Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Palau and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,190 a month against $1,985 in Palau, rent and utilities included – about $9,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

96

Cost of Living Index in Palau
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Palau Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

🇵🇼 Palau

$1,985

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,190

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Palau is 109.1% more expensive than Phuket without rent, and 66.8% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Palau is 66.2% more expensive than Phuket without rent, and 42.7% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.61 $13.61

$4.35 ฿146

212.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$75.1 $75.1

$32.45 ฿1,087

131.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.94 $9.94

$8.42 ฿282

18.05%

Cappuccino

$4.04 $4.04

$2.81 ฿94.0

43.77%

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

$1.40 $1.40

$0.87 ฿29.29

60.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.05 $1.05

$0.46 ฿15.39

128.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.53 $1.53

$2.59 ฿86.6

-40.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 $2.14

$3.64 ฿122

-41.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.59 $2.59

$1.71 ฿57.2

51.46%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 $3.05

$1.45 ฿48.42

110.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.26 $0.26

$1.56 ฿52.3

-83.33%

Eggs

$6.35 $6.35

$2.10 ฿70.3

202.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.95 $9.95

$19.53 ฿654

-49.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.65 $13.65

$3.40 ฿114

301.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.59 $19.59

$11.14 ฿373

75.85%

Apples (1kg)

$5.37 $5.37

$2.83 ฿94.8

89.75%

Banana (1kg)

$2.26 $2.26

$1.62 ฿54.3

39.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.57 $5.57

$2.22 ฿74.5

150.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$16.51 $16.51

$2.15 ฿71.9

667.91%

Potato (1kg)

$4.70 $4.70

$1.49 ฿49.95

215.44%

Onion (1kg)

$3.40 $3.40

$1.33 ฿44.40

155.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.98 $1.98

$1.07 ฿35.72

85.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 $1.74

$0.51 ฿17.01

241.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.91 $14.91

$4.38 ฿147

240.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.37 $22.37

$18.77 ฿629

19.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.49 $3.49

$1.74 ฿58.3

100.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 $3.40

$2.78 ฿92.9

22.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.17 ฿72.6

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.28 ฿746

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.47 $2.47

$3.02 ฿101

-18.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.43

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.86 $5.86

$3.71 ฿124

57.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.92 $1.92

$1.43 ฿47.88

34.27%

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

$17.8K $17.8K

$26.3K ฿882.1K

-32.51%

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

$15.2K $15.2K

$26.2K ฿877.3K

-42.12%

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

$170 $170

$96.7 ฿3,236

76.19%

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

$52.3 $52.3

$11.41 ฿382

358.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$198 $198

$17.11 ฿573

1054.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$79.3 $79.3

$52.8 ฿1,768

50.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.07 ฿371

Cinema Ticket

$7.65 ฿256

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

$255 $255

$555 ฿18.6K

-54.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿377.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.0 $84.0

$63.4 ฿2,123

32.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$65.4 $65.4

$28.61 ฿958

128.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$195 $195

$96.7 ฿3,238

101.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$195 $195

$88.6 ฿2,967

119.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 $737

$735 ฿24.6K

0.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$530 $530

$458 ฿15.3K

15.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,156 $2,156

$2,102 ฿70.4K

2.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$934 $934

$1,187 ฿39.7K

-21.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,493 ฿116.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,491 ฿83.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$773 $773

$501 ฿16.8K

54.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

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

Last update for Palau: October 3, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Palau

$530 26.7%

Phuket

$458 38.1% 13.6% $72

Groceries & Markets

Palau

$504 25.4%

Phuket

$268 22.3% 46.8% $236

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Palau

$420 21.2%

Phuket

$125 10.4% 70.2% $295

Clothing & Footwear

Palau

$243 12.2%

Phuket

$125 10.4% 48.5% $118

Eating Out

Palau

$209 10.5%

Phuket

$119 9.9% 42.9% $90

Sport & Entertainment

Palau

$79 * 4%

Phuket

$68 5.7% 14.1% $11

Getting Around

Palau

$2.5 * 0.1%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 1489% $37

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Good to know

🇵🇼 Palau

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

18:05 6:05 PM

16:05 4:05 PM

2 h behind Palau

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,729

79,308

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.892 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 10, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.55 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Palau Phuket 3,980 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Palau
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

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Cost of Living Comparison Between Palau and Phuket

THB, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

Palau

Phuket

Palau

Phuket

Palau vs other spots: cost of living compared

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