Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jambi and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Jambi: $614 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Jambi
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Jambi Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Jambi

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$614

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $614 in Jambi versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Jambi $614
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $977 in Jambi versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Jambi $977
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,340 in Jambi versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Jambi $1,340
Phuket $3,154

Living in Jambi costs roughly 52% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Jambi 55% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.50 Rp 27.2K

$4.47 ฿151

-66.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.18 Rp 221.0K

$32.41 ฿1,093

-62.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.82 Rp 51.1K

$8.81 ฿297

-67.99%

Cappuccino

$1.32 Rp 24.0K

$2.83 ฿95.4

-53.36%

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

$0.43 Rp 7,726

$0.87 ฿29.41

-50.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.17 Rp 3,132

$0.49 ฿16.65

-65.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.11 Rp 38.4K

$2.56 ฿86.3

-17.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.51 Rp 63.7K

$3.68 ฿124

-4.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.18 Rp 21.4K

$1.66 ฿55.9

-28.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.02 Rp 18.5K

$1.46 ฿49.31

-30.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.86 Rp 15.7K

$1.50 ฿50.5

-42.67%

Eggs

$1.47 Rp 26.6K

$2.09 ฿70.5

-29.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.08 Rp 146.7K

$19.07 ฿643

-57.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.72 Rp 49.3K

$3.30 ฿111

-17.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.31 Rp 132.7K

$10.91 ฿368

-33.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.4K

$2.93 ฿98.9

-23.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.29 Rp 23.5K

$1.69 ฿57.0

-23.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 Rp 28.5K

$2.25 ฿75.8

-30.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$2.08 ฿70.0

-42.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 Rp 21.8K

$1.51 ฿51.0

-20.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.96 Rp 35.5K

$1.38 ฿46.52

42.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.88 Rp 16.0K

$1.07 ฿35.96

-17.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 Rp 7,797

$0.52 ฿17.51

-17.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.67 Rp 48.4K

$4.20 ฿142

-36.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.44 Rp 407.1K

$18.79 ฿634

19.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 Rp 33.6K

$1.82 ฿61.5

1.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.87 Rp 52.0K

$2.84 ฿95.8

1.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.26 Rp 4,705

$1.45 ฿48.98

-82.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.33 Rp 205.6K

$56.7 ฿1,912

-80.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.50 Rp 8,984

$3.02 ฿102

-83.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.31 Rp 5,593

$1.02 ฿34.33

-69.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 Rp 54.8K

$3.69 ฿125

-18.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.02 Rp 18.4K

$1.47 ฿49.76

-30.61%

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

$23.0K Rp 416.6M

$26.8K ฿903.4K

-14.26%

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

$36.3K Rp 658.0M

$26.7K ฿900.5K

35.87%

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

$73.6 Rp 1.3M

$96.4 ฿3,251

-23.62%

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

$3.81 Rp 69.2K

$11.26 ฿380

-66.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.48 Rp 317.2K

$16.85 ฿568

3.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.36 Rp 278.8K

$67.2 ฿2,268

-77.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.55 Rp 155.2K

$10.73 ฿362

-20.32%

Cinema Ticket

$2.71 Rp 49.2K

$7.50 ฿253

-63.87%

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

$86.2 Rp 1.6M

$476 ฿16.1K

-81.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,342 Rp 151.4M

$11.3K ฿380.0K

-25.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.73 Rp 775.3K

$62.4 ฿2,104

-31.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.73 Rp 575.7K

$28.41 ฿958

11.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.4 Rp 1.3M

$94.3 ฿3,181

-23.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$66.6 Rp 1.2M

$85.8 ฿2,895

-22.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$215 Rp 3.9M

$716 ฿24.2K

-70.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$134 Rp 2.4M

$491 ฿16.6K

-72.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$567 Rp 10.3M

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-70.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$349 Rp 6.3M

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-75.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,148 Rp 20.8M

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-72.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$759 Rp 13.8M

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-75.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$198 Rp 3.6M

$502 ฿16.9K

-60.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.46

5.57

69.84%

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

Last update for Jambi: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Jambi

$198 32.3%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 34.3% $68

Accommodation & Living

Jambi

$134 21.7%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 268% $357

Clothing & Footwear

Jambi

$96 15.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 26.9% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jambi

$95 15.5%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 31.2% $30

Eating Out

Jambi

$56 9.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 116% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Jambi

$21 3.4%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 296% $61

Getting Around

Jambi

$14 2.3%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 390% $56

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $215 in Jambi and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays about 2.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $12 in Jambi vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $198 vs $266 per month, with Jambi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Jambi

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

00:09 12:09 AM

Same time as Jambi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

750,857

79,308

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.93 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 27, 2026: 1 USD = 18,145 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,281 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.93 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 27, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.71 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Jambi Phuket 1,210 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Jambi
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

Jambi vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Jambi and Phuket differ by about 108% in total monthly costs ($614 vs $1,278 including rent). Jambi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 60% lower in Jambi. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $215 in Jambi versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $614 per month in Jambi versus $1,278 in Phuket – a 108% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Jambi runs roughly 80% less than in Phuket. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

At $614 in Jambi versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Jambi but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Jambi 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 Jambi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 52% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.