Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chaiyaphum and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Chaiyaphum: $907 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Chaiyaphum
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Chaiyaphum Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Chaiyaphum

🇹🇭 Thailand

$907

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $907 in Chaiyaphum versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Chaiyaphum $907
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,524 in Chaiyaphum versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Chaiyaphum $1,524
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,142 in Chaiyaphum versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Chaiyaphum $2,142
Phuket $2,845

Living in Chaiyaphum costs roughly 25% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Chaiyaphum 33% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.22 ฿40.76

$4.40 ฿147

-72.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.18 ฿1,176

$32.26 ฿1,078

9.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.34 ฿212

$8.76 ฿293

-27.63%

Cappuccino

$1.18 ฿39.33

$2.83 ฿94.5

-58.30%

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

$0.47 ฿15.65

$0.90 ฿30.14

-47.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.34 ฿11.33

$0.47 ฿15.56

-27.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.75 ฿92.1

$2.55 ฿85.2

7.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.55 ฿152

$3.83 ฿128

18.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 ฿61.5

$1.73 ฿57.7

6.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.05

$1.47 ฿49.11

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.41 ฿47.06

$1.51 ฿50.6

-6.62%

Eggs

$1.52 ฿50.9

$2.17 ฿72.7

-29.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.24 ฿576

$19.70 ฿658

-12.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.59 ฿120

$3.34 ฿112

7.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.20 ฿441

$11.16 ฿373

18.28%

Apples (1kg)

$3.71 ฿124

$2.85 ฿95.1

30.18%

Banana (1kg)

$0.58 ฿19.27

$1.70 ฿56.9

-65.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 ฿91.3

$2.19 ฿73.3

24.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.95 ฿65.3

$2.05 ฿68.4

-4.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.2

$1.45 ฿48.57

15.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.57 ฿52.4

$1.38 ฿46.16

13.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.23 ฿41.09

$1.07 ฿35.69

14.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.44

$0.51 ฿16.91

-39.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.85 ฿162

$4.26 ฿142

13.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.12 ฿505

$18.58 ฿621

-18.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 ฿61.1

$1.78 ฿59.7

2.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.34 ฿112

$2.85 ฿95.2

17.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.96 ฿32.19

$2.26 ฿75.6

-57.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.02 ฿34.23

$3.01 ฿101

-66.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.22 ฿40.70

$1.06 ฿35.34

15.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.11 ฿204

$3.86 ฿129

58.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.08 ฿36.01

$1.45 ฿48.45

-25.52%

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

$30.8K ฿1.0M

$26.3K ฿879.9K

16.93%

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

$27.1K ฿906.9K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

0.72%

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

$43.13 ฿1,442

$96.4 ฿3,221

-55.25%

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

$11.24 ฿376

$11.04 ฿369

1.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.69 ฿391

$17.14 ฿573

-31.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.56 ฿1,422

$52.2 ฿1,744

-18.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.12 ฿472

$11.16 ฿373

26.52%

Cinema Ticket

$7.66 ฿256

$7.81 ฿261

-1.92%

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

$565 ฿18.9K

$556 ฿18.6K

1.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K ฿551.3K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

42.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.1 ฿2,377

$64.2 ฿2,146

10.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.71 ฿1,427

$28.69 ฿959

48.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.8 ฿3,267

$95.4 ฿3,187

2.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 ฿3,498

$88.0 ฿2,940

18.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$438 ฿14.6K

$737 ฿24.6K

-40.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$301 ฿10.1K

$462 ฿15.5K

-34.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,076 ฿35.9K

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-48.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$700 ฿23.4K

$1,201 ฿40.1K

-41.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,795 ฿60.0K

$3,488 ฿116.6K

-48.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 ฿50.5K

$2,523 ฿84.3K

-40.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$451 ฿15.1K

$501 ฿16.7K

-10.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.25

5.57

-5.75%

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

Last update for Chaiyaphum: October 19, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chaiyaphum

$301 33.2%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 53.6% $161

Groceries & Markets

Chaiyaphum

$260 28.6%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 3.5% $9

Clothing & Footwear

Chaiyaphum

$142 15.7%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 12.7% $18

Eating Out

Chaiyaphum

$69 7.6%

Phuket

$121 10% 75.7% $52

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chaiyaphum

$66 7.3%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 88.5% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Chaiyaphum

$58 6.4%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 17.1% $9.9

Getting Around

Chaiyaphum

$11 * 1.2%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 260% $28

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $438 in Chaiyaphum and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 11% 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: $35.00 in Chaiyaphum vs $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $260 vs $269, with Chaiyaphum cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chaiyaphum

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

18:37 6:37 PM

Same time as Chaiyaphum

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

42,436

79,308

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Chaiyaphum Phuket 970 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Chaiyaphum
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

Chaiyaphum vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chaiyaphum is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 33% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 11% lower in Phuket. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $438 in Chaiyaphum versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $565 in Chaiyaphum versus $556 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Chaiyaphum – a meal for two runs $35.00 versus $32.00 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $907 in Chaiyaphum versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Chaiyaphum but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Chaiyaphum the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Chaiyaphum is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Phuket, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Chaiyaphum 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 Chaiyaphum gentler on the wallet – expenses run 33% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.