Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiayi and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiayi: $1,041 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

50

Cost of Living Index in Chiayi
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Chiayi Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Chiayi

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,041

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,041 in Chiayi versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Chiayi $1,041
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,471 in Chiayi versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Chiayi $1,471
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,901 in Chiayi versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Chiayi $1,901
Phuket $3,154

Living in Chiayi costs roughly 19% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Chiayi 24% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.59 NT$150

$4.47 ฿151

2.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.34 NT$1,511

$32.41 ฿1,094

42.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.65 NT$184

$8.81 ฿297

-35.87%

Cappuccino

$3.29 NT$107

$2.83 ฿95.4

16.25%

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

$0.85 NT$27.72

$0.87 ฿29.42

-2.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 NT$21.81

$0.49 ฿16.66

36.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.98 NT$97.2

$2.56 ฿86.3

16.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.58 NT$117

$3.68 ฿124

-2.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.95 NT$96.2

$1.66 ฿56.0

77.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.95 NT$63.5

$1.46 ฿49.32

33.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.05 NT$99.5

$1.50 ฿50.5

103.33%

Eggs

$2.63 NT$85.8

$2.09 ฿70.5

25.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.97 NT$619

$19.07 ฿643

-0.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.89 NT$322

$3.30 ฿111

199.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.28 NT$694

$10.91 ฿368

95.05%

Apples (1kg)

$4.72 NT$154

$2.93 ฿98.9

61.09%

Banana (1kg)

$3.28 NT$107

$1.69 ฿57.0

94.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 NT$93.5

$2.25 ฿75.8

27.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.23 NT$138

$2.08 ฿70.1

103.37%

Potato (1kg)

$2.65 NT$86.2

$1.51 ฿51.0

75.50%

Onion (1kg)

$2.20 NT$71.6

$1.38 ฿46.54

59.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.72 NT$56.1

$1.07 ฿35.97

60.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 NT$36.48

$0.52 ฿17.51

115.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.75 NT$122

$4.20 ฿142

-10.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.48 NT$146

$18.79 ฿634

-76.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 NT$51.4

$1.82 ฿61.5

-13.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 NT$69.5

$2.84 ฿95.9

-25.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.12 NT$395

$56.7 ฿1,912

-78.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.54 NT$82.8

$3.02 ฿102

-15.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.45 NT$14.70

$1.02 ฿34.34

-55.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 NT$292

$3.69 ฿125

143.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.00 NT$32.62

$1.47 ฿49.78

-31.97%

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

$34.1K NT$1.1M

$26.8K ฿903.7K

27.23%

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

$23.5K NT$765.9K

$26.7K ฿900.8K

-11.99%

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

$64.7 NT$2,108

$96.4 ฿3,252

-32.89%

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

$17.55 NT$572

$11.26 ฿380

55.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.76 NT$872

$16.85 ฿569

58.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.55 NT$996

$67.2 ฿2,269

-54.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$9.62 NT$314

$7.50 ฿253

28.27%

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

$712 NT$23.2K

$476 ฿16.1K

49.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.1K NT$525.9K

$11.3K ฿380.1K

43.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.2 NT$2,027

$62.4 ฿2,105

-0.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.01 NT$1,272

$28.41 ฿959

37.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 NT$2,698

$94.3 ฿3,182

-12.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 NT$3,317

$85.8 ฿2,896

18.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$374 NT$12.2K

$716 ฿24.2K

-47.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$244 NT$7,940

$491 ฿16.6K

-50.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,070 NT$100.1K

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-26.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,843 NT$60.1K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-39.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,038 NT$66.4K

$502 ฿17.0K

305.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.4

5.57

-56.91%

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

Last update for Chiayi: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Chiayi

$372 35.7%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 28.3% $105

Accommodation & Living

Chiayi

$244 23.4%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 102% $247

Clothing & Footwear

Chiayi

$129 12.4%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 5.2% $6.7

Eating Out

Chiayi

$121 11.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 0.3% $0.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiayi

$109 10.5%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 14.2% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Chiayi

$50 4.8%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 65.2% $32

Getting Around

Chiayi

$17 * 1.6%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 317% $54

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 $374 in Chiayi and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Chiayi pays about 4.1 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $46 in Chiayi vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $372 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Chiayi

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

09:40 9:40 AM

08:40 8:40 AM

1 h behind Chiayi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

269,874

79,308

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.07 USD

100 TWD = 2.75 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to TWD – New Taiwan Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇼 New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 32.61 TWD (100 TWD = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 36.41 TWD (100 TWD = 2.75 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chiayi Phuket 2,920 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Chiayi
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

Chiayi vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiayi wins on cost – living expenses run 19% lower than in Phuket. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Chiayi the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Chiayi is about 4.1 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: $374 in Chiayi versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,041 per month in Chiayi versus $1,278 in Phuket – Chiayi is about 19% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Chiayi runs roughly 79% less than in Phuket. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Chiayi is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Chiayi and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.