Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hearst and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,168 in Hearst, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

109

Cost of Living Index in Hearst
Learn more

Hearst Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Hearst

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,168

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,168 in Hearst versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Hearst $2,168
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,065 in Hearst versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Hearst $3,065
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,962 in Hearst versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Hearst $3,962
Phuket $3,154

Living in Hearst is roughly 70% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Hearst is 59% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.72 CA$22.07

$4.47 ฿151

251.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.1 CA$99.8

$32.41 ฿1,094

119.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.08 CA$15.55

$8.81 ฿297

25.77%

Cappuccino

$3.25 CA$4.55

$2.83 ฿95.5

14.84%

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

$2.05 CA$2.87

$0.87 ฿29.43

135.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 CA$2.65

$0.49 ฿16.67

285.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.52 CA$7.74

$2.56 ฿86.4

115.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 CA$7.45

$3.68 ฿124

44.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.05 CA$2.88

$1.66 ฿56.0

23.49%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 CA$3.59

$1.46 ฿49.35

75.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.20 CA$4.49

$1.50 ฿50.6

113.33%

Eggs

$3.41 CA$4.79

$2.09 ฿70.5

63.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.15 CA$14.24

$19.07 ฿644

-46.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.37 CA$15.96

$3.30 ฿111

244.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.51 CA$20.36

$10.91 ฿368

33.00%

Apples (1kg)

$3.87 CA$5.43

$2.93 ฿99.0

32.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 CA$1.96

$1.69 ฿57.1

-17.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.94 CA$5.53

$2.25 ฿75.8

75.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.72 CA$5.22

$2.08 ฿70.1

78.85%

Potato (1kg)

$2.34 CA$3.29

$1.51 ฿51.0

54.97%

Onion (1kg)

$2.38 CA$3.34

$1.38 ฿46.56

72.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.50 CA$3.51

$1.07 ฿35.99

133.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 CA$2.34

$0.52 ฿17.52

219.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.08 CA$19.77

$4.20 ฿142

235.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.63 CA$16.32

$18.79 ฿634

-38.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.80 CA$3.93

$1.82 ฿61.5

53.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 CA$4.45

$2.84 ฿95.9

11.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.37 CA$3.33

$1.45 ฿49.03

63.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$55.5 CA$77.9

$56.7 ฿1,913

-2.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.32 CA$4.66

$3.02 ฿102

9.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.43 CA$2.01

$1.02 ฿34.36

40.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.10 CA$36.63

$3.69 ฿125

607.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 CA$1.90

$1.47 ฿49.81

-7.48%

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

$28.0K CA$39.3K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

4.45%

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

$21.4K CA$30.1K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-19.65%

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

$138 CA$194

$96.4 ฿3,254

43.33%

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

$41.68 CA$58.5

$11.26 ฿380

270.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.9 CA$77.1

$16.85 ฿569

225.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.53 CA$52.7

$67.2 ฿2,270

-44.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.52 CA$26.00

$10.73 ฿362

72.60%

Cinema Ticket

$10.63 CA$14.92

$7.50 ฿253

41.73%

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

$611 CA$857

$476 ฿16.1K

28.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.7K CA$20.6K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

30.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 CA$78.8

$62.4 ฿2,106

-9.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.55 CA$55.5

$28.41 ฿959

39.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.5 CA$120

$94.3 ฿3,184

-9.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 CA$146

$85.8 ฿2,898

21.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,334 CA$1,872

$716 ฿24.2K

86.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,068 CA$1,499

$491 ฿16.6K

117.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,968 CA$2,762

$1,927 ฿65.1K

2.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,445 CA$2,028

$1,431 ฿48.3K

0.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,927 CA$5,511

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-5.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,050 CA$4,281

$3,045 ฿102.8K

0.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,273 CA$4,593

$502 ฿17.0K

551.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.68

5.57

-15.98%

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

Last update for Hearst: October 24, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Hearst

$1.1K 49.3%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 54% $577

Groceries & Markets

Hearst

$351 16.2%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 24.1% $85

Eating Out

Hearst

$252 11.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 51.7% $130

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hearst

$235 10.8%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 47% $110

Clothing & Footwear

Hearst

$128 5.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 5.1% $6.5

Getting Around

Hearst

$75 3.5%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 6.4% $4.9

Sport & Entertainment

Hearst

$59 2.7%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 39.9% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,334 in Hearst and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hearst pays about 6.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $71 in Hearst vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $351 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Hearst

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

17:07 5:07 PM

04:07 4:07 AM

11 h ahead of Hearst

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,000

79,308

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.713 USD

1 CAD = 0.64 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.713 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.64 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Hearst Phuket 13,610 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Hearst
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

Hearst vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,168 in Hearst and $1,278 in Phuket, so Phuket is about 41% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Hearst is about 6.5 times higher, 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: $1,334 in Hearst versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 32% higher in Hearst. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,168 per month in Hearst versus $1,278 in Phuket – Phuket is about 41% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,168 in Hearst, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Hearst. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket 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.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Hearst on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.