Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between New Taipei City and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in New Taipei City: $1,185 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

57

Cost of Living Index in New Taipei City
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New Taipei City Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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New Taipei City

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,185

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,185 in New Taipei City versus $1,278 in Phuket.

New Taipei City $1,185
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,998 in New Taipei City versus $2,216 in Phuket.

New Taipei City $1,998
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,810 in New Taipei City versus $3,154 in Phuket.

New Taipei City $2,810
Phuket $3,154

Living in New Taipei City costs roughly 7% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: New Taipei City 13% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.67 NT$152

$4.47 ฿151

4.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.83 NT$1,005

$32.41 ฿1,094

-4.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.18 NT$169

$8.81 ฿297

-41.20%

Cappuccino

$2.31 NT$75.4

$2.83 ฿95.4

-18.37%

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

$0.82 NT$26.80

$0.87 ฿29.42

-5.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 NT$17.19

$0.49 ฿16.66

8.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.58 NT$51.7

$2.56 ฿86.3

-38.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 NT$79.3

$3.68 ฿124

-33.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.13 NT$102

$1.66 ฿56.0

88.55%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 NT$60.4

$1.46 ฿49.32

26.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 NT$69.6

$1.50 ฿50.5

42.00%

Eggs

$2.15 NT$70.1

$2.09 ฿70.5

2.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$24.36 NT$794

$19.07 ฿643

27.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.65 NT$347

$3.30 ฿111

222.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.90 NT$616

$10.91 ฿368

73.24%

Apples (1kg)

$4.01 NT$131

$2.93 ฿98.9

36.86%

Banana (1kg)

$2.49 NT$81.2

$1.69 ฿57.0

47.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.76 NT$89.9

$2.25 ฿75.8

22.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.01 NT$131

$2.08 ฿70.1

92.79%

Potato (1kg)

$3.96 NT$129

$1.51 ฿51.0

162.25%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 NT$67.8

$1.38 ฿46.54

50.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.59 NT$51.9

$1.07 ฿35.97

48.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 NT$32.93

$0.52 ฿17.51

94.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 NT$140

$4.20 ฿142

2.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.16 NT$299

$18.79 ฿634

-51.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 NT$44.40

$1.82 ฿61.5

-25.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 NT$74.3

$2.84 ฿95.9

-19.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.63 NT$20.66

$1.45 ฿49.00

-56.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.16 NT$1,212

$56.7 ฿1,912

-34.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.66 NT$86.7

$3.02 ฿102

-11.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.94 NT$30.71

$1.02 ฿34.34

-7.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.35 NT$305

$3.69 ฿125

153.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 NT$32.28

$1.47 ฿49.78

-32.65%

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

$33.2K NT$1.1M

$26.8K ฿903.7K

23.85%

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

$23.6K NT$768.0K

$26.7K ฿900.8K

-11.75%

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

$112 NT$3,650

$96.4 ฿3,252

16.18%

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

$16.63 NT$542

$11.26 ฿380

47.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.01 NT$750

$16.85 ฿569

36.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.65 NT$1,227

$67.2 ฿2,269

-44.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.72 NT$252

$10.73 ฿362

-28.05%

Cinema Ticket

$10.65 NT$347

$7.50 ฿253

42.00%

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

$634 NT$20.7K

$476 ฿16.1K

33.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.0K NT$683.8K

$11.3K ฿380.1K

86.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.02 NT$1,142

$62.4 ฿2,105

-43.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.03 NT$1,012

$28.41 ฿959

9.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.3 NT$2,910

$94.3 ฿3,182

-5.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.2 NT$3,202

$85.8 ฿2,896

14.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$613 NT$20.0K

$716 ฿24.2K

-14.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$335 NT$10.9K

$491 ฿16.6K

-31.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,377 NT$44.9K

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-28.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$920 NT$30.0K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-35.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$10.2K NT$331.8K

$4,175 ฿140.9K

143.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,980 NT$195.0K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

96.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,359 NT$44.3K

$502 ฿17.0K

170.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.81

5.57

-49.55%

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

Last update for New Taipei City: October 27, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

New Taipei City

$380 32.1%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 30% $114

Accommodation & Living

New Taipei City

$335 28.2%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 46.7% $156

Monthly Utilities & Internet

New Taipei City

$152 12.8%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 17.9% $27

Clothing & Footwear

New Taipei City

$114 9.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 6.8% $7.8

Eating Out

New Taipei City

$99 8.3%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 23.1% $23

Sport & Entertainment

New Taipei City

$59 5%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 39.5% $23

Getting Around

New Taipei City

$47 4%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 50% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $613 in New Taipei City and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

New Taipei City pays about 2.7 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $31 in New Taipei City vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $380 vs $266, with Phuket cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇼 New Taipei City

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

20:30 8:30 PM

19:30 7:30 PM

1 h behind New Taipei City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,004,367

79,308

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.07 USD

100 TWD = 2.75 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to TWD – New Taiwan Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇼 New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 32.61 TWD (100 TWD = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 36.39 TWD (100 TWD = 2.75 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 TWD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

New Taipei City Phuket 3,090 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

New Taipei City
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

New Taipei City vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,185 in New Taipei City and $1,278 in Phuket, so New Taipei City is about 7% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in New Taipei City is about 2.7 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: $613 in New Taipei City versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,185 per month in New Taipei City versus $1,278 in Phuket – New Taipei City is about 7% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in New Taipei City runs roughly 34% less than in Phuket. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though New Taipei City gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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