Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Foshan and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Foshan: $777 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Foshan
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Foshan Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Foshan

🇨🇳 China

$777

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $777 in Foshan versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Foshan $777
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,242 in Foshan versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Foshan $1,242
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,708 in Foshan versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Foshan $1,708
Phuket $2,867

Living in Foshan costs roughly 36% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Foshan 42% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.78 ¥25.26

$4.58 ฿153

-17.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.79 ¥152

$32.48 ฿1,086

-29.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.11 ¥34.19

$8.55 ฿286

-40.23%

Cappuccino

$3.07 ¥20.50

$2.72 ฿91.0

12.87%

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

$0.52 ¥3.49

$0.94 ฿31.25

-44.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ¥2.09

$0.49 ฿16.39

-36.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.22 ¥8.17

$2.59 ฿86.6

-52.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 ¥12.61

$3.83 ฿128

-50.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ¥11.11

$1.74 ฿58.1

-4.60%

White Bread (500g)

$1.12 ¥7.48

$1.43 ฿47.82

-21.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.92 ¥6.16

$1.53 ฿51.0

-39.87%

Eggs

$1.70 ¥11.38

$2.17 ฿72.7

-21.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.68 ¥112

$19.15 ฿640

-12.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.92 ¥26.18

$3.30 ฿110

18.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.69 ¥71.5

$11.14 ฿372

-4.04%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 ¥20.16

$2.95 ฿98.5

2.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.27 ¥8.51

$1.68 ฿56.1

-24.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.90 ¥12.69

$2.30 ฿76.8

-17.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.63 ¥10.91

$2.13 ฿71.3

-23.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.09 ¥7.27

$1.53 ฿51.1

-28.76%

Onion (1kg)

$0.95 ¥6.38

$1.36 ฿45.55

-30.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.64 ¥4.26

$1.12 ฿37.44

-42.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.50 ¥3.36

$0.55 ฿18.24

-9.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.23 ¥14.89

$4.26 ฿142

-47.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.23 ¥68.4

$18.19 ฿608

-43.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 ¥6.24

$1.74 ฿58.2

-46.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.51 ¥10.13

$2.79 ฿93.3

-45.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 ¥2.08

$2.22 ฿74.1

-86.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.62 ¥71.0

$22.06 ฿737

-51.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.52 ¥10.18

$2.91 ฿97.3

-47.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 ¥3.15

$1.01 ฿33.79

-53.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.81 ¥58.9

$3.83 ฿128

130.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 ¥8.19

$1.49 ฿49.85

-18.12%

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

$21.3K ¥142.3K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

-20.23%

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

$16.2K ¥108.3K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

-39.37%

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

$84.5 ¥565

$99.4 ฿3,321

-14.94%

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

$7.92 ¥53.0

$11.28 ฿377

-29.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.69 ¥105

$17.36 ฿580

-9.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.4 ¥477

$52.3 ฿1,747

36.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.83 ¥159

$10.85 ฿362

119.63%

Cinema Ticket

$5.31 ¥35.50

$7.57 ฿253

-29.85%

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

$457 ¥3,054

$558 ฿18.7K

-18.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.3K ¥155.8K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

102.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.21 ¥282

$62.9 ฿2,102

-32.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.76 ¥125

$28.58 ฿955

-34.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$62.1 ¥415

$96.1 ฿3,213

-35.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.8 ¥614

$88.1 ฿2,943

4.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$304 ¥2,031

$729 ฿24.4K

-58.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$159 ¥1,061

$460 ฿15.4K

-65.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$596 ¥3,982

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-71.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$341 ¥2,279

$1,222 ฿40.8K

-72.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,329 ¥28.9K

$3,459 ฿115.6K

25.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,864 ¥12.5K

$2,489 ฿83.2K

-25.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$802 ¥5,362

$493 ฿16.5K

62.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.83

5.57

-31.24%

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

Last update for Foshan: October 11, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Foshan

$220 28.4%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 21.4% $47

Accommodation & Living

Foshan

$159 20.4%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 190% $301

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Foshan

$108 13.9%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 18.4% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Foshan

$97 12.4%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 28.3% $27

Eating Out

Foshan

$96 12.3%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 26.9% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Foshan

$82 10.6%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 17.8% $15

Getting Around

Foshan

$16 2%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 147% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $304 in Foshan and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Foshan pays 63% 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 Foshan vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $220 vs $268 per month, with Foshan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Foshan

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

12:26 12:26 PM

11:26 11:26 AM

1 h behind Foshan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,498,863

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

Foshan Phuket 2,300 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Foshan
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

Foshan vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Foshan is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 55% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 63% higher in Foshan, 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: $304 in Foshan versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Foshan runs roughly 108% less than in Phuket. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $457 in Foshan versus $558 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $777 in Foshan versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Foshan but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Foshan the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Foshan 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, Foshan 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 Foshan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 55% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.