Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Hamamatsu

For one person, living is cheaper in Hamamatsu: $783 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $5,900 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
38

Cost of Living Index in Hamamatsu
Learn more

Hamamatsu Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Hamamatsu

🇯🇵 Japan

$783

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Hamamatsu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $783 in Hamamatsu.

Phuket $1,278
Hamamatsu $783

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,266 in Hamamatsu.

Phuket $2,216
Hamamatsu $1,266

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $1,750 in Hamamatsu.

Phuket $3,154
Hamamatsu $1,750

Living in Phuket is roughly 63% more expensive than in Hamamatsu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Hamamatsu 42% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$3.90 ¥614

14.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$41.78 ¥6,581

-22.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$5.19 ¥818

69.75%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$3.41 ¥538

-17.01%

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

$0.87 ฿29.41

$1.10 ¥173

-20.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$0.75 ¥118

-34.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$2.61 ¥411

-1.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$3.11 ¥489

18.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.08 ¥170

53.70%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.31

$1.70 ¥267

-14.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$3.67 ¥578

-59.13%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.68 ¥265

24.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$10.25 ¥1,615

86.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$6.17 ¥971

-46.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$14.24 ¥2,242

-23.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$5.80 ¥914

-49.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.84 ¥447

-40.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.95 ¥465

-23.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$4.30 ¥678

-51.63%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.61 ¥412

-42.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.52

$2.59 ¥407

-46.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.96

$1.29 ¥204

-17.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$0.66 ¥104

-21.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.89 ¥612

7.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$6.39 ¥1,006

194.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.82 ¥287

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$2.10 ¥331

35.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$50.1 ¥7,896

13.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.11 ¥489

-2.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.33

$2.63 ¥414

-61.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$20.62 ¥3,248

-82.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.76

$1.06 ¥167

38.68%

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

$26.8K ฿903.4K

$21.6K ¥3.4M

23.99%

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

$26.7K ฿900.5K

$15.8K ¥2.5M

68.60%

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

$96.4 ฿3,251

$130 ¥20.5K

-26.12%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$8.59 ¥1,353

31.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$32.78 ¥5,164

-48.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$17.40 ¥2,741

-38.33%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$13.08 ¥2,060

-42.66%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$819 ¥129.0K

-41.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

$14.8K ¥2.3M

-24.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,104

$63.6 ¥10.0K

-2.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$37.10 ¥5,844

-23.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,181

$61.3 ¥9,655

53.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,895

$103 ¥16.2K

-16.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$7,787 ¥1.2M

-46.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$5,298 ¥834.5K

-42.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$1,602 ¥252.4K

-68.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

2.64

110.98%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Hamamatsu: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Hamamatsu

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Hamamatsu

$285 36.4% 7% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Hamamatsu

$172 21.9% 38% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Hamamatsu

$119 15.2% 2.1% $2.6

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Hamamatsu

$114 14.6% 6% $7.3

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Hamamatsu

$26 * 3.3% 68.2% $56

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Hamamatsu

$66 * 8.5% 6% $4.2

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Hamamatsu pays about 3.2 times 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 $42 in Hamamatsu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $285 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇯🇵 Hamamatsu

🕒 Local time

01:21 1:21 AM

03:21 3:21 AM

2 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

797,033

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Hamamatsu 5,000 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Hamamatsu

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 Hamamatsu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,278 in Phuket and $783 in Hamamatsu, so Hamamatsu is about 39% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 69% 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.

Shoppers in Phuket pay roughly 7% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $42 in Hamamatsu. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $783 in Hamamatsu versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Hamamatsu but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Hamamatsu 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 Hamamatsu are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.