Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne, AR and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $2,395 in Melbourne, AR, rent and utilities included – about $14,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne, AR
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Melbourne, AR Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Melbourne, AR

🇺🇸 United States

$2,395

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,395 in Melbourne, AR versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Melbourne, AR $2,395
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,533 in Melbourne, AR versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Melbourne, AR $3,533
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,672 in Melbourne, AR versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Melbourne, AR $4,672
Phuket $2,867

Living in Melbourne, AR is roughly 98% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne, AR is 77% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.80 $6.80

$4.58 ฿153

48.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$77.6 $77.6

$32.48 ฿1,086

139.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.33 $9.33

$8.55 ฿286

9.12%

Cappuccino

$5.78 $5.78

$2.72 ฿91.0

112.50%

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

$1.96 $1.96

$0.94 ฿31.25

108.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 $1.68

$0.49 ฿16.39

242.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.92 $5.92

$2.59 ฿86.6

128.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.96 $6.96

$3.83 ฿128

81.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.88 $0.88

$1.74 ฿58.1

-49.43%

White Bread (500g)

$3.80 $3.80

$1.43 ฿47.82

165.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.82 $5.82

$1.53 ฿51.0

280.39%

Eggs

$5.33 $5.33

$2.17 ฿72.7

145.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.15 $8.15

$19.15 ฿640

-57.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.37 $8.37

$3.30 ฿110

153.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.40 $13.40

$11.14 ฿372

20.29%

Apples (1kg)

$4.48 $4.48

$2.95 ฿98.5

51.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.48 $1.48

$1.68 ฿56.1

-11.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.83 $2.83

$2.30 ฿76.8

23.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.80 $4.80

$2.13 ฿71.3

125.35%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 $1.92

$1.53 ฿51.1

25.49%

Onion (1kg)

$2.46 $2.46

$1.36 ฿45.55

80.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 $1.46

$1.12 ฿37.44

30.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.03 $2.03

$0.55 ฿18.24

269.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.86 $8.86

$4.26 ฿142

107.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.94 $18.94

$18.19 ฿608

4.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.61 $2.61

$1.74 ฿58.2

50.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.51 $4.51

$2.79 ฿93.3

61.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.09 $2.09

$2.22 ฿74.1

-5.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.96 $2.96

$2.91 ฿97.3

1.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.65 $1.65

$1.01 ฿33.79

63.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.45 $32.45

$3.83 ฿128

747.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 $0.98

$1.49 ฿49.85

-34.23%

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

$36.6K $36.6K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

37.35%

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

$26.5K $26.5K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

-0.94%

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

$176 $176

$99.4 ฿3,321

77.47%

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

$55.8 $55.8

$11.28 ฿377

394.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$63.4 $63.4

$17.36 ฿580

265.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.88 $41.88

$52.3 ฿1,747

-19.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$9.91 $9.91

$7.57 ฿253

30.91%

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

$1,075 $1,075

$558 ฿18.7K

92.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.1K $21.1K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

83.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.3 $59.3

$62.9 ฿2,102

-5.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.6 $50.6

$28.58 ฿955

76.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 $114

$96.1 ฿3,213

18.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 $113

$88.1 ฿2,943

28.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,598 $1,598

$729 ฿24.4K

119.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,291 $1,291

$460 ฿15.4K

180.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,289 $2,289

$2,096 ฿70.0K

9.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,205 $2,205

$1,222 ฿40.8K

80.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,938 $2,938

$3,459 ฿115.6K

-15.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 $2,284

$2,489 ฿83.2K

-8.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.77

5.57

21.54%

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

Last update for Melbourne, AR: October 12, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne, AR

$1.3K 53.9%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 64.4% $831

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne, AR

$365 15.3%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 26.8% $98

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne, AR

$296 12.3%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 56.7% $168

Eating Out

Melbourne, AR

$210 8.8%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 42.2% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne, AR

$152 6.3%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 18.2% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne, AR

$62 2.6%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 9.3% $5.7

Getting Around

Melbourne, AR

$20 * 0.8%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 98.9% $19

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 $1,598 in Melbourne, AR and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $78.0 in Melbourne, AR vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $365 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Melbourne, AR

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

03:41 3:41 AM

15:41 3:41 PM

12 h ahead of Melbourne, AR

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

76,068

79,308

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Melbourne, AR Phuket 15,010 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne, AR
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

Melbourne, AR vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 98% lower than in Melbourne, AR. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $3,592 in Melbourne, AR and $1,811 in Phuket to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,598 in Melbourne, AR versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,075 in Melbourne, AR versus $558 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $78.0 in Melbourne, AR. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,395 in Melbourne, AR, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Melbourne, AR. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Phuket delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,207 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Phuket hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Melbourne, AR 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 98% less than in Melbourne, AR. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.