Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kaohsiung and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Kaohsiung: $1,105 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

53

Cost of Living Index in Kaohsiung
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Kaohsiung Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

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Kaohsiung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,105

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,105 in Kaohsiung versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Kaohsiung $1,105
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,796 in Kaohsiung versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Kaohsiung $1,796
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,487 in Kaohsiung versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Kaohsiung $2,487
Phuket $3,154

Living in Kaohsiung costs roughly 14% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Kaohsiung 19% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.74 NT$155

$4.47 ฿151

6.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.77 NT$1,003

$32.41 ฿1,094

-5.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.60 NT$150

$8.81 ฿297

-47.79%

Cappuccino

$2.93 NT$95.4

$2.83 ฿95.4

3.53%

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

$1.05 NT$34.21

$0.87 ฿29.42

20.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.69 NT$22.61

$0.49 ฿16.66

40.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 NT$49.24

$2.56 ฿86.3

-41.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 NT$78.1

$3.68 ฿124

-35.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.16 NT$103

$1.66 ฿56.0

90.36%

White Bread (500g)

$2.18 NT$71.1

$1.46 ฿49.32

49.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.87 NT$93.5

$1.50 ฿50.5

91.33%

Eggs

$2.54 NT$82.9

$2.09 ฿70.5

21.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.21 NT$496

$19.07 ฿643

-20.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.03 NT$262

$3.30 ฿111

143.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.77 NT$481

$10.91 ฿368

35.38%

Apples (1kg)

$6.40 NT$209

$2.93 ฿98.9

118.43%

Banana (1kg)

$2.79 NT$90.9

$1.69 ฿57.0

65.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.42 NT$78.8

$2.25 ฿75.8

7.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.02 NT$98.6

$2.08 ฿70.1

45.19%

Potato (1kg)

$2.68 NT$87.4

$1.51 ฿51.0

77.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 NT$64.4

$1.38 ฿46.54

42.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 NT$74.9

$1.07 ฿35.97

114.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 NT$33.12

$0.52 ฿17.51

96.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.24 NT$138

$4.20 ฿142

0.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.44 NT$503

$18.79 ฿634

-17.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 NT$52.5

$1.82 ฿61.5

-11.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 NT$68.0

$2.84 ฿95.9

-26.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.62 NT$20.35

$1.45 ฿49.00

-57.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.04 NT$393

$56.7 ฿1,912

-78.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.64 NT$86.0

$3.02 ฿102

-12.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 NT$25.48

$1.02 ฿34.34

-23.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.68 NT$185

$3.69 ฿125

53.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.97 NT$31.78

$1.47 ฿49.78

-34.01%

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

$37.1K NT$1.2M

$26.8K ฿903.7K

38.72%

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

$22.7K NT$739.4K

$26.7K ฿900.8K

-15.04%

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

$82.1 NT$2,676

$96.4 ฿3,252

-14.82%

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

$16.89 NT$551

$11.26 ฿380

50.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.27 NT$824

$16.85 ฿569

49.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.20 NT$1,278

$67.2 ฿2,269

-41.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.12 NT$330

$10.73 ฿362

-5.68%

Cinema Ticket

$10.11 NT$330

$7.50 ฿253

34.80%

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

$448 NT$14.6K

$476 ฿16.1K

-5.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.7K NT$445.8K

$11.3K ฿380.1K

21.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.0 NT$2,935

$62.4 ฿2,105

44.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.24 NT$1,019

$28.41 ฿959

9.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.0 NT$2,805

$94.3 ฿3,182

-8.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.3 NT$3,239

$85.8 ฿2,896

15.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$430 NT$14.0K

$716 ฿24.2K

-39.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$301 NT$9,806

$491 ฿16.6K

-38.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$985 NT$32.1K

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-48.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$681 NT$22.2K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-52.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,146 NT$135.2K

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-0.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,875 NT$93.7K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-5.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,401 NT$45.7K

$502 ฿17.0K

178.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.56

5.57

-54.04%

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

Last update for Kaohsiung: 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

Kaohsiung

$355 32.1%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 25% $89

Accommodation & Living

Kaohsiung

$301 27.2%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 63.2% $190

Clothing & Footwear

Kaohsiung

$138 12.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 11.6% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kaohsiung

$124 11.3%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 0.2% $0.2

Eating Out

Kaohsiung

$106 9.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 14.6% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Kaohsiung

$59 5.4%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 38.4% $23

Getting Around

Kaohsiung

$21 1.9%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 235% $49

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $430 in Kaohsiung and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kaohsiung pays about 2.8 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $31 in Kaohsiung vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $355 vs $266, with Phuket cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Kaohsiung

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

12:03 12:03 PM

11:03 11:03 AM

1 h behind Kaohsiung

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,777,873

79,308

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.07 USD

100 TWD = 2.75 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to TWD – New Taiwan Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇼 New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 32.61 TWD (100 TWD = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 36.41 TWD (100 TWD = 2.75 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kaohsiung Phuket 2,860 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Kaohsiung
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

Kaohsiung vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,105 in Kaohsiung and $1,278 in Phuket, so Kaohsiung is about 14% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Kaohsiung is about 2.8 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: $430 in Kaohsiung versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $448 in Kaohsiung versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Phuket pay roughly 25% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Kaohsiung gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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, Kaohsiung and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.