Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dalian and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Dalian: $895 a month against $1,190 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Dalian
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Dalian Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Dalian

🇨🇳 China

$895

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,190

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $895 in Dalian versus $1,190 in Phuket.

Dalian $895
Phuket $1,190

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,433 in Dalian versus $2,006 in Phuket.

Dalian $1,433
Phuket $2,006

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,970 in Dalian versus $2,822 in Phuket.

Dalian $1,970
Phuket $2,822

Living in Dalian costs roughly 25% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.63 ¥24.25

$4.35 ฿146

-16.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.88 ¥166

$32.45 ฿1,087

-23.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.12 ¥34.24

$8.42 ฿282

-39.19%

Cappuccino

$3.30 ¥22.04

$2.81 ฿94.0

17.44%

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

$0.49 ¥3.30

$0.87 ฿29.29

-43.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 ¥1.67

$0.46 ฿15.39

-45.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.92 ¥6.17

$2.59 ฿86.6

-64.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 ¥10.23

$3.64 ฿122

-57.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 ¥10.63

$1.71 ฿57.2

-7.02%

White Bread (500g)

$1.42 ¥9.52

$1.45 ฿48.42

-2.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 ¥6.80

$1.56 ฿52.3

-34.62%

Eggs

$1.59 ¥10.61

$2.10 ฿70.3

-24.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$20.36 ¥136

$19.53 ฿654

4.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.46 ¥23.10

$3.40 ฿114

1.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.05 ¥87.2

$11.14 ฿373

17.15%

Apples (1kg)

$1.31 ¥8.74

$2.83 ฿94.8

-53.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.13 ¥7.52

$1.62 ฿54.3

-30.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 ¥12.90

$2.22 ฿74.5

-13.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.89 ¥5.96

$2.15 ฿71.9

-58.60%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 ¥5.50

$1.49 ฿49.95

-44.97%

Onion (1kg)

$0.71 ¥4.77

$1.33 ฿44.40

-46.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 ¥9.00

$1.07 ฿35.72

26.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 ¥4.16

$0.51 ฿17.01

21.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.75 ¥25.08

$4.38 ฿147

-14.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.55 ¥97.2

$18.77 ฿629

-22.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.10 ¥7.32

$1.74 ฿58.3

-36.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 ¥12.92

$2.78 ฿92.9

-30.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 ¥2.10

$2.17 ฿72.6

-85.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.05 ¥201

$22.28 ฿746

34.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.53 ¥10.23

$3.02 ฿101

-49.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 ¥2.87

$1.06 ฿35.43

-59.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 ¥26.60

$3.71 ฿124

7.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 ¥8.43

$1.43 ฿47.88

-11.89%

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

$19.6K ¥130.8K

$26.3K ฿882.1K

-25.73%

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

$17.5K ¥117.0K

$26.2K ฿877.3K

-33.20%

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

$63.8 ¥426

$96.7 ฿3,236

-34.05%

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

$9.13 ¥61.0

$11.41 ฿382

-19.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.34 ¥89.1

$17.11 ฿573

-22.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.35 ¥270

$52.8 ฿1,768

-23.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$36.04 ¥241

$11.07 ฿371

225.56%

Cinema Ticket

$6.85 ¥45.75

$7.65 ฿256

-10.46%

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

$393 ¥2,627

$555 ฿18.6K

-29.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.6K ¥137.9K

$11.3K ฿377.7K

82.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$75.4 ¥504

$63.4 ฿2,123

18.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.9 ¥367

$28.61 ฿958

91.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ¥762

$96.7 ฿3,238

17.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 ¥784

$88.6 ฿2,967

32.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$402 ¥2,684

$735 ฿24.6K

-45.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$244 ¥1,628

$458 ฿15.3K

-46.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$702 ¥4,688

$2,102 ฿70.4K

-66.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$445 ¥2,971

$1,187 ฿39.7K

-62.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,684 ¥17.9K

$3,493 ฿116.9K

-23.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,585 ¥10.6K

$2,491 ฿83.4K

-36.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,090 ¥7,287

$501 ฿16.8K

117.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.89

5.57

-30.16%

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

Last update for Dalian: October 4, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dalian

$244 26.6%

Phuket

$458 38.1% 88% $214

Groceries & Markets

Dalian

$239 26.1%

Phuket

$268 22.3% 12.3% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Dalian

$163 17.8%

Phuket

$125 10.4% 23.3% $38

Eating Out

Dalian

$95 10.3%

Phuket

$119 9.9% 26.1% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dalian

$86 9.4%

Phuket

$125 10.4% 45.2% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Dalian

$54 5.9%

Phuket

$68 5.7% 26% $14

Getting Around

Dalian

$35 3.8%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 12.2% $4.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $402 in Dalian and $735 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dalian pays 118% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $25.00 in Dalian vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $239 vs $268 per month, with Dalian cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Dalian

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

14:42 2:42 PM

13:42 1:42 PM

1 h behind Dalian

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,450,785

79,308

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.5 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.55 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dalian Phuket 4,160 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Dalian
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

Dalian vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dalian and Phuket differ by about 33% in total monthly costs ($895 vs $1,190 including rent). Dalian is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 118% higher in Dalian, 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: $402 in Dalian versus $735 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $393 in Dalian versus $555 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 12% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $895 in Dalian versus $1,190 in Phuket, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Dalian but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Dalian 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, Dalian 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 Dalian 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.