Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Keelung and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Keelung: $978 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

47

Cost of Living Index in Keelung
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Keelung Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Keelung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$978

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $978 in Keelung versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Keelung $978
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,717 in Keelung versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Keelung $1,717
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,457 in Keelung versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Keelung $2,457
Phuket $2,867

Living in Keelung costs roughly 19% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Keelung 28% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.65 NT$151

$4.58 ฿153

1.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.92 NT$1,035

$32.48 ฿1,086

-1.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.85 NT$157

$8.55 ฿286

-43.27%

Cappuccino

$2.85 NT$92.4

$2.72 ฿91.0

4.78%

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

$1.03 NT$33.31

$0.94 ฿31.25

9.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.73 NT$23.60

$0.49 ฿16.39

48.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.54 NT$50.1

$2.59 ฿86.6

-40.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 NT$91.1

$3.83 ฿128

-26.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.24 NT$105

$1.74 ฿58.1

86.21%

White Bread (500g)

$1.39 NT$45.01

$1.43 ฿47.82

-2.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.12 NT$36.44

$1.53 ฿51.0

-26.80%

Eggs

$2.22 NT$72.1

$2.17 ฿72.7

2.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$29.36 NT$952

$19.15 ฿640

53.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.83 NT$189

$3.30 ฿110

76.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.08 NT$554

$11.14 ฿372

53.32%

Apples (1kg)

$4.35 NT$141

$2.95 ฿98.5

47.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 NT$61.4

$1.68 ฿56.1

12.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.02 NT$98.0

$2.30 ฿76.8

31.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.16 NT$70.1

$2.13 ฿71.3

1.41%

Potato (1kg)

$1.19 NT$38.69

$1.53 ฿51.1

-22.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 NT$61.6

$1.36 ฿45.55

39.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.42 NT$78.5

$1.12 ฿37.44

116.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 NT$29.60

$0.55 ฿18.24

65.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.76 NT$122

$4.26 ฿142

-11.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.24 NT$300

$18.19 ฿608

-49.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 NT$35.21

$1.74 ฿58.2

-37.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.56 NT$83.0

$2.79 ฿93.3

-8.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.64 NT$20.87

$2.22 ฿74.1

-71.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$63.7 NT$2,064

$22.06 ฿737

188.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.61 NT$84.7

$2.91 ฿97.3

-10.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.96 NT$31.16

$1.01 ฿33.79

-4.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.61 NT$311

$3.83 ฿128

150.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.03 NT$33.31

$1.49 ฿49.85

-30.87%

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

$33.3K NT$1.1M

$26.7K ฿891.6K

24.85%

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

$23.0K NT$744.6K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

-14.04%

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

$41.52 NT$1,346

$99.4 ฿3,321

-58.22%

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

$15.14 NT$491

$11.28 ฿377

34.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.07 NT$359

$17.36 ฿580

-36.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.14 NT$1,107

$52.3 ฿1,747

-34.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$32.11 NT$1,041

$10.85 ฿362

195.94%

Cinema Ticket

$7.92 NT$257

$7.57 ฿253

4.62%

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

$336 NT$10.9K

$558 ฿18.7K

-39.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K NT$546.4K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

46.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$73.0 NT$2,368

$62.9 ฿2,102

16.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.15 NT$1,172

$28.58 ฿955

26.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$47.16 NT$1,529

$96.1 ฿3,213

-50.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$31.66 NT$1,027

$88.1 ฿2,943

-64.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$401 NT$13.0K

$729 ฿24.4K

-45.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$254 NT$8,247

$460 ฿15.4K

-44.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$978 NT$31.7K

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-53.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$731 NT$23.7K

$1,222 ฿40.8K

-40.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,385 NT$109.8K

$3,459 ฿115.6K

-2.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,352 NT$76.3K

$2,489 ฿83.2K

-5.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,436 NT$79.0K

$493 ฿16.5K

393.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.27

5.57

-59.25%

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

Last update for Keelung: October 13, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Keelung

$341 34.9%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 21.6% $74

Accommodation & Living

Keelung

$254 26%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 80.9% $206

Eating Out

Keelung

$106 10.9%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 14.1% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Keelung

$85 8.7%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 46.6% $39

Getting Around

Keelung

$74 7.5%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 47.2% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Keelung

$68 6.9%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 89% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Keelung

$50 5.1%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 34.9% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $401 in Keelung and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Keelung pays 394% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32.00 in Keelung vs $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $341 vs $268, with Phuket cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Keelung

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

23:47 11:47 PM

22:47 10:47 PM

1 h behind Keelung

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

372,100

79,308

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 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 October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 32.43 TWD (100 TWD = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 36.46 TWD (100 TWD = 2.74 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Keelung Phuket 3,130 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Keelung
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

Keelung vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Keelung and Phuket differ by about 23% in total monthly costs ($978 vs $1,207 including rent). Keelung is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 394% higher in Keelung, 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: $401 in Keelung versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Phuket pay roughly 28% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Keelung – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $32.00 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $978 in Keelung versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Keelung but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Keelung 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, Keelung 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 Keelung gentler on the wallet – expenses run 23% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.