Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Haikou and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Haikou: $813 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Haikou
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Haikou Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Haikou

🇨🇳 China

$813

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $813 in Haikou versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Haikou $813
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,165 in Haikou versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Haikou $1,165
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,516 in Haikou versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Haikou $1,516
Phuket $3,154

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

Both cities sit below the global median: Haikou 40% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.49 ¥29.87

$4.47 ฿151

0.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$14.88 ¥99.0

$32.41 ฿1,093

-54.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.93 ¥39.45

$8.81 ฿297

-32.69%

Cappuccino

$2.50 ¥16.62

$2.83 ฿95.4

-11.66%

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

$0.84 ¥5.59

$0.87 ฿29.41

-3.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.37 ¥2.44

$0.49 ฿16.65

-24.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.52 ¥10.09

$2.56 ฿86.3

-40.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 ¥18.43

$3.68 ฿124

-24.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.12 ¥14.12

$1.66 ฿55.9

27.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 ¥9.38

$1.46 ฿49.31

-3.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.69 ¥4.60

$1.50 ฿50.5

-54.00%

Eggs

$1.37 ¥9.12

$2.09 ฿70.5

-34.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.97 ¥26.43

$3.30 ฿111

20.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.52 ¥103

$10.91 ฿368

42.25%

Apples (1kg)

$1.75 ¥11.63

$2.93 ฿98.9

-40.27%

Banana (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.21

$1.69 ฿57.0

-44.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.09 ¥7.27

$2.25 ฿75.8

-51.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.94 ¥6.24

$2.08 ฿70.0

-54.81%

Potato (1kg)

$0.86 ¥5.73

$1.51 ฿51.0

-43.05%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 ¥4.90

$1.38 ฿46.52

-46.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.43 ¥2.88

$1.07 ฿35.96

-59.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 ¥3.73

$0.52 ฿17.51

7.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.17 ¥21.11

$4.20 ฿142

-24.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.01 ¥60.0

$18.79 ฿634

-52.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 ¥4.14

$1.82 ฿61.5

-65.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.17 ¥7.77

$2.84 ฿95.8

-58.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 ¥5.71

$1.45 ฿48.98

-40.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ¥365

$56.7 ฿1,912

-3.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.29 ¥15.25

$3.02 ฿102

-24.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 ¥3.13

$1.02 ฿34.33

-53.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 ¥8.47

$1.47 ฿49.76

-13.61%

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

$26.8K ฿903.4K

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

$26.7K ฿900.5K

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

$36.44 ¥242

$96.4 ฿3,251

-62.18%

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

$13.45 ¥89.5

$11.26 ฿380

19.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.72 ¥91.3

$16.85 ฿568

-18.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.34 ¥308

$67.2 ฿2,268

-31.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.51 ¥43.29

$10.73 ฿362

-39.33%

Cinema Ticket

$4.62 ¥30.74

$7.50 ฿253

-38.40%

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

$871 ¥5,794

$476 ฿16.1K

82.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.7K ¥131.3K

$11.3K ฿380.0K

75.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.29 ¥182

$62.4 ฿2,104

-56.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.76 ¥238

$28.41 ฿958

25.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$44.30 ¥295

$94.3 ฿3,181

-53.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$38.38 ¥255

$85.8 ฿2,895

-55.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$370 ¥2,463

$716 ฿24.2K

-48.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$294 ¥1,956

$491 ฿16.6K

-40.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$571 ¥3,801

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-70.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 ¥2,488

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-73.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,265 ¥21.7K

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-21.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,136 ¥14.2K

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-29.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$715 ¥4,756

$502 ฿16.9K

42.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

5.57

-30.88%

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

Last update for Haikou: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Haikou

$294 36.2%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 67% $197

Groceries & Markets

Haikou

$169 * 20.8%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 57.2% $97

Eating Out

Haikou

$102 12.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 19.8% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Haikou

$66 8.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 85.9% $56

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Haikou

$64 7.8%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 95.7% $61

Getting Around

Haikou

$63 7.8%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 12% $7.6

Sport & Entertainment

Haikou

$56 6.8%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 47.9% $27

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 $370 in Haikou and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Haikou pays 42% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $15 in Haikou vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $169 vs $266 per month, with Haikou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Haikou

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

00:31 12:31 AM

23:31 11:31 PM

1 h behind Haikou

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,873,358

79,308

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 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 31, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.43 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Haikou Phuket 1,860 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Haikou
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

Haikou vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $813 in Haikou and $1,278 in Phuket, so Haikou is about 36% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 42% higher in Haikou, 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: $370 in Haikou versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $813 per month in Haikou versus $1,278 in Phuket – Haikou is about 36% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Haikou runs roughly 3% less than in Phuket. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $813 in Haikou versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Haikou but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Haikou 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.

Expats usually find Haikou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 36% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.