Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kinmen and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Kinmen: $1,088 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

53

Cost of Living Index in Kinmen
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Kinmen Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Kinmen

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,088

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,088 per month in Kinmen vs $1,207 in Phuket, rent included.

Kinmen $1,088
Phuket $1,207

A couple spends around $1,849 per month in Kinmen vs $2,037 in Phuket, rent included.

Kinmen $1,849
Phuket $2,037

A family of three spends $2,611 per month in Kinmen vs $2,867 in Phuket, rent included.

Kinmen $2,611
Phuket $2,867

Kinmen is about 10% cheaper than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Kinmen and Phuket are more affordable than the global median – Kinmen 19% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.77 NT$155

$4.58 ฿153

4.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.40 NT$1,018

$32.48 ฿1,086

-3.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.75 NT$154

$8.55 ฿286

-44.44%

Cappuccino

$2.90 NT$94.0

$2.72 ฿91.0

6.62%

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

$0.98 NT$31.62

$0.94 ฿31.25

4.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 NT$21.01

$0.49 ฿16.39

32.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.55 NT$50.1

$2.59 ฿86.6

-40.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.56 NT$82.9

$3.83 ฿128

-33.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.03 NT$98.2

$1.74 ฿58.1

74.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 NT$60.8

$1.43 ฿47.82

30.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.96 NT$96.1

$1.53 ฿51.0

93.46%

Eggs

$2.71 NT$87.9

$2.17 ฿72.7

24.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.51 NT$633

$19.15 ฿640

1.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.82 NT$254

$3.30 ฿110

136.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.99 NT$681

$11.14 ฿372

88.42%

Apples (1kg)

$4.27 NT$139

$2.95 ฿98.5

44.75%

Banana (1kg)

$2.50 NT$81.0

$1.68 ฿56.1

48.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.98 NT$96.7

$2.30 ฿76.8

29.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.25 NT$105

$2.13 ฿71.3

52.58%

Potato (1kg)

$2.84 NT$92.1

$1.53 ฿51.1

85.62%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 NT$69.7

$1.36 ฿45.55

58.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.00 NT$64.8

$1.12 ฿37.44

78.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 NT$34.85

$0.55 ฿18.24

94.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.95 NT$128

$4.26 ฿142

-7.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.64 NT$410

$18.19 ฿608

-30.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 NT$52.9

$1.74 ฿58.2

-6.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 NT$74.3

$2.79 ฿93.3

-17.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.61 NT$19.75

$2.22 ฿74.1

-72.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$36.67 NT$1,189

$22.06 ฿737

66.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.74 NT$88.8

$2.91 ฿97.3

-5.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.82 NT$26.72

$1.01 ฿33.79

-18.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.51 NT$308

$3.83 ฿128

148.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.02 NT$32.92

$1.49 ฿49.85

-31.54%

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

$34.3K NT$1.1M

$26.7K ฿891.6K

28.56%

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

$24.7K NT$801.0K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

-7.52%

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

$88.5 NT$2,869

$99.4 ฿3,321

-10.97%

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

$17.67 NT$573

$11.28 ฿377

56.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.41 NT$727

$17.36 ฿580

29.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.07 NT$1,202

$52.3 ฿1,747

-29.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$9.78 NT$317

$7.57 ฿253

29.19%

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

$535 NT$17.3K

$558 ฿18.7K

-4.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K NT$538.1K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

44.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.5 NT$2,092

$62.9 ฿2,102

2.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.43 NT$1,019

$28.58 ฿955

9.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.0 NT$2,757

$96.1 ฿3,213

-11.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 NT$3,284

$88.1 ฿2,943

15.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$409 NT$13.3K

$729 ฿24.4K

-43.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$255 NT$8,261

$460 ฿15.4K

-44.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$973 NT$31.5K

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-53.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$745 NT$24.2K

$1,222 ฿40.8K

-39.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,994 NT$259.2K

$3,459 ฿115.6K

131.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,078 NT$164.7K

$2,489 ฿83.2K

104.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.38

5.57

-57.27%

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

Last update for Kinmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kinmen

$369 33.9%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 27.4% $101

Accommodation & Living

Kinmen

$255 23.4%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 80.6% $205

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kinmen

$129 11.8%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 0.4% $0.6

Clothing & Footwear

Kinmen

$127 11.7%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 2.3% $3

Eating Out

Kinmen

$107 9.8%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 13.9% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Kinmen

$57 5.2%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 19.1% $11

Getting Around

Kinmen

$46 4.2%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 15.4% $7.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $409 in Kinmen versus $729 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 $31.00 in Kinmen versus $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries tell a different story – $369 in Kinmen vs $268 in Phuket – so Phuket wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Kinmen

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

05:45 5:45 AM

04:45 4:45 AM

1 h behind Kinmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

12,568

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 18, 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Kinmen Phuket 2,800 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Kinmen
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

Kinmen vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Phuket is pricier by about 11%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,632 per month in Kinmen and $1,811 in Phuket. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kinmen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $535 per month in Kinmen and $558 in Phuket. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 38% cheaper in Phuket – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Kinmen, where all-in costs run around $1,088, than in Phuket at $1,207. In Kinmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Phuket it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Kinmen – 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.

If budget matters most, go with Kinmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Phuket makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.