Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Adelaide

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $2,640 in Adelaide, rent and utilities included – about $17,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
128

Cost of Living Index in Adelaide
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Adelaide Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Adelaide

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,640

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Adelaide

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Phuket and in Adelaide actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,640 in Adelaide.

Phuket $1,208
Adelaide $2,640

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $3,759 in Adelaide.

Phuket $2,027
Adelaide $3,759

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $4,878 in Adelaide.

Phuket $2,845
Adelaide $4,878

Living in Phuket costs roughly 54% less than in Adelaide, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Adelaide is 95% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$17.10 A$24.61

-74.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$80.5 A$116

-59.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$11.64 A$16.75

-24.74%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$4.05 A$5.83

-30.12%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$2.78 A$4.00

-67.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$2.55 A$3.68

-81.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$7.79 A$11.20

-67.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$8.26 A$11.89

-53.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$1.98 A$2.85

-12.63%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$2.78 A$4.00

-47.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$2.24 A$3.23

-32.59%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$5.69 A$8.19

-61.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$11.77 A$16.94

67.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$9.20 A$13.24

-63.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$18.97 A$27.29

-41.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$3.94 A$5.67

-27.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$3.03 A$4.36

-43.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$3.63 A$5.22

-39.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$5.06 A$7.28

-59.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$3.20 A$4.60

-54.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$2.47 A$3.56

-44.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$2.49 A$3.58

-57.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$2.31 A$3.33

-77.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$45.26 A$65.1

-90.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$13.93 A$20.05

33.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$5.52 A$7.94

-67.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$5.91 A$8.51

-51.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$3.20 A$4.61

-29.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

$83.6 A$120

-73.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$3.53 A$5.07

-14.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$1.98 A$2.85

-46.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$31.11 A$44.77

-87.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$1.41 A$2.03

2.84%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$29.3K A$42.2K

-10.23%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$25.7K A$36.9K

4.94%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$192 A$276

-49.78%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$25.71 A$36.99

-57.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$56.7 A$81.6

-69.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$63.0 A$90.6

-17.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

$14.06 A$20.24

-20.63%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$17.14 A$24.67

-54.43%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$2,072 A$2,982

-73.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$14.3K A$20.5K

-18.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$70.3 A$101

-8.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$54.9 A$78.9

-47.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$115 A$165

-16.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$135 A$195

-34.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$1,713 A$2,466

-56.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$1,278 A$1,839

-63.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$2,431 A$3,498

-13.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$1,833 A$2,637

-34.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$10.1K A$14.5K

-65.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$6,880 A$9,901

-63.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

$3,830 A$5,511

-86.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.92

-5.91%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Adelaide: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Adelaide

$1.3K 48.4% 176% $816

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Adelaide

$415 15.7% 54.4% $146

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Adelaide

$274 10.4% 120% $150

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Adelaide

$169 6.4% 35.7% $44

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Adelaide

$297 11.3% 145% $176

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Adelaide

$97 3.7% 43.4% $29

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Adelaide

$110 4.2% 179% $70

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $737 in Phuket and $1,713 in Adelaide. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Adelaide pays 665% 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: $32.00 in Phuket vs $81.0 in Adelaide for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $415 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇦🇺 Adelaide

🕒 Local time

11:19 11:19 AM

14:49 2:49 PM

3 h 30 min ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

1,245,011

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Adelaide 6,360 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Adelaide

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

Phuket vs Adelaide: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket and Adelaide differ by about 118% in total monthly costs ($1,208 vs $2,640 including rent). Phuket is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 665% lower in Adelaide. 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: $737 in Phuket versus $1,713 in Adelaide. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $556 in Phuket versus $2,072 in Adelaide. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 54% higher in Adelaide. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,640 in Adelaide, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Adelaide. 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, Phuket and Adelaide 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 118% less than in Adelaide. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.