Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Beihai

For one person, living is cheaper in Beihai: $751 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Beihai
Learn more

Beihai Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Beihai

🇨🇳 China

$751

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Beihai

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 Beihai actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,278 per month in Phuket vs $751 in Beihai, rent included.

Phuket $1,278
Beihai $751

A couple spends around $2,216 per month in Phuket vs $1,202 in Beihai, rent included.

Phuket $2,216
Beihai $1,202

A family of three spends $3,154 per month in Phuket vs $1,653 in Beihai, rent included.

Phuket $3,154
Beihai $1,653

Phuket costs about 70% more than Beihai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Phuket and Beihai are more affordable than the global median – Phuket 6% lower, Beihai 45% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$3.39 ¥22.53

31.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$21.37 ¥142

51.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$5.26 ¥35.03

67.49%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$2.61 ¥17.34

8.43%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$0.53 ¥3.55

64.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.26 ¥1.75

88.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$0.99 ¥6.62

158.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.04 ¥13.56

80.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.92 ¥12.80

-13.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$1.55 ¥10.29

-5.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.09 ¥7.24

37.61%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.86 ¥12.37

12.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$13.67 ¥91.0

39.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$2.96 ¥19.73

11.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$11.04 ¥73.5

-1.18%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$1.96 ¥13.04

49.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.44 ¥9.55

17.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$1.37 ¥9.13

64.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$1.14 ¥7.60

82.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.80 ¥5.29

88.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$0.84 ¥5.61

64.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$0.60 ¥3.99

78.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$0.55 ¥3.67

-5.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$4.28 ¥28.45

-1.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$10.64 ¥70.8

76.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$0.76 ¥5.06

139.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$1.52 ¥10.12

86.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$0.31 ¥2.06

367.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$18.87 ¥126

200.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.36 ¥9.04

122.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$0.29 ¥1.95

251.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$6.41 ¥42.67

-42.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.45 ¥9.62

1.38%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$20.1K ¥133.7K

33.28%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$15.7K ¥104.6K

69.80%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$56.6 ¥377

70.17%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$9.10 ¥60.6

23.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$11.34 ¥75.5

48.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$41.57 ¥277

61.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$13.34 ¥88.8

-19.57%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$6.82 ¥45.37

9.97%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$486 ¥3,236

-2.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$20.1K ¥133.9K

-44.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$42.19 ¥281

47.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$28.87 ¥192

-1.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$75.9 ¥505

24.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$76.3 ¥508

12.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$324 ¥2,156

121.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$203 ¥1,348

142.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$618 ¥4,115

211.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$418 ¥2,782

242.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$3,575 ¥23.8K

16.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$1,823 ¥12.1K

67.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.36

65.77%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Beihai: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Beihai

$203 27% 58.7% $288

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Beihai

$206 27.5% 22.5% $60

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Beihai

$77 10.3% 38.1% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Beihai

$100 13.4% 17.6% $21

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Beihai

$86 11.5% 29% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Beihai

$55 7.4% 32.9% $27

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Beihai

$23 3.1% 67.5% $48

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $716 in Phuket versus $324 in Beihai. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32 in Phuket versus $21 in Beihai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $266 vs $206 – making Beihai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇳 Beihai

🕒 Local time

10:08 10:08 AM

11:08 11:08 AM

1 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

1,617,500

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.41 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

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Between locations

Phuket Beihai 1,900 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Beihai

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 Beihai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket costs about 70% more than Beihai, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,917 per month in Phuket and $1,126 in Beihai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Beihai, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $324 there versus $716 in Phuket.

Groceries cost about 29% more in Phuket, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32 in Phuket and $21 in Beihai. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

It depends on your priorities. Phuket has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $751 in Beihai to $1,278 in Phuket. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

For expats, Beihai is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 41% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.