Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Forbes

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,543 in Forbes, rent and utilities included – about $15,200 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
122

Cost of Living Index in Forbes
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Forbes Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Forbes

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,543

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Forbes

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,543 in Forbes.

Phuket $1,278
Forbes $2,543

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $3,751 in Forbes.

Phuket $2,216
Forbes $3,751

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $4,958 in Forbes.

Phuket $3,154
Forbes $4,958

Living in Phuket costs roughly 50% less than in Forbes, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Forbes is 87% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$15.91 A$22.54

-71.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,092

$94.9 A$134

-65.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$11.31 A$16.02

-22.10%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.3

$3.52 A$4.99

-19.60%

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

$0.87 ฿29.37

$2.99 A$4.23

-70.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.64

$2.37 A$3.36

-79.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.2

$6.98 A$9.89

-63.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$7.40 A$10.49

-50.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.69 A$2.40

-1.78%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.25

$2.42 A$3.43

-39.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.4

$2.14 A$3.03

-29.91%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.4

$5.00 A$7.08

-58.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿642

$10.16 A$14.40

87.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$9.52 A$13.49

-65.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$13.72 A$19.43

-20.48%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.7

$3.78 A$5.35

-22.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.9

$3.01 A$4.26

-43.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.7

$3.55 A$5.04

-36.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$4.92 A$6.97

-57.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.9

$2.50 A$3.54

-39.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.47

$2.55 A$3.62

-45.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.91

$2.28 A$3.23

-53.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.49

$1.45 A$2.06

-64.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$46.43 A$65.8

-90.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿633

$12.36 A$17.51

52.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.4

$4.75 A$6.73

-61.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.7

$5.80 A$8.21

-51.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.93

$2.66 A$3.76

-45.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,909

$78.5 A$111

-27.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.70 A$5.25

-18.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.29

$1.72 A$2.44

-40.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿124

$45.70 A$64.7

-91.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.70

$1.25 A$1.78

17.60%

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

$26.8K ฿902.4K

$33.8K A$47.9K

-20.83%

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

$26.7K ฿899.5K

$28.1K A$39.9K

-5.17%

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

$96.4 ฿3,247

$195 A$276

-50.56%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$23.66 A$33.52

-52.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$53.4 A$75.6

-68.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,266

$59.1 A$83.7

13.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿361

$19.72 A$27.93

-45.59%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$12.05 A$17.07

-37.76%

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

$476 ฿16.0K

$2,301 A$3,259

-79.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿379.6K

$21.3K A$30.2K

-47.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,102

$80.6 A$114

-22.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿957

$56.7 A$80.4

-49.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,178

$117 A$165

-19.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,892

$124 A$175

-30.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.1K

$1,558 A$2,207

-54.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.5K

$1,278 A$1,810

-61.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿64.9K

$2,463 A$3,488

-21.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.2K

$2,041 A$2,892

-29.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.7K

$5,228 A$7,405

-20.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.6K

$5,146 A$7,290

-40.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.9

-5.59%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Forbes: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Forbes

$1.3K 50.3% 160% $787

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Forbes

$364 14.3% 36.7% $98

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Forbes

$272 10.7% 119% $147

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Forbes

$170 6.7% 39.5% $48

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Forbes

$275 10.8% 126% $153

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Forbes

$83 3.3% 1.2% $1

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Forbes

$101 4% 43.7% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $1,558 in Forbes. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $95 in Forbes for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $364 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇦🇺 Forbes

🕒 Local time

13:27 1:27 PM

17:27 5:27 PM

4 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

8,481

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

1 AUD = 0.706 USD

1 AUD = 0.634 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 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.706 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.634 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Forbes 6,950 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Forbes

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 Forbes: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,278 in Phuket and $2,543 in Forbes, so Phuket is about 50% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,917 in Phuket and $3,814 in Forbes to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $716 in Phuket versus $1,558 in Forbes. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,278 per month in Phuket versus $2,543 in Forbes – Phuket is about 50% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 28% less than in Forbes. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,543 in Forbes, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Forbes. 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 Forbes are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 50% less than in Forbes. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.