Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dongguan and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Dongguan: $815 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $4,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Dongguan
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Dongguan Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

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Dongguan

🇨🇳 China

$815

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $815 in Dongguan versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Dongguan $815
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,295 in Dongguan versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Dongguan $1,295
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,775 in Dongguan versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Dongguan $1,775
Phuket $2,845

Living in Dongguan costs roughly 33% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Dongguan 40% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.64 ¥17.64

$4.40 ฿147

-40.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.83 ¥153

$32.26 ฿1,078

-29.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.20 ¥34.75

$8.76 ฿293

-40.64%

Cappuccino

$2.61 ¥17.44

$2.83 ฿94.5

-7.77%

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

$0.48 ¥3.18

$0.90 ฿30.14

-46.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ¥2.09

$0.47 ฿15.56

-34.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.88 ¥5.90

$2.55 ฿85.2

-65.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.23 ¥14.88

$3.83 ฿128

-41.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 ¥10.61

$1.73 ฿57.7

-8.09%

White Bread (500g)

$1.63 ¥10.93

$1.47 ฿49.11

10.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.97 ¥6.50

$1.51 ฿50.6

-35.76%

Eggs

$1.59 ¥10.66

$2.17 ฿72.7

-26.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.14 ¥141

$19.70 ฿658

7.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.28 ¥21.96

$3.34 ฿112

-1.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.27 ¥95.4

$11.16 ฿373

27.87%

Apples (1kg)

$2.25 ¥15.03

$2.85 ฿95.1

-21.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 ¥10.45

$1.70 ฿56.9

-8.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 ¥12.39

$2.19 ฿73.3

-15.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 ¥9.98

$2.05 ฿68.4

-27.32%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 ¥6.95

$1.45 ฿48.57

-28.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.24 ¥8.30

$1.38 ฿46.16

-10.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.56 ¥3.75

$1.07 ฿35.69

-47.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ¥3.90

$0.51 ฿16.91

13.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.45 ¥29.79

$4.26 ฿142

4.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.18 ¥81.5

$18.58 ฿621

-34.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 ¥6.17

$1.78 ฿59.7

-48.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 ¥11.74

$2.85 ฿95.2

-38.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 ¥2.37

$2.26 ฿75.6

-84.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.38 ¥150

$22.10 ฿738

1.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 ¥7.86

$3.01 ฿101

-60.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.41 ¥2.75

$1.06 ฿35.34

-61.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.44 ¥29.68

$3.86 ฿129

15.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ¥8.77

$1.45 ฿48.45

-9.66%

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

$19.3K ¥129.0K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

-26.70%

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

$17.6K ¥117.9K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

-34.53%

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

$63.1 ¥422

$96.4 ฿3,221

-34.58%

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

$9.11 ¥60.9

$11.04 ฿369

-17.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.96 ¥86.7

$17.14 ฿573

-24.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 ¥345

$52.2 ฿1,744

-1.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.09 ¥108

$11.16 ฿373

44.18%

Cinema Ticket

$7.53 ¥50.3

$7.81 ฿261

-3.59%

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

$531 ¥3,550

$556 ฿18.6K

-4.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.3K ¥162.8K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

110.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.78 ¥313

$64.2 ฿2,146

-27.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.30 ¥269

$28.69 ฿959

40.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.5 ¥485

$95.4 ฿3,187

-23.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$39.04 ¥261

$88.0 ฿2,940

-55.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$380 ¥2,538

$737 ฿24.6K

-48.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$219 ¥1,461

$462 ฿15.5K

-52.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$662 ¥4,423

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-68.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$431 ¥2,884

$1,201 ฿40.1K

-64.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,650 ¥37.8K

$3,488 ฿116.6K

61.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,075 ¥20.6K

$2,523 ฿84.3K

21.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$856 ¥5,725

$501 ฿16.7K

71.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.35

5.57

-39.86%

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

Last update for Dongguan: October 19, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dongguan

$248 30.4%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 8.4% $21

Accommodation & Living

Dongguan

$219 26.8%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 112% $244

Clothing & Footwear

Dongguan

$89 11%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 39.1% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dongguan

$85 10.5%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 46.3% $39

Eating Out

Dongguan

$80 9.8%

Phuket

$121 10% 51.5% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Dongguan

$67 8.2%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 1.6% $1.1

Getting Around

Dongguan

$27 3.3%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 45.9% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $380 in Dongguan and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dongguan pays 71% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $23.00 in Dongguan vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $248 vs $269 per month, with Dongguan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Dongguan

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

18:48 6:48 PM

17:48 5:48 PM

1 h behind Dongguan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,254,100

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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Dongguan Phuket 2,350 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Dongguan
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

Dongguan vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dongguan is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 48% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 71% higher in Dongguan, 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: $380 in Dongguan versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Dongguan runs roughly 1% less than in Phuket. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $531 in Dongguan versus $556 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $815 in Dongguan versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dongguan but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Dongguan the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Dongguan 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, Dongguan 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 Dongguan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 48% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.