Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kailua, HI and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $4,158 in Kailua, HI, rent and utilities included – about $34,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

199

Cost of Living Index in Kailua, HI
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Kailua, HI Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Kailua, HI

🇺🇸 United States

$4,158

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,158 in Kailua, HI versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Kailua, HI $4,158
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $6,091 in Kailua, HI versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Kailua, HI $6,091
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $8,024 in Kailua, HI versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Kailua, HI $8,024
Phuket $3,154

Living in Kailua, HI is roughly 225% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kailua, HI is 205% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$27.99 $27.99

$4.47 ฿151

526.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$139 $139

$32.41 ฿1,094

329.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 $11.68

$8.81 ฿297

32.58%

Cappuccino

$6.44 $6.44

$2.83 ฿95.5

127.56%

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

$3.02 $3.02

$0.87 ฿29.43

247.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 $2.38

$0.49 ฿16.67

385.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.40 $9.40

$2.56 ฿86.4

267.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.23 $9.23

$3.68 ฿124

150.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.16 $2.16

$1.66 ฿56.0

30.12%

White Bread (500g)

$7.58 $7.58

$1.46 ฿49.35

419.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$7.95 $7.95

$1.50 ฿50.6

430.00%

Eggs

$8.24 $8.24

$2.09 ฿70.5

294.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.83 $18.83

$19.07 ฿644

-1.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.04 $16.04

$3.30 ฿111

386.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.78 $21.78

$10.91 ฿368

99.63%

Apples (1kg)

$7.80 $7.80

$2.93 ฿99.0

166.21%

Banana (1kg)

$4.32 $4.32

$1.69 ฿57.1

155.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.07 $7.07

$2.25 ฿75.8

214.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$9.39 $9.39

$2.08 ฿70.1

351.44%

Potato (1kg)

$3.62 $3.62

$1.51 ฿51.0

139.74%

Onion (1kg)

$4.85 $4.85

$1.38 ฿46.56

251.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$4.51 $4.51

$1.07 ฿35.99

321.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 $3.18

$0.52 ฿17.52

511.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.08 $13.08

$4.20 ฿142

211.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.76 $16.76

$18.79 ฿634

-10.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.69 $2.69

$1.82 ฿61.5

47.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 $2.12

$2.84 ฿95.9

-25.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.90 $3.90

$1.45 ฿49.03

168.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$91.1 $91.1

$56.7 ฿1,913

60.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.60 $3.60

$3.02 ฿102

19.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.59 $2.59

$1.02 ฿34.36

153.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$44.45 $44.45

$3.69 ฿125

1104.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 $1.26

$1.47 ฿49.81

-14.29%

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

$35.0K $35.0K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

30.68%

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

$26.6K $26.6K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-0.33%

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

$249 $249

$96.4 ฿3,254

158.54%

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

$50.1 $50.1

$11.26 ฿380

344.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$66.9 $66.9

$16.85 ฿569

297.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$70.8 $70.8

$67.2 ฿2,270

5.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$40.13 $40.13

$10.73 ฿362

274.00%

Cinema Ticket

$18.73 $18.73

$7.50 ฿253

149.73%

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

$2,109 $2,109

$476 ฿16.1K

343.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$26.9K $26.9K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

138.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.3 $62.3

$62.4 ฿2,106

-0.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.57 $47.57

$28.41 ฿959

67.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 $103

$94.3 ฿3,184

9.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 $129

$85.8 ฿2,898

50.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,725 $2,725

$716 ฿24.2K

280.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,351 $2,351

$491 ฿16.6K

378.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,306 $4,306

$1,927 ฿65.1K

123.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,733 $3,733

$1,431 ฿48.3K

160.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$12.3K $12.3K

$4,175 ฿141.0K

194.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$9,638 $9,638

$3,045 ฿102.8K

216.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,764 $4,764

$502 ฿17.0K

848.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.7

5.57

20.29%

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

Last update for Kailua, HI: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kailua, HI

$2.4K 56.5%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 79.1% $1.9K

Groceries & Markets

Kailua, HI

$632 15.2%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 57.9% $366

Eating Out

Kailua, HI

$423 10.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 71.2% $302

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kailua, HI

$366 8.8%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 66% $242

Clothing & Footwear

Kailua, HI

$154 3.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 20.9% $32

Getting Around

Kailua, HI

$123 3%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 42.7% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Kailua, HI

$108 2.6%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 24.1% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,725 in Kailua, HI and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kailua, HI pays about 9.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $139 in Kailua, HI vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $632 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Kailua, HI

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

23:39 11:39 PM

16:39 4:39 PM

17 h ahead of Kailua, HI

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,975

79,308

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.899 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.899 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

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Kailua, HI Phuket 11,320 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Kailua, HI
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

Kailua, HI vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. The 225% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Kailua, HI is about 9.5 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: $2,725 in Kailua, HI versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 38% less than in Kailua, HI. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Childcare runs $2,109 in Kailua, HI versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $4,158 in Kailua, HI, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Kailua, HI. 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.

Safety-wise, Kailua, HI 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 69% less than in Kailua, HI. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.