Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Perth and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $2,216 in Perth, rent and utilities included – about $12,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Perth
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Perth Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Perth

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,216

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,216 in Perth versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Perth $2,216
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,240 in Perth versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Perth $3,240
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,263 in Perth versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Perth $4,263
Phuket $2,845

Living in Perth is roughly 83% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Perth is 64% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.86 £17.90

$4.40 ฿147

442.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.7 £59.8

$32.26 ฿1,078

146.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$16.07 £12.05

$8.76 ฿293

83.45%

Cappuccino

$4.12 £3.09

$2.83 ฿94.5

45.58%

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

$2.40 £1.80

$0.90 ฿30.14

166.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 £1.26

$0.47 ฿15.56

259.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.50 £4.88

$2.55 ฿85.2

154.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.64 £4.23

$3.83 ฿128

47.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.73 ฿57.7

-19.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 £1.03

$1.47 ฿49.11

-6.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 £1.40

$1.51 ฿50.6

23.18%

Eggs

$2.43 £1.82

$2.17 ฿72.7

11.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.20 £6.15

$19.70 ฿658

-58.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.65 £6.49

$3.34 ฿112

158.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.57 £10.18

$11.16 ฿373

21.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 £1.65

$2.85 ฿95.1

-22.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 £1.21

$1.70 ฿56.9

-4.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.61 £1.95

$2.19 ฿73.3

19.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.23 £2.42

$2.05 ฿68.4

57.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.50 £1.12

$1.45 ฿48.57

3.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 £1.28

$1.38 ฿46.16

23.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.06 £0.79

$1.07 ฿35.69

-0.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 £1.16

$0.51 ฿16.91

201.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.81 £15.61

$4.26 ฿142

388.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.27 £8.45

$18.58 ฿621

-39.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.00 £2.25

$1.78 ฿59.7

68.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.87 £2.15

$2.85 ฿95.2

0.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.61 £2.71

$2.26 ฿75.6

59.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.8 £73.4

$22.10 ฿738

342.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.21 £3.91

$3.01 ฿101

73.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.64 £1.98

$1.06 ฿35.34

149.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.06 £18.05

$3.86 ฿129

523.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.92 £1.44

$1.45 ฿48.45

32.41%

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

$35.2K £26.4K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

33.77%

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

$40.7K £30.6K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

51.23%

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

$614 £460

$96.4 ฿3,221

536.70%

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

$13.28 £9.96

$11.04 ฿369

20.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.40 £27.31

$17.14 ฿573

112.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.47 £34.86

$52.2 ฿1,744

-10.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

Cinema Ticket

$14.41 £10.81

$7.81 ฿261

84.51%

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

$1,234 £926

$556 ฿18.6K

121.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.2K £18.9K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

117.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.5 £68.6

$64.2 ฿2,146

42.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.09 £33.82

$28.69 ฿959

57.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$66.8 £50.1

$95.4 ฿3,187

-29.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$142 £107

$88.0 ฿2,940

61.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$691 £518

$737 ฿24.6K

-6.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$568 £426

$462 ฿15.5K

22.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,207 £906

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-42.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,092 £819

$1,201 ฿40.1K

-9.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,077 £3,809

$3,488 ฿116.6K

45.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,805 £2,854

$2,523 ฿84.3K

50.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,454 £1,841

$501 ฿16.7K

390.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.07

5.57

-8.98%

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

Last update for Perth: October 18, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Perth

$663 29.9%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 81.2% $539

Accommodation & Living

Perth

$568 25.6%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 18.6% $106

Eating Out

Perth

$349 15.7%

Phuket

$121 10% 65.2% $227

Groceries & Markets

Perth

$275 12.4%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 2.2% $5.9

Clothing & Footwear

Perth

$156 7%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 20.1% $31

Getting Around

Perth

$131 5.9%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 69.8% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Perth

$75 3.4%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 10% $7.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $691 in Perth and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Perth pays 390% 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: $80.0 in Perth vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $269 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Perth

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

05:28 5:28 AM

11:28 11:28 AM

6 h ahead of Perth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

46,660

79,308

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Perth Phuket 10,000 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Perth
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

Perth vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 83% lower than in Perth. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 390% higher in Perth, 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: $691 in Perth versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,234 in Perth versus $556 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 2% higher in Perth. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,216 in Perth, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Perth. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Phuket delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,208 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Phuket hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Perth 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 83% less than in Perth. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.