Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,849 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $18,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
Learn more

Melbourne Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,849

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,849 in Melbourne versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Melbourne $2,849
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,274 in Melbourne versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Melbourne $4,274
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,699 in Melbourne versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Melbourne $5,699
Phuket $3,154

Living in Melbourne is roughly 123% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.50 A$24.86

$4.47 ฿151

291.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.3 A$120

$32.41 ฿1,094

160.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.17 A$17.29

$8.81 ฿297

38.14%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.79

$2.83 ฿95.5

43.82%

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

$3.18 A$4.52

$0.87 ฿29.43

265.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 A$3.55

$0.49 ฿16.67

410.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.57 A$13.60

$2.56 ฿86.4

273.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.25 A$11.72

$3.68 ฿124

124.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 A$2.14

$1.66 ฿56.0

-9.64%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 A$4.22

$1.46 ฿49.35

103.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.68 A$3.81

$1.50 ฿50.6

78.67%

Eggs

$5.45 A$7.75

$2.09 ฿70.5

160.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.71 A$15.22

$19.07 ฿644

-43.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.05 A$14.28

$3.30 ฿111

204.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.00 A$21.31

$10.91 ฿368

37.49%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.78

$2.93 ฿99.0

38.91%

Banana (1kg)

$3.14 A$4.46

$1.69 ฿57.1

85.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.12 A$4.43

$2.25 ฿75.8

38.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.73 A$6.72

$2.08 ฿70.1

127.40%

Potato (1kg)

$2.98 A$4.23

$1.51 ฿51.0

97.35%

Onion (1kg)

$2.49 A$3.55

$1.38 ฿46.56

80.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.53

$1.07 ฿35.99

131.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 A$2.27

$0.52 ฿17.52

207.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.65 A$63.4

$4.20 ฿142

963.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.68 A$18.02

$18.79 ฿634

-32.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.55 A$7.88

$1.82 ฿61.5

204.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.18 A$7.37

$2.84 ฿95.9

82.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.45

$1.45 ฿49.03

164.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$139 A$197

$56.7 ฿1,913

144.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.36 A$6.19

$3.02 ฿102

44.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 A$1.94

$1.02 ฿34.36

34.31%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.72 A$42.23

$3.69 ฿125

705.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 A$2.11

$1.47 ฿49.81

1.36%

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

$29.1K A$41.3K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

8.63%

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

$25.7K A$36.5K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-3.83%

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

$236 A$335

$96.4 ฿3,254

144.59%

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

$28.01 A$39.80

$11.26 ฿380

148.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.2 A$81.3

$16.85 ฿569

239.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.39 A$68.8

$67.2 ฿2,270

-28.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.46 A$30.50

$10.73 ฿362

100.00%

Cinema Ticket

$17.67 A$25.10

$7.50 ฿253

135.60%

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

$2,461 A$3,497

$476 ฿16.1K

417.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.7K A$42.2K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

163.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.2 A$115

$62.4 ฿2,106

30.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.28 A$70.0

$28.41 ฿959

73.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 A$170

$94.3 ฿3,184

26.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 A$186

$85.8 ฿2,898

52.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,703 A$2,419

$716 ฿24.2K

137.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,409 A$2,002

$491 ฿16.6K

186.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,496 A$4,967

$1,927 ฿65.1K

81.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,527 A$3,590

$1,431 ฿48.3K

76.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,978 A$11.3K

$4,175 ฿141.0K

91.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,900 A$9,805

$3,045 ฿102.8K

126.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,257 A$6,049

$502 ฿17.0K

747.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

5.57

5.92%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.4%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 65.2% $918

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$386 13.6%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 31.1% $120

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$321 11.3%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 61.2% $196

Eating Out

Melbourne

$312 11%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 61.1% $191

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$171 6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 28.9% $50

Getting Around

Melbourne

$165 5.8%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 57.3% $95

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$84 2.9%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 1.8% $1.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,703 in Melbourne and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays about 8.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $84 in Melbourne vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $386 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

04:38 4:38 AM

00:38 12:38 AM

4 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

79,308

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.704 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.704 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.632 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Melbourne Phuket 7,010 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
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 vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Phuket differ by about 123% in total monthly costs ($2,849 vs $1,278 including rent). Phuket is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Melbourne is about 8.5 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: $1,703 in Melbourne versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,461 in Melbourne 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 45% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,849 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. 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, Melbourne 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 55% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.