Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Invercargill and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,425 in Invercargill, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

69

Cost of Living Index in Invercargill
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Invercargill Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Invercargill

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,425

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,425 per month in Invercargill vs $1,278 in Phuket, rent included.

Invercargill $1,425
Phuket $1,278

A couple spends around $2,122 per month in Invercargill vs $2,216 in Phuket, rent included.

Invercargill $2,122
Phuket $2,216

A family of three spends $2,819 per month in Invercargill vs $3,154 in Phuket, rent included.

Invercargill $2,819
Phuket $3,154

Invercargill costs about 12% more than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Invercargill sits 5% above the global median, while Phuket is 6% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.31 NZ$25.41

$4.47 ฿151

220.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.1 NZ$110

$32.41 ฿1,093

91.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.28 NZ$14.71

$8.81 ฿297

-6.02%

Cappuccino

$3.17 NZ$5.63

$2.83 ฿95.4

12.01%

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

$1.67 NZ$2.97

$0.87 ฿29.41

91.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 NZ$3.79

$0.49 ฿16.65

334.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.79 NZ$4.96

$2.56 ฿86.3

8.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.86 NZ$5.08

$3.68 ฿124

-22.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 NZ$3.06

$1.66 ฿55.9

4.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 NZ$3.39

$1.46 ฿49.31

30.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 NZ$3.15

$1.50 ฿50.5

18.00%

Eggs

$5.78 NZ$10.25

$2.09 ฿70.5

176.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.67 NZ$15.40

$19.07 ฿643

-54.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.78 NZ$15.58

$3.30 ฿111

166.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.05 NZ$21.39

$10.91 ฿368

10.45%

Apples (1kg)

$2.70 NZ$4.80

$2.93 ฿98.9

-7.85%

Banana (1kg)

$2.40 NZ$4.26

$1.69 ฿57.0

42.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.61 NZ$4.63

$2.25 ฿75.8

16.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.44 NZ$6.10

$2.08 ฿70.0

65.38%

Potato (1kg)

$3.29 NZ$5.84

$1.51 ฿51.0

117.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.66 NZ$2.95

$1.38 ฿46.52

20.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 NZ$4.09

$1.07 ฿35.96

114.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 NZ$1.86

$0.52 ฿17.51

101.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.03 NZ$37.34

$4.20 ฿142

400.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.42 NZ$14.95

$18.79 ฿634

-55.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 NZ$5.14

$1.82 ฿61.5

59.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.29 NZ$5.85

$2.84 ฿95.8

15.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.46 NZ$2.60

$1.45 ฿48.98

0.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.24 NZ$3.98

$3.02 ฿102

-25.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.89 NZ$3.35

$1.02 ฿34.33

85.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.04 NZ$49.78

$3.69 ฿125

659.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 NZ$2.81

$1.47 ฿49.76

7.48%

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

$24.1K NZ$42.8K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

-9.96%

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

$18.6K NZ$33.0K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

-30.29%

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

$113 NZ$201

$96.4 ฿3,251

17.53%

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

$32.59 NZ$57.9

$11.26 ฿380

189.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.59 NZ$75.6

$16.85 ฿568

152.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.26 NZ$50.2

$67.2 ฿2,268

-57.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.12 NZ$25.07

$10.73 ฿362

31.59%

Cinema Ticket

$8.86 NZ$15.73

$7.50 ฿253

18.13%

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

$597 NZ$1,059

$476 ฿16.1K

25.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.1 NZ$105

$62.4 ฿2,104

-5.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.27 NZ$62.6

$28.41 ฿958

24.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.3 NZ$125

$94.3 ฿3,181

-25.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 NZ$139

$85.8 ฿2,895

-8.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$611 NZ$1,085

$716 ฿24.2K

-14.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$550 NZ$977

$491 ฿16.6K

12.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$835 NZ$1,482

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-56.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$769 NZ$1,365

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-46.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,776 NZ$10.3K

$4,175 ฿140.9K

38.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,013 NZ$8,899

$3,045 ฿102.7K

64.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,756 NZ$4,894

$502 ฿16.9K

448.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.72

5.57

20.65%

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

Last update for Invercargill: 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

Invercargill

$550 38.6%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 10.8% $60

Groceries & Markets

Invercargill

$301 21.1%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 11.6% $35

Eating Out

Invercargill

$212 14.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 42.7% $91

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Invercargill

$188 13.2%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 33.9% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Invercargill

$109 7.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 11.5% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Invercargill

$46 3.2%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 78.8% $36

Getting Around

Invercargill

$18 * 1.2%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 303% $53

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $611 in Invercargill versus $716 in Phuket. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Invercargill are about 5.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $62 in Invercargill versus $32 in Phuket. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $301 vs $266 – making Phuket the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Invercargill

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

06:44 6:44 AM

00:44 12:44 AM

6 h behind Invercargill

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

56,200

79,308

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to NZD – New Zealand Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇿 New Zealand Dollar ($)

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.563 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 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 NZD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Invercargill Phuket 9,150 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Invercargill
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

Invercargill vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Invercargill costs about 12% more than Phuket, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,138 per month in Invercargill and $1,917 in Phuket. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Invercargill, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $611 there versus $716 in Phuket.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,425 in Invercargill and $1,278 in Phuket. That makes Phuket about 10% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $597 per month in Invercargill and $476 in Phuket. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

It depends on your priorities. Phuket has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,278 in Phuket to $1,425 in Invercargill. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with Phuket. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Invercargill makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.