Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Haikou

For one person, living is cheaper in Haikou: $813 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Haikou
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Haikou Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Haikou

🇨🇳 China

$813

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Haikou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $813 in Haikou.

Phuket $1,278
Haikou $813

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,165 in Haikou.

Phuket $2,216
Haikou $1,165

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $1,516 in Haikou.

Phuket $3,154
Haikou $1,516

Living in Phuket is roughly 57% more expensive than in Haikou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Haikou 40% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$4.49 ¥29.83

-0.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$14.88 ¥98.9

117.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$5.93 ¥39.40

48.57%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$2.50 ¥16.59

13.20%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$0.84 ¥5.58

3.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$0.37 ¥2.44

32.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$1.52 ¥10.07

68.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.77 ¥18.41

32.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$2.12 ¥14.10

-21.70%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$1.41 ¥9.37

3.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$0.69 ¥4.59

117.39%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.37 ¥9.11

52.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$3.97 ¥26.39

-16.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$15.52 ¥103

-29.70%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$1.75 ¥11.62

67.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$0.93 ¥6.20

81.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$1.09 ¥7.26

106.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$0.94 ¥6.23

121.28%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.86 ¥5.72

75.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$0.74 ¥4.89

86.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$0.43 ¥2.88

148.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$0.56 ¥3.72

-7.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.17 ¥21.08

32.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$9.01 ¥59.9

108.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$0.62 ¥4.14

193.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$1.17 ¥7.76

142.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

$0.86 ¥5.70

68.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$54.9 ¥365

3.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$2.29 ¥15.23

31.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

$0.47 ¥3.13

117.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$1.27 ¥8.46

15.75%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$36.44 ¥242

164.41%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$13.45 ¥89.4

-16.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$13.72 ¥91.2

22.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$46.34 ¥308

45.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$6.51 ¥43.24

64.82%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$4.62 ¥30.70

62.34%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$871 ¥5,787

-45.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

$19.7K ¥131.1K

-42.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$27.29 ¥181

128.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$35.76 ¥238

-20.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$44.30 ¥294

112.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$38.38 ¥255

123.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$370 ¥2,460

93.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$294 ¥1,954

66.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$571 ¥3,796

237.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$374 ¥2,485

282.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$3,265 ¥21.7K

27.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$2,136 ¥14.2K

42.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$715 ¥4,750

-29.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.85

44.68%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Haikou: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Haikou

$294 36.2% 40.1% $197

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Haikou

$169 * 20.8% 36.4% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Haikou

$64 7.8% 48.9% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Haikou

$66 8.1% 46.2% $56

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Haikou

$102 12.5% 16.5% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Haikou

$56 6.8% 32.4% $27

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Haikou

$63 7.8% 10.7% $7.6

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 $370 in Haikou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Haikou pays 42% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $15 in Haikou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $169 per month, with Haikou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇳 Haikou

🕒 Local time

08:23 8:23 AM

09:23 9:23 AM

1 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

2,873,358

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 6.64 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.42 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Haikou 1,860 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Haikou

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 Haikou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,278 in Phuket and $813 in Haikou, so Haikou is about 36% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 30% 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 $370 in Haikou. 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 $813 in Haikou – Haikou is about 36% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Haikou runs roughly 3% less than in Phuket. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $813 in Haikou versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Haikou but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Haikou 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.

Expats usually find Haikou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 36% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.