Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Dalian

For one person, living is cheaper in Dalian: $895 a month against $1,190 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Dalian
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Dalian Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,190

/mo nomad

Dalian

🇨🇳 China

$895

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Dalian

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,190 in Phuket versus $895 in Dalian.

Phuket $1,190
Dalian $895

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,006 in Phuket versus $1,433 in Dalian.

Phuket $2,006
Dalian $1,433

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,822 in Phuket versus $1,970 in Dalian.

Phuket $2,822
Dalian $1,970

Living in Phuket is roughly 33% more expensive than in Dalian, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Dalian 33% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.35 ฿146

$3.63 ¥24.25

19.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.45 ฿1,087

$24.88 ¥166

30.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.42 ฿282

$5.12 ¥34.24

64.45%

Cappuccino

$2.81 ฿94.0

$3.30 ¥22.04

-14.85%

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

$0.87 ฿29.29

$0.49 ¥3.30

77.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.46 ฿15.39

$0.25 ¥1.67

84.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$0.92 ¥6.17

181.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.64 ฿122

$1.53 ¥10.23

137.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 ฿57.2

$1.59 ¥10.63

7.55%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.42

$1.42 ¥9.52

2.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.56 ฿52.3

$1.02 ¥6.80

52.94%

Eggs

$2.10 ฿70.3

$1.59 ¥10.61

32.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.53 ฿654

$20.36 ¥136

-4.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$3.46 ¥23.10

-1.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿373

$13.05 ¥87.2

-14.64%

Apples (1kg)

$2.83 ฿94.8

$1.31 ¥8.74

116.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 ฿54.3

$1.13 ¥7.52

43.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 ฿74.5

$1.93 ¥12.90

15.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.15 ฿71.9

$0.89 ¥5.96

141.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.49 ฿49.95

$0.82 ¥5.50

81.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.33 ฿44.40

$0.71 ¥4.77

87.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.72

$1.35 ¥9.00

-20.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.01

$0.62 ¥4.16

-17.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 ฿147

$3.75 ¥25.08

16.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.77 ฿629

$14.55 ¥97.2

29.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.3

$1.10 ¥7.32

58.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿92.9

$1.93 ¥12.92

44.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.17 ฿72.6

$0.31 ¥2.10

600.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.28 ฿746

$30.05 ¥201

-25.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿101

$1.53 ¥10.23

97.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.43

$0.43 ¥2.87

146.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.71 ฿124

$3.98 ¥26.60

-6.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 ฿47.88

$1.26 ¥8.43

13.49%

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

$26.3K ฿882.1K

$19.6K ¥130.8K

34.64%

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

$26.2K ฿877.3K

$17.5K ¥117.0K

49.69%

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

$96.7 ฿3,236

$63.8 ¥426

51.62%

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

$11.41 ฿382

$9.13 ¥61.0

24.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.11 ฿573

$13.34 ¥89.1

28.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.8 ฿1,768

$40.35 ¥270

30.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.07 ฿371

$36.04 ¥241

-69.28%

Cinema Ticket

$7.65 ฿256

$6.85 ¥45.75

11.68%

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

$555 ฿18.6K

$393 ¥2,627

41.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿377.7K

$20.6K ¥137.9K

-45.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.4 ฿2,123

$75.4 ¥504

-15.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.61 ฿958

$54.9 ¥367

-47.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.7 ฿3,238

$114 ¥762

-15.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 ฿2,967

$117 ¥784

-24.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$735 ฿24.6K

$402 ¥2,684

82.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$458 ฿15.3K

$244 ¥1,628

87.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,102 ฿70.4K

$702 ¥4,688

199.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 ฿39.7K

$445 ¥2,971

166.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,493 ฿116.9K

$2,684 ¥17.9K

30.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,491 ฿83.4K

$1,585 ¥10.6K

57.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.8K

$1,090 ¥7,287

-54.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.89

43.19%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 4, 2026

Last update for Dalian: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$458 38.1%

Dalian

$244 26.6% 46.8% $214

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.3%

Dalian

$239 26.1% 10.9% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.4%

Dalian

$86 9.4% 31.1% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$125 10.4%

Dalian

$163 17.8% 30.4% $38

Eating Out

Phuket

$119 9.9%

Dalian

$95 10.3% 20.7% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.7%

Dalian

$54 5.9% 20.6% $14

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Dalian

$35 3.8% 10.9% $4.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $735 in Phuket and $402 in Dalian. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dalian pays 118% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $25.00 in Dalian for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $239 per month, with Dalian cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇳 Dalian

🕒 Local time

16:41 4:41 PM

17:41 5:41 PM

1 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

7,450,785

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Dalian 4,160 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Dalian

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 Dalian: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket and Dalian differ by about 33% in total monthly costs ($1,190 vs $895 including rent). Dalian is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 118% lower in Dalian. 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: $735 in Phuket versus $402 in Dalian. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $555 in Phuket versus $393 in Dalian. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 12% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $895 in Dalian versus $1,190 in Phuket, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Dalian but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Dalian 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 Dalian 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 Dalian gentler on the wallet – expenses run 33% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.