Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kobe and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,392 in Kobe, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

67

Cost of Living Index in Kobe
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Kobe Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Kobe

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,392

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,392 in Kobe versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Kobe $1,392
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,067 in Kobe versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Kobe $2,067
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,742 in Kobe versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Kobe $2,742
Phuket $3,154

Living in Kobe is roughly 9% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kobe is 2% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.70 ¥1,214

$4.47 ฿151

72.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.86 ¥5,024

$32.41 ฿1,094

-1.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.91 ¥775

$8.81 ฿297

-44.27%

Cappuccino

$2.37 ¥374

$2.83 ฿95.4

-16.25%

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

$1.19 ¥188

$0.87 ฿29.42

36.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.57 ¥89.9

$0.49 ฿16.66

16.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.12 ¥335

$2.56 ฿86.3

-17.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 ¥363

$3.68 ฿124

-37.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 ¥248

$1.66 ฿56.0

-5.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.34 ¥211

$1.46 ฿49.32

-8.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.17 ¥657

$1.50 ฿50.5

178.00%

Eggs

$2.04 ¥321

$2.09 ฿70.5

-2.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.61 ¥1,988

$19.07 ฿643

-33.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.78 ¥1,069

$3.30 ฿111

105.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.06 ¥2,691

$10.91 ฿368

56.37%

Apples (1kg)

$7.70 ¥1,215

$2.93 ฿98.9

162.80%

Banana (1kg)

$3.06 ¥483

$1.69 ฿57.0

81.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.97 ¥783

$2.25 ฿75.8

120.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$7.71 ¥1,215

$2.08 ฿70.1

270.67%

Potato (1kg)

$3.84 ¥605

$1.51 ฿51.0

154.30%

Onion (1kg)

$3.45 ¥544

$1.38 ฿46.54

150.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ¥179

$1.07 ฿35.97

5.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 ¥148

$0.52 ฿17.51

80.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.48 ¥548

$4.20 ฿142

-17.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.05 ¥1,269

$18.79 ฿634

-57.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 ¥309

$1.82 ฿61.5

7.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.45 ¥229

$2.84 ฿95.9

-48.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ¥229

$1.45 ฿49.00

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$62.4 ¥9,843

$56.7 ฿1,912

10.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 ¥491

$3.02 ฿102

2.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.24 ¥511

$1.02 ฿34.34

217.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.72 ¥4,213

$3.69 ฿125

624.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.06 ¥168

$1.47 ฿49.78

-27.89%

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

$19.9K ¥3.1M

$26.8K ฿903.7K

-25.69%

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

$15.4K ¥2.4M

$26.7K ฿900.8K

-42.15%

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

$148 ¥23.3K

$96.4 ฿3,252

53.39%

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

$23.26 ¥3,667

$11.26 ฿380

106.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.25 ¥4,927

$16.85 ฿569

85.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.90 ¥7,396

$67.2 ฿2,269

-30.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.83 ¥1,866

$10.73 ฿362

10.25%

Cinema Ticket

$12.86 ¥2,028

$7.50 ฿253

71.47%

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

$321 ¥50.5K

$476 ฿16.1K

-32.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,141 ¥968.3K

$11.3K ฿380.1K

-45.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.6 ¥7,980

$62.4 ฿2,105

-18.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.01 ¥3,944

$28.41 ฿959

-11.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$45.98 ¥7,251

$94.3 ฿3,182

-51.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$65.6 ¥10.3K

$85.8 ฿2,896

-23.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$691 ¥108.9K

$716 ฿24.2K

-3.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$463 ¥73.0K

$491 ฿16.6K

-5.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,100 ¥173.5K

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-42.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$737 ¥116.2K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-48.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,325 ¥682.0K

$4,175 ฿140.9K

3.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,894 ¥456.3K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-4.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,975 ¥311.4K

$502 ฿17.0K

293.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.02

5.57

-63.73%

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

Last update for Kobe: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kobe

$463 33.3%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 6.1% $28

Groceries & Markets

Kobe

$355 25.5%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 25% $89

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kobe

$202 14.5%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 38.5% $78

Eating Out

Kobe

$127 9.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 4.2% $5.4

Getting Around

Kobe

$88 6.3%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 19.4% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Kobe

$84 6.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 44.7% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Kobe

$73 5.2%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 13.2% $9.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $691 in Kobe and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kobe pays about 3.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

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

Good to know

🇯🇵 Kobe

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

16:59 4:59 PM

14:59 2:59 PM

2 h behind Kobe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,537,272

79,308

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Kobe Phuket 4,790 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Kobe
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

Kobe vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 8% lower than in Kobe. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Kobe is about 3.9 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: $691 in Kobe versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $321 in Kobe versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 9% less than in Kobe. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your 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, Kobe and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Kobe on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.