Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Markham and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,410 in Markham, rent and utilities included – about $13,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

116

Cost of Living Index in Markham
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Markham Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Markham

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,410

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,410 in Markham versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Markham $2,410
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,495 in Markham versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Markham $3,495
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,580 in Markham versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Markham $4,580
Phuket $3,154

Living in Markham is roughly 89% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Markham is 77% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.09 CA$25.41

$4.47 ฿151

304.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.2 CA$76.2

$32.41 ฿1,094

67.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 CA$15.08

$8.81 ฿297

21.79%

Cappuccino

$3.76 CA$5.28

$2.83 ฿95.5

32.86%

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

$1.78 CA$2.50

$0.87 ฿29.43

104.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.23 CA$1.73

$0.49 ฿16.67

151.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.64 CA$5.11

$2.56 ฿86.4

42.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.72 CA$8.04

$3.68 ฿124

55.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.01 CA$2.83

$1.66 ฿56.0

21.08%

White Bread (500g)

$2.30 CA$3.23

$1.46 ฿49.35

57.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 CA$2.69

$1.50 ฿50.6

28.00%

Eggs

$3.16 CA$4.44

$2.09 ฿70.5

51.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.99 CA$16.84

$3.30 ฿111

263.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.16 CA$10.06

$10.91 ฿368

-34.37%

Apples (1kg)

$3.75 CA$5.27

$2.93 ฿99.0

27.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 CA$1.83

$1.69 ฿57.1

-23.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 CA$3.32

$2.25 ฿75.8

4.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.31 CA$4.65

$2.08 ฿70.1

59.13%

Potato (1kg)

$2.01 CA$2.82

$1.51 ฿51.0

33.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 CA$2.80

$1.38 ฿46.56

44.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.79 CA$3.92

$1.07 ฿35.99

160.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 CA$2.21

$0.52 ฿17.52

203.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.44 CA$18.88

$4.20 ฿142

220.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.79 CA$20.78

$18.79 ฿634

-21.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.50 CA$3.52

$1.82 ฿61.5

37.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 CA$4.43

$2.84 ฿95.9

10.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.10 CA$4.36

$1.45 ฿49.03

113.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$101 CA$142

$56.7 ฿1,913

78.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.34 CA$4.69

$3.02 ฿102

10.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.58 CA$26.10

$3.69 ฿125

403.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.20 CA$1.69

$1.47 ฿49.81

-18.37%

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

$28.5K CA$40.1K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

6.50%

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

$21.6K CA$30.4K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-19.00%

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

$130 CA$183

$96.4 ฿3,254

34.84%

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

$27.48 CA$38.62

$11.26 ฿380

144.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.49 CA$63.9

$16.85 ฿569

169.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.54 CA$54.2

$67.2 ฿2,270

-42.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.40 CA$30.07

$10.73 ฿362

99.44%

Cinema Ticket

$10.20 CA$14.33

$7.50 ฿253

36.00%

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

$526 CA$739

$476 ฿16.1K

10.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.9K CA$39.1K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

147.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.18 CA$60.7

$62.4 ฿2,106

-30.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.46 CA$52.6

$28.41 ฿959

31.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.7 CA$132

$94.3 ฿3,184

-0.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 CA$151

$85.8 ฿2,898

25.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,600 CA$2,248

$716 ฿24.2K

123.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,354 CA$1,903

$491 ฿16.6K

175.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,679 CA$3,764

$1,927 ฿65.1K

39.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,237 CA$3,142

$1,431 ฿48.3K

56.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,458 CA$9,073

$4,175 ฿141.0K

54.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,229 CA$7,347

$3,045 ฿102.8K

71.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,216 CA$4,519

$502 ฿17.0K

540.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.56

5.57

-18.13%

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

Last update for Markham: October 27, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Markham

$1.4K 56.2%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 63.8% $864

Groceries & Markets

Markham

$286 * 11.9%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 6.9% $20

Eating Out

Markham

$264 10.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 53.9% $142

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Markham

$203 8.4%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 38.7% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Markham

$127 5.3%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 3.9% $4.9

Getting Around

Markham

$117 * 4.9%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 39.7% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Markham

$59 2.5%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 39.5% $23

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,600 in Markham and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Markham pays about 6.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $54 in Markham vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $286 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Markham

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

06:04 6:04 AM

17:04 5:04 PM

11 h ahead of Markham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

338,503

79,308

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.712 USD

1 CAD = 0.64 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.712 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.64 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Markham Phuket 14,260 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Markham
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

Markham vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 47% lower than in Markham. 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 Markham is about 6.4 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: $1,600 in Markham versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $526 in Markham versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 7% higher in Markham. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,410 in Markham, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Markham. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket 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, Markham 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 Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 47% less than in Markham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.