onion (1kg)

$3.33 ₩4,466

$1.38 ฿46.56

141.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.88 ₩3,870

$1.07 ฿35.99

169.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 ₩1,732

$0.52 ฿17.52

148.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.46 ₩4,643

$4.20 ฿142

-17.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.56 ₩24.9K

$18.79 ฿634

-1.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.42 ₩3,248

$1.82 ฿61.5

32.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 ₩4,826

$2.84 ฿95.9

26.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.15 ₩1,538

$1.45 ฿49.03

-20.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$70.6 ₩94.7K

$56.7 ฿1,913

24.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.55 ₩4,769

$3.02 ฿102

17.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.73 ₩986

$1.02 ฿34.36

-28.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.97 ₩22.8K

$3.69 ฿125

359.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ₩1,903

$1.47 ฿49.81

-3.40%

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

$39.9K ₩53.6M

$26.8K ฿904.3K

49.16%

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

$33.9K ₩45.6M

$26.7K ฿901.3K

27.11%

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

$206 ₩276.2K

$96.4 ฿3,254

113.51%

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

$36.67 ₩49.2K

$11.26 ฿380

225.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.39 ₩36.8K

$16.85 ฿569

62.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 ₩69.3K

$67.2 ฿2,270

-23.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.15 ₩13.6K

$10.73 ฿362

-5.41%

Cinema Ticket

$11.88 ₩15.9K

$7.50 ฿253

58.40%

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

$638 ₩857.0K

$476 ฿16.1K

34.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K ₩29.9M

$11.3K ฿380.4K

97.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 ₩140.1K

$62.4 ฿2,106

67.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$65.1 ₩87.4K

$28.41 ฿959

129.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.8 ₩124.6K

$94.3 ฿3,184

-1.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 ₩174.6K

$85.8 ฿2,898

51.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$746 ₩1.0M

$716 ฿24.2K

4.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$583 ₩782.5K

$491 ฿16.6K

18.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,151 ₩2.9M

$1,927 ฿65.1K

11.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,450 ₩1.9M

$1,431 ฿48.3K

1.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,485 ₩11.4M

$4,175 ฿141.0K

103.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,272 ₩4.4M

$3,045 ฿102.8K

7.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,826 ₩3.8M

$502 ฿17.0K

462.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.22

5.57

-24.24%

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

Last update for Busan: October 27, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Busan

$583 31.6%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 15.8% $92

Groceries & Markets

Busan

$489 26.6%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 45.6% $223

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Busan

$270 14.7%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 53.9% $145

Clothing & Footwear

Busan

$177 9.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 30.9% $55

Eating Out

Busan

$166 9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 26.7% $44

Getting Around

Busan

$82 4.5%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 14.3% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Busan

$75 4.1%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 9.2% $6.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $746 in Busan and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Busan pays about 5.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $49 in Busan vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $489 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇷 Busan

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

05:47 5:47 AM

03:47 3:47 AM

2 h behind Busan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,586,079

79,308

💱 Currency

South Korean Won KRW ₩

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KRW = 7.45 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,343 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.45 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 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 KRW in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Busan Phuket 4,360 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Busan
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

Busan vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 31% lower than in Busan. 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 Busan is about 5.6 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: $746 in Busan versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 20% less than in Busan. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $638 in Busan versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,842 in Busan, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Busan. 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, Busan and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 31% less than in Busan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.