Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Boryeong

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,491 in Boryeong, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. The total is higher in Boryeong despite lower rent and utilities.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
72

Cost of Living Index in Boryeong
Learn more

Boryeong Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Boryeong

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,491

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Boryeong

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,491 in Boryeong.

Phuket $1,278
Boryeong $1,491

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,407 in Boryeong.

Phuket $2,216
Boryeong $2,407

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $3,324 in Boryeong.

Phuket $3,154
Boryeong $3,324

Living in Phuket costs roughly 14% less than in Boryeong, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Boryeong is 10% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$8.93 ₩12.0K

-49.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,092

$68.1 ₩91.3K

-52.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$7.32 ₩9,809

20.36%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.3

$4.08 ₩5,463

-30.64%

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

$0.87 ฿29.37

$1.56 ₩2,092

-44.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.64

$0.75 ₩1,000

-34.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.2

$3.77 ₩5,053

-32.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$5.85 ₩7,848

-37.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$2.12 ₩2,840

-21.70%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.25

$3.15 ₩4,221

-53.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.4

$4.19 ₩5,613

-64.20%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.4

$3.53 ₩4,725

-40.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿642

$17.85 ₩23.9K

6.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$10.63 ₩14.3K

-68.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$26.69 ₩35.8K

-59.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.7

$7.90 ₩10.6K

-62.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.9

$3.38 ₩4,537

-50.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.7

$5.76 ₩7,721

-60.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$6.16 ₩8,255

-66.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.9

$3.68 ₩4,937

-58.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.47

$2.62 ₩3,513

-47.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.91

$2.92 ₩3,920

-63.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.49

$1.14 ₩1,529

-54.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.48 ₩4,663

20.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿633

$18.49 ₩24.8K

1.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.4

$2.28 ₩3,054

-20.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.7

$3.27 ₩4,381

-13.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.93

$1.16 ₩1,555

25.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,909

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.65 ₩4,890

-17.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.29

$0.64 ₩862

59.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿124

$8.75 ₩11.7K

-57.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.70

$1.45 ₩1,948

1.38%

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

$26.8K ฿902.4K

$29.2K ₩39.1M

-8.28%

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

$26.7K ฿899.5K

$28.5K ₩38.3M

-6.51%

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

$96.4 ฿3,247

$212 ₩284.7K

-54.64%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$35.99 ₩48.2K

-68.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$20.61 ₩27.6K

-18.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,266

$54.2 ₩72.7K

23.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿361

$14.07 ₩18.9K

-23.74%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$11.14 ₩14.9K

-32.68%

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

$476 ฿16.0K

$379 ₩508.5K

25.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿379.6K

$22.5K ₩30.1M

-49.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,102

$58.5 ₩78.4K

6.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿957

$32.86 ₩44.0K

-13.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,178

$69.3 ₩92.9K

36.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,892

$84.1 ₩112.7K

2.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.1K

$489 ₩655.0K

46.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.5K

$361 ₩484.0K

35.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿64.9K

$1,184 ₩1.6M

62.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.2K

$758 ₩1.0M

88.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.7K

$7,113 ₩9.5M

-41.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.6K

$5,616 ₩7.5M

-45.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$1,484 ₩2.0M

-66.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.08

36.52%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Boryeong: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Boryeong

$361 24.2% 26.4% $130

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Boryeong

$481 32.2% 80.5% $214

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Boryeong

$269 18% 116% $145

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Boryeong

$110 7.4% 9.6% $12

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Boryeong

$182 12.2% 49.6% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Boryeong

$77 5.1% 6.9% $5.7

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Boryeong

$12 * 0.8% 83.7% $59

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 $716 in Phuket and $489 in Boryeong. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Boryeong pays about 3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $68 in Boryeong for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $481 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇰🇷 Boryeong

🕒 Local time

08:21 8:21 AM

10:21 10:21 AM

2 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

103,620

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.46 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1,340 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.46 USD). 1 EUR = 1,492 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.7 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Boryeong 4,260 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Boryeong

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 Boryeong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,278 in Phuket and $1,491 in Boryeong, so Phuket is about 14% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 66% 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: $716 in Phuket versus $489 in Boryeong. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $379 in Boryeong. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $68 in Boryeong. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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 Boryeong are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Boryeong on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.