Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kalgoorlie and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $1,929 in Kalgoorlie, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

94

Cost of Living Index in Kalgoorlie
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Kalgoorlie Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Kalgoorlie

🇦🇺 Australia

$1,929

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,929 in Kalgoorlie versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Kalgoorlie $1,929
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,287 in Kalgoorlie versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Kalgoorlie $3,287
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,645 in Kalgoorlie versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Kalgoorlie $4,645
Phuket $2,867

Living in Kalgoorlie is roughly 60% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kalgoorlie is 43% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.55 A$25.25

$4.58 ฿153

283.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.3 A$121

$32.48 ฿1,086

159.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.63 A$15.29

$8.55 ฿286

24.33%

Cappuccino

$4.42 A$6.36

$2.72 ฿91.0

62.50%

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

$3.72 A$5.35

$0.94 ฿31.25

295.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.58 A$5.15

$0.49 ฿16.39

630.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.37 A$9.16

$2.59 ฿86.6

145.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.24 A$10.42

$3.83 ฿128

89.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 A$2.20

$1.74 ฿58.1

-12.07%

White Bread (500g)

$3.46 A$4.99

$1.43 ฿47.82

141.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.28 A$3.28

$1.53 ฿51.0

49.02%

Eggs

$4.52 A$6.50

$2.17 ฿72.7

108.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.34 A$13.44

$19.15 ฿640

-51.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.09 A$13.08

$3.30 ฿110

175.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.84 A$21.35

$11.14 ฿372

33.21%

Apples (1kg)

$3.80 A$5.46

$2.95 ฿98.5

28.81%

Banana (1kg)

$2.99 A$4.30

$1.68 ฿56.1

77.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.34 A$4.80

$2.30 ฿76.8

45.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.72 A$6.78

$2.13 ฿71.3

121.60%

Potato (1kg)

$2.68 A$3.86

$1.53 ฿51.1

75.16%

Onion (1kg)

$2.33 A$3.36

$1.36 ฿45.55

71.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.14 A$3.08

$1.12 ฿37.44

91.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 A$2.15

$0.55 ฿18.24

170.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$40.93 A$58.9

$4.26 ฿142

860.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.69 A$19.70

$18.19 ฿608

-24.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.82 A$6.94

$1.74 ฿58.2

177.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 A$7.43

$2.79 ฿93.3

84.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.94 A$4.23

$2.22 ฿74.1

32.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$81.8 A$118

$22.06 ฿737

270.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.51 A$5.05

$2.91 ฿97.3

20.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.01 ฿33.79

45.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$43.13 A$62.1

$3.83 ฿128

1026.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 A$1.95

$1.49 ฿49.85

-8.72%

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

$23.0K A$33.2K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

-13.61%

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

$33.7K A$48.5K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

26.20%

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

$310 A$446

$99.4 ฿3,321

211.72%

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

$55.8 A$80.3

$11.28 ฿377

394.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$68.5 A$98.6

$17.36 ฿580

294.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.87 A$54.5

$52.3 ฿1,747

-27.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.04 A$28.83

$10.85 ฿362

84.70%

Cinema Ticket

$17.75 A$25.54

$7.57 ฿253

134.48%

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

$1,839 A$2,646

$558 ฿18.7K

229.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K A$26.3K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

58.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.2 A$113

$62.9 ฿2,102

24.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.3 A$79.5

$28.58 ฿955

93.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 A$155

$96.1 ฿3,213

11.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$189

$88.1 ฿2,943

49.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,387 A$1,996

$729 ฿24.4K

90.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$479 A$689

$460 ฿15.4K

4.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,659 A$2,387

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-20.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,543 A$2,221

$1,222 ฿40.8K

26.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,435 A$7,821

$3,459 ฿115.6K

57.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,339 A$7,683

$2,489 ฿83.2K

114.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,038 A$8,688

$493 ฿16.5K

1124.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.25

5.57

12.21%

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

Last update for Kalgoorlie: 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

Kalgoorlie

$479 24.8%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 4% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kalgoorlie

$434 22.5%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 70.5% $306

Groceries & Markets

Kalgoorlie

$370 19.2%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 27.7% $102

Eating Out

Kalgoorlie

$301 15.6%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 59.7% $179

Clothing & Footwear

Kalgoorlie

$168 8.7%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 26% $44

Getting Around

Kalgoorlie

$104 5.4%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 62.8% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Kalgoorlie

$73 3.8%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 8.1% $5.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,387 in Kalgoorlie and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kalgoorlie pays 1125% 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: $84.0 in Kalgoorlie vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $370 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Kalgoorlie

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

18:09 6:09 PM

17:09 5:09 PM

1 h behind Kalgoorlie

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

29,068

79,308

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Kalgoorlie Phuket 4,950 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Kalgoorlie
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

Kalgoorlie vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 60% lower than in Kalgoorlie. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 1125% higher in Kalgoorlie, 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: $1,387 in Kalgoorlie versus $729 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 271% less than in Kalgoorlie. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $1,839 in Kalgoorlie versus $558 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,929 in Kalgoorlie, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Kalgoorlie. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Phuket delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,207 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Phuket hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Kalgoorlie 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 60% less than in Kalgoorlie. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.