Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Karratha and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $2,473 in Karratha, rent and utilities included – about $15,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

120

Cost of Living Index in Karratha
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Karratha Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Karratha

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,473

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,473 per month in Karratha vs $1,208 in Phuket, rent included.

Karratha $2,473
Phuket $1,208

A couple spends around $3,581 per month in Karratha vs $2,027 in Phuket, rent included.

Karratha $3,581
Phuket $2,027

A family of three spends $4,690 per month in Karratha vs $2,845 in Phuket, rent included.

Karratha $4,690
Phuket $2,845

Karratha costs about 105% more than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Karratha sits 83% above the global median, while Phuket is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 A$24.99

$4.40 ฿148

299.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$82.6 A$117

$32.26 ฿1,089

155.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.31 A$14.66

$8.76 ฿296

17.69%

Cappuccino

$3.88 A$5.52

$2.83 ฿95.4

37.10%

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

$2.83 A$4.02

$0.90 ฿30.43

214.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 A$3.11

$0.47 ฿15.71

365.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.54 A$10.72

$2.55 ฿86.0

195.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.58 A$10.77

$3.83 ฿129

97.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 A$2.16

$1.73 ฿58.2

-12.14%

White Bread (500g)

$2.72 A$3.86

$1.47 ฿49.58

85.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.26 A$3.21

$1.51 ฿51.1

49.67%

Eggs

$4.83 A$6.86

$2.17 ฿73.3

122.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.42 A$13.39

$19.70 ฿665

-52.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.43 A$13.39

$3.34 ฿113

182.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.89 A$21.15

$11.16 ฿377

33.42%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 A$5.65

$2.85 ฿96.0

39.30%

Banana (1kg)

$3.11 A$4.42

$1.70 ฿57.5

82.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.29 A$4.68

$2.19 ฿74.0

50.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.75 A$6.75

$2.05 ฿69.0

131.71%

Potato (1kg)

$2.81 A$3.99

$1.45 ฿49.03

93.79%

Onion (1kg)

$2.39 A$3.40

$1.38 ฿46.60

73.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.33 A$3.31

$1.07 ฿36.04

117.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 A$2.09

$0.51 ฿17.07

188.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$41.46 A$58.9

$4.26 ฿144

873.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.65 A$19.39

$18.58 ฿627

-26.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.76 A$6.76

$1.78 ฿60.2

167.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.35 A$7.60

$2.85 ฿96.1

87.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.89 A$4.11

$2.26 ฿76.3

27.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$82.2 A$117

$22.10 ฿746

271.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.38 A$4.81

$3.01 ฿102

12.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.58 A$2.24

$1.06 ฿35.68

49.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.46 A$56.1

$3.86 ฿130

922.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 A$1.94

$1.45 ฿48.91

-6.21%

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

$27.0K A$38.3K

$26.3K ฿888.3K

2.45%

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

$29.6K A$42.1K

$26.9K ฿909.1K

9.92%

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

$202 A$286

$96.4 ฿3,252

109.14%

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

$27.87 A$39.60

$11.04 ฿372

152.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.4 A$78.7

$17.14 ฿578

223.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.7 A$80.6

$52.2 ฿1,760

8.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.66 A$25.10

$11.16 ฿376

58.24%

Cinema Ticket

$14.78 A$21.00

$7.81 ฿263

89.24%

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

$2,176 A$3,091

$556 ฿18.8K

291.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.4K A$29.0K

$11.6K ฿390.7K

76.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$77.6 A$110

$64.2 ฿2,166

20.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.7 A$77.7

$28.69 ฿968

90.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 A$153

$95.4 ฿3,217

13.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 A$171

$88.0 ฿2,968

36.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,391 A$1,976

$737 ฿24.9K

88.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,176 A$1,671

$462 ฿15.6K

154.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,113 A$3,003

$2,095 ฿70.7K

0.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,779 A$2,527

$1,201 ฿40.5K

48.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,861 A$8,328

$3,488 ฿117.7K

68.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,940 A$7,020

$2,523 ฿85.1K

95.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

5.57

4.85%

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

Last update for Karratha: October 17, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Karratha

$1.2K 47.5%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 60.7% $713

Groceries & Markets

Karratha

$368 14.9%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 27% $100

Eating Out

Karratha

$291 11.8%

Phuket

$121 10% 58.4% $170

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Karratha

$285 11.5%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 56.3% $160

Clothing & Footwear

Karratha

$162 6.6%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 23.3% $38

Getting Around

Karratha

$105 4.3%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 62.5% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Karratha

$86 3.5%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 21.4% $18

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,391 in Karratha versus $737 in Phuket. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $83 in Karratha versus $32 in Phuket. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $368 vs $269 – making Phuket the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Karratha

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

06:48 6:48 AM

05:48 5:48 AM

1 h behind Karratha

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,013

79,308

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.704 USD

1 AUD = 0.628 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 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 25, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.704 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 AUD (1 AUD = 0.628 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.8 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Karratha Phuket 3,770 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Karratha
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

Karratha vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,473 in Karratha, $1,208 in Phuket – roughly 105% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,710 per month in Karratha and $1,813 in Phuket. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Phuket, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $737 there versus $1,391 in Karratha.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,473 in Karratha and $1,208 in Phuket. That’s a gap of about 105%.

Public transport costs about 73% less in Phuket. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Phuket, where all-in costs run around $1,208, than in Karratha at $2,473. In Phuket it covers expenses comfortably, while in Karratha it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Phuket – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

For expats, Phuket is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and the 105% gap matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.