Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Fiji and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Fiji: $696 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

34

Cost of Living Index in Fiji
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Fiji Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Fiji

🇫🇯 Fiji

$696

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $696 in Fiji versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Fiji $696
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,151 in Fiji versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Fiji $1,151
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,606 in Fiji versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Fiji $1,606
Phuket $2,867

Living in Fiji costs roughly 42% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Fiji 48% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.49 FJD 10.06

$4.58 ฿153

-1.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.82 FJD 73.5

$32.48 ฿1,086

1.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.36 FJD 14.24

$8.55 ฿286

-25.61%

Cappuccino

$2.51 FJD 5.61

$2.72 ฿91.0

-7.72%

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

$1.40 FJD 3.13

$0.94 ฿31.25

48.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 FJD 2.20

$0.49 ฿16.39

100.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.05 FJD 9.08

$2.59 ฿86.6

56.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.93 FJD 8.80

$3.83 ฿128

2.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 FJD 2.74

$1.74 ฿58.1

-29.89%

White Bread (500g)

$0.23 FJD 0.51

$1.43 ฿47.82

-83.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.93 FJD 2.09

$1.53 ฿51.0

-39.22%

Eggs

$3.12 FJD 6.99

$2.17 ฿72.7

43.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.73 FJD 24.02

$19.15 ฿640

-43.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.28 FJD 11.82

$3.30 ฿110

60.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿372

Apples (1kg)

$1.29 FJD 2.89

$2.95 ฿98.5

-56.27%

Banana (1kg)

$0.91 FJD 2.04

$1.68 ฿56.1

-45.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.73 FJD 3.87

$2.30 ฿76.8

-24.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 FJD 3.06

$2.13 ฿71.3

-35.68%

Potato (1kg)

$0.70 FJD 1.56

$1.53 ฿51.1

-54.25%

Onion (1kg)

$0.68 FJD 1.51

$1.36 ฿45.55

-50.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.92 FJD 2.06

$1.12 ฿37.44

-17.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 FJD 1.14

$0.55 ฿18.24

-7.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.31 FJD 25.32

$4.26 ฿142

165.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.21 FJD 13.90

$18.19 ฿608

-65.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.11 FJD 9.20

$1.74 ฿58.2

136.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.08 FJD 9.13

$2.79 ฿93.3

46.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 FJD 1.96

$2.22 ฿74.1

-60.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.10 FJD 2.45

$2.91 ฿97.3

-62.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.79

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 FJD 2.93

$1.49 ฿49.85

-12.08%

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

$45.7K FJD 102.2K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

71.15%

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

$26.7K ฿892.7K

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

$53.9 FJD 121

$99.4 ฿3,321

-45.74%

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

$13.22 FJD 29.60

$11.28 ฿377

17.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.78 FJD 39.81

$17.36 ฿580

2.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.61 FJD 50.6

$52.3 ฿1,747

-56.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.51 FJD 10.10

$10.85 ฿362

-58.43%

Cinema Ticket

$3.92 FJD 8.77

$7.57 ฿253

-48.22%

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

$43.80 FJD 98.1

$558 ฿18.7K

-92.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$19.57 FJD 43.81

$62.9 ฿2,102

-68.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿955

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$30.21 FJD 67.7

$96.1 ฿3,213

-68.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,943

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$673 FJD 1,507

$729 ฿24.4K

-7.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$262 FJD 587

$460 ฿15.4K

-43.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,105 FJD 2,474

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-47.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$612 FJD 1,370

$1,222 ฿40.8K

-49.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,296 FJD 2,901

$3,459 ฿115.6K

-62.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,320 FJD 2,955

$2,489 ฿83.2K

-46.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$537 FJD 1,202

$493 ฿16.5K

8.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

7.72%

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

Last update for Fiji: October 12, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Fiji

$262 37.6%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 75.6% $198

Groceries & Markets

Fiji

$169 * 24.3%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 58% $98

Eating Out

Fiji

$123 17.6%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 1.2% $1.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Fiji

$85 12.2%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 50.7% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Fiji

$30 4.4%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 121% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Fiji

$22 * 3.2%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 454% $102

Getting Around

Fiji

$4.6 * 0.7%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 745% $34

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 $673 in Fiji and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Fiji pays 9% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $33.00 in Fiji vs $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $169 vs $268, with Fiji cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇫🇯 Fiji

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

17:31 5:31 PM

12:31 12:31 PM

5 h behind Fiji

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

92,043

79,308

💱 Currency

Fijian Dollar FJD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 FJD = 0.447 USD

1 FJD = 0.397 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to FJD – Fijian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇫🇯 Fijian Dollar ($)

Fijian Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 2.24 FJD (1 FJD = 0.447 USD). 1 EUR = 2.52 FJD (1 FJD = 0.397 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to FJD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Fiji Phuket 9,240 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Fiji
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

Fiji vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Fiji is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and clothing. The 73% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 9% higher in Fiji, 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: $673 in Fiji versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 58% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $696 per month in Fiji versus $1,207 in Phuket – a 73% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $696 in Fiji versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Fiji but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Fiji the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Fiji 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, Fiji 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 Fiji gentler on the wallet – expenses run 73% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.