Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Kaohsiung Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Kaohsiung

🙂 Solo nomad: Phuket is 13.7% cheaper than Kaohsiung without rent, and 9.5% more expensive with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Phuket is 7.9% cheaper than Kaohsiung without rent, and 22.5% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Phuket
Kaohsiung
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$4.65 ฿149
$4.03 NT$128
15.38%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$46.11 ฿1,474
$33.61 NT$1,071
37.19%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$8.74 ฿279
$5.46 NT$174
60.07%
Cappuccino
$3.04 ฿97.1
$3.06 NT$97.4
-0.65%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.72 ฿23.03
$0.99 NT$31.47
-27.27%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.39 ฿12.50
$0.72 NT$23.06
-45.83%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.44 ฿78.0
$1.73 NT$55.1
41.04%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.79 ฿121
$2.67 NT$85.2
41.95%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Phuket
Kaohsiung
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$2.14 ฿68.6
$3.58 NT$114
-40.22%
White Bread (500g)
$1.86 ฿59.5
$1.98 NT$63.1
-6.06%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.19 ฿69.9
$2.73 NT$86.9
-19.78%
Eggs
$2.25 ฿71.8
$3.36 NT$107
-33.04%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$19.73 ฿631
$16.15 NT$515
22.17%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.79 ฿121
$9.40 NT$300
-59.68%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$13.55 ฿433
$17.59 NT$561
-22.97%
Apples (1kg)
$3.25 ฿104
$6.26 NT$199
-48.08%
Banana (1kg)
$1.67 ฿53.4
$2.60 NT$82.8
-35.77%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.39 ฿76.5
$2.78 NT$88.6
-14.03%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.09 ฿66.9
$4.18 NT$133
-50.00%
Potato (1kg)
$1.53 ฿48.88
$3.06 NT$97.4
-50.00%
Onion (1kg)
$1.51 ฿48.27
$2.24 NT$71.4
-32.59%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.99 ฿31.62
$1.94 NT$61.9
-48.97%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.51 ฿16.46
$1.20 NT$38.15
-57.50%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.27 ฿137
$4.44 NT$141
-3.83%
Wine (Bottle)
$20.31 ฿649
$15.55 NT$496
30.61%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.79 ฿57.3
$1.67 NT$53.3
7.19%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.77 ฿88.5
$2.54 NT$81.0
9.06%
🚌 Getting Around
Phuket
Kaohsiung
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.40 ฿44.89
$0.84 NT$26.69
66.67%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$11.70 ฿374
$26.81 NT$854
-56.36%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.11 ฿99.4
$2.82 NT$89.8
10.28%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.99 ฿31.80
$0.79 NT$25.08
25.32%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$13.73 ฿439
$5.92 NT$189
131.93%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.32 ฿42.17
$1.06 NT$33.78
24.53%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$27.2K ฿870.7K
$34.4K NT$1.1M
-20.93%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$34.1K ฿1.1M
$25.6K NT$816.5K
33.15%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Phuket
Kaohsiung
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$120 ฿3,849
$102 NT$3,238
18.50%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$13.93 ฿445
$24.94 NT$795
-44.15%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$18.31 ฿585
$25.43 NT$810
-28.00%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Phuket
Kaohsiung
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$60.9 ฿1,948
$39.54 NT$1,260
54.10%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$17.23 ฿551
$11.17 NT$356
54.25%
Cinema Ticket
$8.71 ฿278
$10.21 NT$326
-14.69%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Phuket
Kaohsiung
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$698 ฿22.3K
$427 NT$13.6K
63.31%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$15.7K ฿503.0K
$11.5K NT$366.6K
36.79%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Phuket
Kaohsiung
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$57.6 ฿1,843
$96.0 NT$3,060
-39.96%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$34.24 ฿1,095
$35.47 NT$1,130
-3.47%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$113 ฿3,618
$89.2 NT$2,842
26.89%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$84.8 ฿2,711
$100 NT$3,193
-15.36%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Phuket
Kaohsiung
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$604 ฿19.3K
$446 NT$14.2K
35.27%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$436 ฿13.9K
$276 NT$8,789
58.14%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,057 ฿65.8K
$927 NT$29.5K
121.97%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,498 ฿47.9K
$692 NT$22.1K
116.43%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,252 ฿135.9K
$4,744 NT$151.2K
-10.37%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,988 ฿95.5K
$3,257 NT$103.8K
-8.25%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Phuket
Kaohsiung
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$529 ฿16.9K
$1,446 NT$46.1K
-63.40%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
5.33
2.3
131.74%

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

Last update for Phuket: February 28, 2026

Last update for Kaohsiung: March 1, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.
Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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