Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Pakenham and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,643 in Pakenham, rent and utilities included – about $16,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Pakenham
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Pakenham Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Pakenham

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,643

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,643 in Pakenham versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Pakenham $2,643
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,761 in Pakenham versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Pakenham $3,761
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,880 in Pakenham versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Pakenham $4,880
Phuket $3,154

Living in Pakenham is roughly 107% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Pakenham is 94% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.34 A$24.64

$4.47 ฿151

287.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.4 A$118

$32.41 ฿1,094

157.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.08 A$17.16

$8.81 ฿297

37.12%

Cappuccino

$4.02 A$5.71

$2.83 ฿95.5

42.05%

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

$3.21 A$4.56

$0.87 ฿29.43

268.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.47 A$3.50

$0.49 ฿16.67

404.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.56 A$13.59

$2.56 ฿86.4

273.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.47 A$12.04

$3.68 ฿124

130.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.21 A$1.71

$1.66 ฿56.0

-27.11%

White Bread (500g)

$2.87 A$4.07

$1.46 ฿49.35

96.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.61 A$3.70

$1.50 ฿50.6

74.00%

Eggs

$5.61 A$7.97

$2.09 ฿70.5

168.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.49 A$12.07

$19.07 ฿644

-55.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.78 A$13.90

$3.30 ฿111

196.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.29 A$21.72

$10.91 ฿368

40.15%

Apples (1kg)

$3.98 A$5.66

$2.93 ฿99.0

35.84%

Banana (1kg)

$2.62 A$3.73

$1.69 ฿57.1

55.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.13 A$4.45

$2.25 ฿75.8

39.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.74 A$6.74

$2.08 ฿70.1

127.88%

Potato (1kg)

$2.99 A$4.25

$1.51 ฿51.0

98.01%

Onion (1kg)

$2.57 A$3.65

$1.38 ฿46.56

86.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.43 A$3.45

$1.07 ฿35.99

127.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.32

$0.52 ฿17.52

213.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$25.16 A$35.75

$4.20 ฿142

499.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.63 A$17.95

$18.79 ฿634

-32.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.48 A$7.78

$1.82 ฿61.5

201.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.17 A$7.35

$2.84 ฿95.9

82.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.08 A$4.37

$1.45 ฿49.03

112.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.7 A$105

$56.7 ฿1,913

30.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.36 A$6.19

$3.02 ฿102

44.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.43 A$2.03

$1.02 ฿34.36

40.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.36 A$43.14

$3.69 ฿125

722.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 A$2.04

$1.47 ฿49.81

-2.72%

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

$29.1K A$41.3K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

8.59%

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

$26.4K A$37.6K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-0.94%

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

$236 A$335

$96.4 ฿3,254

144.85%

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

$28.14 A$39.99

$11.26 ฿380

149.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.8 A$82.2

$16.85 ฿569

243.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.3 A$91.4

$67.2 ฿2,270

-4.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.50 A$27.71

$10.73 ฿362

81.73%

Cinema Ticket

$17.55 A$24.94

$7.50 ฿253

134.00%

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

$2,515 A$3,573

$476 ฿16.1K

428.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.4K A$43.2K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

169.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.5 A$114

$62.4 ฿2,106

29.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.90 A$70.9

$28.41 ฿959

75.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$119 A$169

$94.3 ฿3,184

25.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 A$189

$85.8 ฿2,898

55.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,463 A$2,078

$716 ฿24.2K

104.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,269 A$1,804

$491 ฿16.6K

158.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,148 A$3,052

$1,927 ฿65.1K

11.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,855 A$2,635

$1,431 ฿48.3K

29.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,533 A$7,862

$4,175 ฿141.0K

32.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,458 A$7,756

$3,045 ฿102.8K

79.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

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 Pakenham: October 24, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Pakenham

$1.3K 48%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 61.3% $778

Groceries & Markets

Pakenham

$372 14.1%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 28.5% $106

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Pakenham

$322 12.2%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 61.3% $197

Eating Out

Pakenham

$311 11.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 60.8% $189

Clothing & Footwear

Pakenham

$172 6.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 29.1% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Pakenham

$99 3.8%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 17.3% $17

Getting Around

Pakenham

$98 3.7%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 27.7% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,463 in Pakenham and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $83 in Pakenham vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $372 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Pakenham

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

04:41 4:41 AM

00:41 12:41 AM

4 h behind Pakenham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

54,118

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

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Pakenham Phuket 7,060 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Pakenham
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

Pakenham vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 52% lower than in Pakenham. 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 $3,964 in Pakenham 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: $1,463 in Pakenham versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,515 in Pakenham 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 40% higher in Pakenham. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,643 in Pakenham, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Pakenham. 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, Pakenham 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 52% less than in Pakenham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.