Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Kajaani

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,294 a month against $1,812 in Kajaani, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Kajaani
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Kajaani Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Kajaani

🇫🇮 Finland

$1,812

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Kajaani

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $1,812 in Kajaani.

Phuket $1,294
Kajaani $1,812

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $2,744 in Kajaani.

Phuket $2,204
Kajaani $2,744

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $3,676 in Kajaani.

Phuket $3,115
Kajaani $3,676

Living in Phuket costs roughly 29% less than in Kajaani, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 4% below, Kajaani is 34% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿148

$16.58 €14.79

-73.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,090

$65.3 €58.3

-50.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿294

$10.28 €9.17

-15.37%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.9

$4.51 €4.02

-39.69%

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

$0.93 ฿31.38

$2.47 €2.20

-62.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.85

$1.70 €1.52

-70.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿85.4

$8.33 €7.43

-69.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿122

$7.46 €6.65

-51.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.7

$1.48 €1.32

17.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.93

$2.57 €2.30

-43.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.7

$2.26 €2.02

-33.63%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿73.3

$2.85 €2.55

-23.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿644

$8.39 €7.48

127.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿115

$11.86 €10.58

-71.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿368

$23.19 €20.69

-53.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿99.2

$2.46 €2.20

19.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$2.09 €1.86

-19.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿74.0

$2.38 €2.12

-7.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿71.6

$3.93 €3.50

-46.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿49.19

$1.51 €1.34

-3.31%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿46.14

$2.19 €1.95

-37.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿36.29

$1.47 €1.31

-26.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.40

$1.79 €1.60

-69.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿149

$13.33 €11.89

-66.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿616

$13.36 €11.92

36.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.8

$3.10 €2.77

-42.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿97.2

$3.45 €3.08

-16.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.82

$3.42 €3.05

-57.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,851

$64.4 €57.5

-14.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$8.46 €7.55

-82.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿26.17

$1.39 €1.24

-43.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿129

$65.3 €58.3

-94.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿50.2

$2.30 €2.06

-35.22%

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

$26.9K ฿906.7K

$36.8K €32.8K

-27.00%

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

$26.3K ฿888.6K

$38.2K €34.1K

-31.06%

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

$97.8 ฿3,299

$143 €128

-31.82%

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

$11.29 ฿381

$29.59 €26.39

-61.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿580

$21.80 €19.45

-21.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,305

$42.89 €38.26

59.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿368

$22.47 €20.05

-51.40%

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿251

$19.20 €17.12

-61.30%

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

$530 ฿17.9K

$389 €347

36.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿633.5K

$12.5K €11.2K

49.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,080

$90.2 €80.4

-31.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿953

$27.83 €24.83

1.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,238

$56.3 €50.2

70.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,928

$149 €133

-41.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.3K

$797 €711

-9.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.2K

$651 €581

-21.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.8K

$1,208 €1,077

61.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿47.1K

$1,028 €917

35.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿141.4K

$4,073 €3,633

2.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿111.3K

$2,175 €1,940

51.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.6K

$2,017 €1,799

-75.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.33

28.64%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Kajaani: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Kajaani

$651 35.9% 28% $142

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Kajaani

$355 19.6% 32.9% $88

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Kajaani

$195 10.8% 54.3% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Kajaani

$146 8% 18.7% $23

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Kajaani

$291 16.1% 143% $171

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Kajaani

$81 4.5% 2.3% $1.9

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Kajaani

$93 5.2% 41.5% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Phuket and $797 in Kajaani. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kajaani pays about 4.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $65 in Kajaani for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $355 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇫🇮 Kajaani

🕒 Local time

07:55 7:55 AM

02:55 2:55 AM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

36,492

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.72 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Kajaani 8,290 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Kajaani

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 Kajaani: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 29% lower than in Kajaani. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 76% 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: $721 in Phuket versus $797 in Kajaani. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $530 in Phuket versus $389 in Kajaani. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 33% higher in Kajaani. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,294 in Phuket versus $1,812 in Kajaani, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Kajaani. 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 Kajaani 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 29% less than in Kajaani. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.