Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Darwin and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $3,073 in Darwin, rent and utilities included – about $21,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

148

Cost of Living Index in Darwin
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Darwin Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Darwin

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,073

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,073 in Darwin versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Darwin $3,073
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,118 in Darwin versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Darwin $4,118
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,163 in Darwin versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Darwin $5,163
Phuket $3,154

Living in Darwin is roughly 140% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Darwin is 126% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.40 A$31.85

$4.47 ฿151

401.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.7 A$129

$32.41 ฿1,094

179.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 A$16.16

$8.81 ฿297

28.94%

Cappuccino

$4.23 A$6.01

$2.83 ฿95.5

49.47%

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

$3.46 A$4.92

$0.87 ฿29.43

297.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 A$4.28

$0.49 ฿16.67

514.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.57 A$10.76

$2.56 ฿86.4

195.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.57 A$10.77

$3.68 ฿124

105.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.54 A$2.19

$1.66 ฿56.0

-7.23%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 A$4.32

$1.46 ฿49.35

108.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 A$3.13

$1.50 ฿50.6

46.67%

Eggs

$4.47 A$6.35

$2.09 ฿70.5

113.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.92 A$12.68

$19.07 ฿644

-53.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.31 A$11.82

$3.30 ฿111

151.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.85 A$12.58

$10.91 ฿368

-18.88%

Apples (1kg)

$3.85 A$5.47

$2.93 ฿99.0

31.40%

Banana (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.10

$1.69 ฿57.1

70.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.80 A$3.98

$2.25 ฿75.8

24.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.03 A$7.15

$2.08 ฿70.1

141.83%

Potato (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.62

$1.51 ฿51.0

68.87%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.27

$1.38 ฿46.56

66.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.06 A$2.93

$1.07 ฿35.99

92.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 A$3.09

$0.52 ฿17.52

317.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.35 A$64.5

$4.20 ฿142

979.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.15 A$17.28

$18.79 ฿634

-35.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$10.13 A$14.40

$1.82 ฿61.5

456.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.87 A$11.19

$2.84 ฿95.9

177.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.37 A$68.8

$56.7 ฿1,913

-14.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 A$5.25

$3.02 ฿102

22.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.35 A$1.91

$1.02 ฿34.36

32.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$48.52 A$69.0

$3.69 ฿125

1214.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 A$1.89

$1.47 ฿49.81

-9.52%

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

$30.0K A$42.6K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

11.89%

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

$33.4K A$47.5K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

25.07%

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

$215 A$305

$96.4 ฿3,254

122.66%

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

$33.49 A$47.61

$11.26 ฿380

197.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$60.9 A$86.7

$16.85 ฿569

261.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$73.0 A$104

$67.2 ฿2,270

8.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.22 A$40.13

$10.73 ฿362

163.00%

Cinema Ticket

$16.99 A$24.16

$7.50 ฿253

126.53%

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

$1,939 A$2,756

$476 ฿16.1K

307.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,442 A$12.0K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-25.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.2 A$121

$62.4 ฿2,106

36.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.52 A$66.2

$28.41 ฿959

63.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 A$150

$94.3 ฿3,184

12.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$138 A$196

$85.8 ฿2,898

60.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,719 A$2,444

$716 ฿24.2K

140.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,430

$491 ฿16.6K

248.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,803 A$3,985

$1,927 ฿65.1K

45.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,124 A$3,021

$1,431 ฿48.3K

48.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,771 A$5,363

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-9.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,536 A$5,028

$3,045 ฿102.8K

16.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,223 A$6,005

$502 ฿17.0K

740.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.14

5.57

10.23%

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

Last update for Darwin: 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

Darwin

$1.7K 55.6%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 71.3% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Darwin

$377 12.3%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 29.5% $111

Eating Out

Darwin

$343 11.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 64.5% $221

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Darwin

$309 10.1%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 59.7% $184

Clothing & Footwear

Darwin

$169 5.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 27.8% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Darwin

$107 3.5%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 23.1% $25

Getting Around

Darwin

$59 * 1.9%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 20.1% $12

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 $1,719 in Darwin and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Darwin pays about 8.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $91 in Darwin vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $377 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Darwin

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

21:25 9:25 PM

18:55 6:55 PM

2 h 30 min behind Darwin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

122,207

79,308

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.703 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.703 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.632 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Darwin Phuket 4,240 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Darwin
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

Darwin vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. The 140% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Darwin is about 8.4 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: $1,719 in Darwin versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 42% higher in Darwin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $91 in Darwin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $3,073 in Darwin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Darwin. 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, Darwin 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.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Darwin on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.