Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and High Level

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,168 in High Level, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 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
109

Cost of Living Index in High Level
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High Level Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

High Level

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,168

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in High Level

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,168 in High Level.

Phuket $1,278
High Level $2,168

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $3,250 in High Level.

Phuket $2,216
High Level $3,250

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $4,332 in High Level.

Phuket $3,154
High Level $4,332

Living in Phuket costs roughly 41% less than in High Level, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, High Level is 59% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$19.04 CA$26.71

-76.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$57.0 CA$80.0

-43.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$10.18 CA$14.28

-13.46%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$3.41 CA$4.79

-17.01%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$1.90 CA$2.66

-54.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$1.83 CA$2.57

-73.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$5.39 CA$7.57

-52.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$6.29 CA$8.82

-41.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$2.30 CA$3.23

-27.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$2.85 CA$4.00

-48.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$3.60 CA$5.05

-58.33%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$3.62 CA$5.08

-42.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$9.52 CA$13.36

100.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$10.62 CA$14.90

-68.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$14.27 CA$20.02

-23.55%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$3.39 CA$4.75

-13.57%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.36 CA$1.91

24.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$3.47 CA$4.86

-35.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$3.73 CA$5.23

-44.24%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.58 CA$3.62

-41.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$2.12 CA$2.97

-34.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$2.77 CA$3.88

-61.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$1.79 CA$2.52

-70.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$14.78 CA$20.74

-71.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$12.93 CA$18.14

45.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$2.70 CA$3.79

-32.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$3.02 CA$4.24

-5.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$2.22 CA$3.11

-34.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$55.5 CA$77.9

2.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$2.59 CA$3.64

16.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$1.44 CA$2.02

-29.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$22.89 CA$32.12

-83.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.13 CA$1.59

30.09%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$31.5K CA$44.2K

-15.02%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$22.4K CA$31.4K

19.39%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$121 CA$170

-20.67%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$40.46 CA$56.8

-72.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$58.1 CA$81.5

-71.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$36.13 CA$50.7

86.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$19.53 CA$27.41

-45.06%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$10.77 CA$15.11

-30.36%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$580 CA$814

-17.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$14.4K CA$20.2K

-21.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$49.88 CA$70.0

25.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$36.48 CA$51.2

-22.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$92.9 CA$130

1.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$89.6 CA$126

-4.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$1,288 CA$1,807

-44.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$1,064 CA$1,493

-53.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$1,988 CA$2,790

-3.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,862 CA$2,614

-23.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$4,808 CA$6,747

-13.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$3,870 CA$5,431

-21.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.68

19.02%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for High Level: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

High Level

$1.1K 49.1% 117% $573

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

High Level

$352 16.3% 32.4% $86

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

High Level

$220 10.2% 76.8% $96

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

High Level

$121 5.6% 0.7% $0.9

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

High Level

$278 12.8% 129% $157

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

High Level

$58 2.7% 29.9% $25

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

High Level

$74 3.4% 5.1% $3.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $1,288 in High Level. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $57 in High Level for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $352 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇦 High Level

🕒 Local time

04:18 4:18 AM

15:18 3:18 PM

13 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

3,200

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 CAD = 0.713 USD

1 CAD = 0.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.713 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.64 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket High Level 11,980 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
High Level

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 High Level: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,278 in Phuket and $2,168 in High Level, so Phuket is about 41% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,917 in Phuket and $3,251 in High Level 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 $1,288 in High Level. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $580 in High Level. 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 $57 in High Level. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,168 in High Level, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in High Level. 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 High Level are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.