Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairns and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,190 a month against $2,529 in Cairns, rent and utilities included – about $16,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

121

Cost of Living Index in Cairns
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Cairns Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Cairns

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,529

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,190

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,529 per month in Cairns vs $1,190 in Phuket, rent included.

Cairns $2,529
Phuket $1,190

A couple spends around $3,731 per month in Cairns vs $2,006 in Phuket, rent included.

Cairns $3,731
Phuket $2,006

A family of three spends $4,933 per month in Cairns vs $2,822 in Phuket, rent included.

Cairns $4,933
Phuket $2,822

Cairns costs about 113% more than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cairns sits 89% above the global median, while Phuket is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.69 A$25.40

$4.35 ฿146

306.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$97.6 A$140

$32.45 ฿1,091

200.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.79 A$18.37

$8.42 ฿283

51.90%

Cappuccino

$4.32 A$6.20

$2.81 ฿94.4

53.74%

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

$3.14 A$4.51

$0.87 ฿29.42

260.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.74 A$3.93

$0.46 ฿15.46

495.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.84 A$9.83

$2.59 ฿86.9

164.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.34 A$11.98

$3.64 ฿123

129.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 A$2.79

$1.71 ฿57.4

13.45%

White Bread (500g)

$2.63 A$3.78

$1.45 ฿48.62

81.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 A$3.70

$1.56 ฿52.5

64.74%

Eggs

$5.39 A$7.74

$2.10 ฿70.6

156.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.17 A$13.17

$19.53 ฿656

-53.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.48 A$19.36

$3.40 ฿114

296.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.26 A$21.91

$11.14 ฿375

36.98%

Apples (1kg)

$4.17 A$6.00

$2.83 ฿95.2

47.35%

Banana (1kg)

$2.75 A$3.95

$1.62 ฿54.6

69.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.54 A$5.08

$2.22 ฿74.8

59.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.65 A$8.11

$2.15 ฿72.2

162.79%

Potato (1kg)

$2.56 A$3.68

$1.49 ฿50.2

71.81%

Onion (1kg)

$2.58 A$3.71

$1.33 ฿44.59

93.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.71 A$3.89

$1.07 ฿35.87

153.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.59 A$3.72

$0.51 ฿17.08

407.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.78 A$62.9

$4.38 ฿147

899.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.96 A$20.05

$18.77 ฿631

-25.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.55 A$5.10

$1.74 ฿58.5

104.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.22 A$7.49

$2.78 ฿93.3

87.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.56 A$5.12

$2.17 ฿72.9

64.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.43 A$22.16

$22.28 ฿749

-30.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.65 A$3.81

$3.02 ฿101

-12.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.96 A$2.82

$1.06 ฿35.57

84.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$42.21 A$60.6

$3.71 ฿125

1037.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 A$1.84

$1.43 ฿48.08

-10.49%

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

$31.3K A$45.0K

$26.3K ฿885.8K

18.91%

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

$40.8K A$58.6K

$26.2K ฿881.0K

55.80%

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

$164 A$235

$96.7 ฿3,250

69.32%

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

$34.95 A$50.2

$11.41 ฿384

206.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$65.0 A$93.3

$17.11 ฿575

279.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.38 A$63.7

$52.8 ฿1,775

-15.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.37 A$39.31

$11.07 ฿372

147.24%

Cinema Ticket

$13.97 A$20.07

$7.65 ฿257

82.61%

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

$2,069 A$2,972

$555 ฿18.7K

272.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.2K A$20.3K

$11.3K ฿379.3K

25.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.1 A$128

$63.4 ฿2,132

40.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$71.7 A$103

$28.61 ฿962

150.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$122 A$175

$96.7 ฿3,252

25.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 A$186

$88.6 ฿2,979

45.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,466 A$2,106

$735 ฿24.7K

99.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,223 A$1,757

$458 ฿15.4K

167.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,250 A$3,232

$2,102 ฿70.7K

7.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,944 A$2,793

$1,187 ฿39.9K

63.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,629 A$9,523

$3,493 ฿117.4K

89.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,015 A$7,204

$2,491 ฿83.8K

101.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,289 A$6,160

$501 ฿16.8K

756.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.32

5.57

13.46%

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

Last update for Cairns: October 5, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairns

$1.2K 48.9%

Phuket

$458 38.1% 62.6% $765

Groceries & Markets

Cairns

$409 16.3%

Phuket

$268 22.3% 34.4% $141

Eating Out

Cairns

$306 12.2%

Phuket

$119 9.9% 61% $187

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairns

$264 10.5%

Phuket

$125 10.4% 52.5% $138

Clothing & Footwear

Cairns

$185 7.4%

Phuket

$125 10.4% 32.7% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Cairns

$72 2.9%

Phuket

$68 5.7% 5.8% $4.2

Getting Around

Cairns

$42 1.7%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 6.9% $2.9

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,466 in Cairns versus $735 in Phuket. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 756% higher in Cairns, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $98.0 in Cairns versus $32.00 in Phuket. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $409 vs $268 – making Phuket the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Cairns

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

18:05 6:05 PM

15:05 3:05 PM

3 h behind Cairns

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

153,181

79,308

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.696 USD

1 AUD = 0.621 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.696 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.621 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.71 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cairns Phuket 5,890 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Cairns
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

Cairns vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cairns costs about 113% more than Phuket, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,793 per month in Cairns and $1,785 in Phuket. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Phuket, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Groceries cost about 53% more in Cairns, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $98.0 in Cairns and $32.00 in Phuket. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Phuket, where all-in costs run around $1,190, than in Cairns at $2,529. In Phuket it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cairns it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Phuket costs $1,190 versus $2,529 in Cairns. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Phuket. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cairns makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.