Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Palembang and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Palembang: $611 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Palembang
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Palembang Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Palembang

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$611

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $611 in Palembang versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Palembang $611
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $978 in Palembang versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Palembang $978
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,345 in Palembang versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Palembang $1,345
Phuket $2,845

Living in Palembang costs roughly 49% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Palembang 55% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.15 Rp 20.7K

$4.40 ฿147

-73.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.00 Rp 288.0K

$32.26 ฿1,078

-50.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.74 Rp 49.3K

$8.76 ฿293

-68.72%

Cappuccino

$1.34 Rp 24.1K

$2.83 ฿94.5

-52.65%

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

$0.89 Rp 16.1K

$0.90 ฿30.14

-1.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.23 Rp 4,135

$0.47 ฿15.56

-51.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.64 Rp 29.6K

$2.55 ฿85.2

-35.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.39 Rp 61.0K

$3.83 ฿128

-11.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.07 Rp 19.3K

$1.73 ฿57.7

-38.15%

White Bread (500g)

$1.13 Rp 20.4K

$1.47 ฿49.11

-23.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.86 Rp 15.5K

$1.51 ฿50.6

-43.05%

Eggs

$1.23 Rp 22.2K

$2.17 ฿72.7

-43.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.09 Rp 127.6K

$19.70 ฿658

-64.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.00 Rp 53.9K

$3.34 ฿112

-10.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.81 Rp 140.6K

$11.16 ฿373

-30.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 Rp 40.3K

$2.85 ฿95.1

-21.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 Rp 23.4K

$1.70 ฿56.9

-23.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 Rp 30.4K

$2.19 ฿73.3

-22.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.27 Rp 22.9K

$2.05 ฿68.4

-38.05%

Potato (1kg)

$1.29 Rp 23.1K

$1.45 ฿48.57

-11.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 Rp 35.7K

$1.38 ฿46.16

44.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.78 Rp 14.0K

$1.07 ฿35.69

-27.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 Rp 7,855

$0.51 ฿16.91

-13.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.18 Rp 39.3K

$4.26 ฿142

-48.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.28 Rp 383.1K

$18.58 ฿621

14.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 Rp 33.0K

$1.78 ฿59.7

2.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 Rp 53.1K

$2.85 ฿95.2

3.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.41 Rp 7,368

$2.26 ฿75.6

-81.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.49 Rp 8,793

$3.01 ฿101

-83.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.34 Rp 6,206

$1.06 ฿35.34

-67.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.68 Rp 48.3K

$3.86 ฿129

-30.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.80 Rp 14.4K

$1.45 ฿48.45

-44.83%

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

$24.1K Rp 434.1M

$26.3K ฿879.9K

-8.40%

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

$30.5K Rp 548.4M

$26.9K ฿900.4K

13.08%

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

$65.9 Rp 1.2M

$96.4 ฿3,221

-31.65%

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

$4.42 Rp 79.5K

$11.04 ฿369

-59.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.99 Rp 341.8K

$17.14 ฿573

10.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$20.06 Rp 361.0K

$52.2 ฿1,744

-61.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.56 Rp 154.0K

$11.16 ฿373

-23.30%

Cinema Ticket

$2.80 Rp 50.5K

$7.81 ฿261

-64.15%

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

$94.3 Rp 1.7M

$556 ฿18.6K

-83.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,626 Rp 137.3M

$11.6K ฿387.0K

-34.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.71 Rp 786.7K

$64.2 ฿2,146

-31.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.70 Rp 516.5K

$28.69 ฿959

0.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.0 Rp 1.3M

$95.4 ฿3,187

-22.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.8 Rp 1.3M

$88.0 ฿2,940

-18.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$231 Rp 4.2M

$737 ฿24.6K

-68.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$145 Rp 2.6M

$462 ฿15.5K

-68.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$542 Rp 9.8M

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-74.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$357 Rp 6.4M

$1,201 ฿40.1K

-70.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,159 Rp 20.9M

$3,488 ฿116.6K

-66.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$797 Rp 14.3M

$2,523 ฿84.3K

-68.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$305 Rp 5.5M

$501 ฿16.7K

-39.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.46

5.57

69.84%

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

Last update for Palembang: October 17, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Palembang

$196 32.1%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 37% $73

Accommodation & Living

Palembang

$145 23.7%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 219% $317

Clothing & Footwear

Palembang

$98 16.1%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 26.6% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Palembang

$89 14.6%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 39.5% $35

Eating Out

Palembang

$53 8.7%

Phuket

$121 10% 129% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Palembang

$26 4.2%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 164% $42

Getting Around

Palembang

$3.9 * 0.6%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 924% $36

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $231 in Palembang and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 64% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $16.00 in Palembang vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $196 vs $269 per month, with Palembang cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Palembang

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

17:48 5:48 PM

Same time as Palembang

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,708,413

79,308

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Palembang Phuket 1,400 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Palembang
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

Palembang vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Palembang is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 98% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 64% lower in Phuket. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $231 in Palembang versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $94.3 in Palembang versus $556 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Palembang – a meal for two runs $16.00 versus $32.00 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $611 in Palembang versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Palembang but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Palembang the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Palembang is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Phuket, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Palembang 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 Palembang gentler on the wallet – expenses run 98% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.