Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hamilton and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $2,253 in Hamilton, rent and utilities included – about $12,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

110

Cost of Living Index in Hamilton
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Hamilton Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

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Hamilton

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,253

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,253 in Hamilton versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Hamilton $2,253
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,331 in Hamilton versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Hamilton $3,331
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,408 in Hamilton versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Hamilton $4,408
Phuket $2,867

Living in Hamilton is roughly 87% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Hamilton is 67% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.21 CA$24.33

$4.58 ฿153

275.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.7 CA$92.8

$32.48 ฿1,086

102.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.87 CA$16.77

$8.55 ฿286

38.83%

Cappuccino

$3.37 CA$4.77

$2.72 ฿91.0

23.90%

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

$2.22 CA$3.14

$0.94 ฿31.25

136.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 CA$2.39

$0.49 ฿16.39

244.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.99 CA$7.05

$2.59 ฿86.6

92.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.03 CA$8.52

$3.83 ฿128

57.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.89 CA$2.67

$1.74 ฿58.1

8.62%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 CA$2.99

$1.43 ฿47.82

48.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.13 CA$4.43

$1.53 ฿51.0

104.58%

Eggs

$3.33 CA$4.70

$2.17 ฿72.7

53.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.88 CA$11.13

$19.15 ฿640

-58.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.30 CA$15.98

$3.30 ฿110

242.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.24 CA$20.13

$11.14 ฿372

27.83%

Apples (1kg)

$3.81 CA$5.38

$2.95 ฿98.5

29.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.27 CA$1.79

$1.68 ฿56.1

-24.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.98 CA$5.63

$2.30 ฿76.8

73.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.82 CA$5.40

$2.13 ฿71.3

79.34%

Potato (1kg)

$2.71 CA$3.83

$1.53 ฿51.1

77.12%

Onion (1kg)

$1.91 CA$2.69

$1.36 ฿45.55

40.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.95 CA$2.75

$1.12 ฿37.44

74.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.33 CA$1.88

$0.55 ฿18.24

141.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.49 CA$17.65

$4.26 ฿142

193.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.95 CA$19.72

$18.19 ฿608

-23.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 CA$3.74

$1.74 ฿58.2

52.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.77 CA$5.33

$2.79 ฿93.3

35.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.56 CA$3.62

$2.22 ฿74.1

15.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$84.1 CA$119

$22.06 ฿737

281.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.36 CA$4.76

$2.91 ฿97.3

15.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.28 CA$1.82

$1.01 ฿33.79

26.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.24 CA$32.85

$3.83 ฿128

506.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.21 CA$1.71

$1.49 ฿49.85

-18.79%

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

$27.6K CA$39.1K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

3.57%

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

$19.6K CA$27.7K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

-26.58%

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

$152 CA$214

$99.4 ฿3,321

52.58%

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

$41.21 CA$58.3

$11.28 ฿377

265.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.2 CA$70.9

$17.36 ฿580

189.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.85 CA$52.1

$52.3 ฿1,747

-29.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.62 CA$24.91

$10.85 ฿362

62.40%

Cinema Ticket

$10.23 CA$14.46

$7.57 ฿253

35.14%

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

$600 CA$848

$558 ฿18.7K

7.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K CA$23.4K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

44.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.93 CA$67.8

$62.9 ฿2,102

-23.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.45 CA$43.05

$28.58 ฿955

6.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.8 CA$118

$96.1 ฿3,213

-12.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 CA$161

$88.1 ฿2,943

29.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,251 CA$1,769

$729 ฿24.4K

71.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,123 CA$1,588

$460 ฿15.4K

144.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,042 CA$2,887

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-2.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,873 CA$2,647

$1,222 ฿40.8K

53.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,695 CA$3,810

$3,459 ฿115.6K

-22.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,668 CA$3,771

$2,489 ฿83.2K

7.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,860 CA$4,044

$493 ฿16.5K

480.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.6

5.57

-17.41%

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

Last update for Hamilton: October 10, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Hamilton

$1.1K 49.9%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 59.1% $663

Groceries & Markets

Hamilton

$335 14.9%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 20.1% $67

Eating Out

Hamilton

$266 11.8%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 54.5% $145

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hamilton

$243 10.8%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 47.3% $115

Clothing & Footwear

Hamilton

$124 5.5%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 0.1% $0.2

Getting Around

Hamilton

$104 4.6%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 62.7% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Hamilton

$57 2.5%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 17.7% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,251 in Hamilton and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hamilton pays 480% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $66.0 in Hamilton vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $335 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Hamilton

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

10:56 10:56 AM

21:56 9:56 PM

11 h ahead of Hamilton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

519,949

79,308

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

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Hamilton Phuket 14,330 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Hamilton
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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

Hamilton vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 87% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 480% higher in Hamilton, 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: $1,251 in Hamilton versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $600 in Hamilton versus $558 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 25% higher in Hamilton. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,253 in Hamilton, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Hamilton. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Phuket is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Hamilton, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Hamilton 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 Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 87% less than in Hamilton. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.