Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mito and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Mito: $1,208 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $840 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Mito
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Mito Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Mito

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,208

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Mito versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Mito $1,208
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,947 in Mito versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Mito $1,947
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,686 in Mito versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Mito $2,686
Phuket $3,154

Living in Mito costs roughly 6% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Mito 11% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.27 ¥988

$4.47 ฿151

40.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.72 ¥6,414

$32.41 ฿1,093

25.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.09 ¥802

$8.81 ฿297

-42.22%

Cappuccino

$3.47 ¥546

$2.83 ฿95.4

22.61%

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

$1.11 ¥175

$0.87 ฿29.41

27.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.80 ¥127

$0.49 ฿16.65

63.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ¥407

$2.56 ฿86.3

1.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.14 ¥495

$3.68 ฿124

-14.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 ¥218

$1.66 ฿55.9

-16.27%

White Bread (500g)

$1.76 ¥277

$1.46 ฿49.31

20.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.56 ¥560

$1.50 ฿50.5

137.33%

Eggs

$2.02 ¥318

$2.09 ฿70.5

-3.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.37 ¥1,633

$19.07 ฿643

-45.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.00 ¥945

$3.30 ฿111

81.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.65 ¥2,307

$10.91 ฿368

34.28%

Apples (1kg)

$5.69 ¥897

$2.93 ฿98.9

94.20%

Banana (1kg)

$2.70 ¥425

$1.69 ฿57.0

59.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.94 ¥463

$2.25 ฿75.8

30.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.10 ¥646

$2.08 ฿70.0

97.12%

Potato (1kg)

$2.54 ¥400

$1.51 ฿51.0

68.21%

Onion (1kg)

$2.63 ¥415

$1.38 ฿46.52

90.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 ¥196

$1.07 ฿35.96

15.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ¥121

$0.52 ฿17.51

48.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.70 ¥583

$4.20 ฿142

-11.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.45 ¥1,016

$18.79 ฿634

-65.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 ¥283

$1.82 ฿61.5

-1.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 ¥322

$2.84 ฿95.8

-27.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.55 ¥244

$1.45 ฿48.98

6.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.1 ¥10.3K

$56.7 ฿1,912

14.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 ¥486

$3.02 ฿102

1.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.74 ¥432

$1.02 ฿34.33

168.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.66 ¥3,254

$3.69 ฿125

459.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.12 ¥177

$1.47 ฿49.76

-23.81%

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

$21.6K ¥3.4M

$26.8K ฿903.4K

-19.25%

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

$15.7K ¥2.5M

$26.7K ฿900.5K

-41.34%

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

$130 ¥20.5K

$96.4 ฿3,251

34.83%

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

$24.70 ¥3,890

$11.26 ฿380

119.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.70 ¥4,994

$16.85 ฿568

88.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.13 ¥7,739

$67.2 ฿2,268

-26.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$13.28 ¥2,092

$7.50 ฿253

77.07%

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

$831 ¥130.9K

$476 ฿16.1K

74.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.1K ¥2.4M

$11.3K ฿380.0K

33.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.8 ¥9,887

$62.4 ฿2,104

0.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.11 ¥5,846

$28.41 ฿958

30.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.3 ¥9,653

$94.3 ฿3,181

-35.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 ¥15.9K

$85.8 ฿2,895

17.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$557 ¥87.8K

$716 ฿24.2K

-22.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$317 ¥49.9K

$491 ฿16.6K

-35.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,034 ¥162.9K

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-46.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$733 ¥115.4K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-48.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,884 ¥769.3K

$4,175 ฿140.9K

16.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,182 ¥343.7K

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-28.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.64

5.57

-52.60%

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

Last update for Mito: 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

Mito

$317 26.2%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 54.9% $174

Groceries & Markets

Mito

$289 23.9%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 7.8% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mito

$186 15.4%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 33.2% $62

Eating Out

Mito

$134 11.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 9.1% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Mito

$118 9.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 3.3% $3.9

Getting Around

Mito

$88 7.3%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 19.9% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Mito

$76 6.3%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 8.6% $6.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $557 in Mito and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $41 in Mito vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $289 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Mito

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

18:10 6:10 PM

16:10 4:10 PM

2 h behind Mito

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

271,047

79,308

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 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 1, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

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Between locations

Mito Phuket 5,300 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Mito
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

Mito vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mito wins on cost – living expenses run 6% lower than in Phuket. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Mito the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,811 in Mito and $1,917 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: $557 in Mito versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Phuket pay roughly 8% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $41 in Mito. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Mito is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Mito and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.