Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Kobe

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,392 in Kobe, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 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
67

Cost of Living Index in Kobe
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Kobe Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Kobe

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,392

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Kobe

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,392 in Kobe.

Phuket $1,278
Kobe $1,392

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,067 in Kobe.

Phuket $2,216
Kobe $2,067

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,742 in Kobe.

Phuket $3,154
Kobe $2,742

Living in Phuket costs roughly 8% less than in Kobe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Kobe is 2% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$7.70 ¥1,214

-41.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$31.86 ¥5,024

1.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$4.91 ¥775

79.43%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$2.37 ¥374

19.41%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$1.19 ¥188

-26.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$0.57 ¥89.9

-14.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$2.12 ¥335

20.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.30 ¥363

60.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.57 ¥248

5.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$1.34 ¥211

8.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$4.17 ¥657

-64.03%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.04 ¥321

2.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$12.61 ¥1,988

51.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$6.78 ¥1,069

-51.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$17.06 ¥2,691

-36.05%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$7.70 ¥1,215

-61.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$3.06 ¥483

-44.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$4.97 ¥783

-54.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$7.71 ¥1,215

-73.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$3.84 ¥605

-60.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$3.45 ¥544

-60.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$1.13 ¥179

-5.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$0.94 ¥148

-44.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.48 ¥548

20.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$8.05 ¥1,269

133.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.96 ¥309

-7.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$1.45 ¥229

95.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

$1.45 ¥229

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$62.4 ¥9,843

-9.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.11 ¥491

-2.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

$3.24 ¥511

-68.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$26.72 ¥4,213

-86.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$1.06 ¥168

38.68%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$19.9K ¥3.1M

34.57%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$15.4K ¥2.4M

72.86%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$148 ¥23.3K

-34.81%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$23.26 ¥3,667

-51.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$31.25 ¥4,927

-46.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$46.90 ¥7,396

43.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$11.83 ¥1,866

-9.30%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$12.86 ¥2,028

-41.68%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$321 ¥50.5K

48.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

$6,141 ¥968.3K

83.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$50.6 ¥7,980

23.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$25.01 ¥3,944

13.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$45.98 ¥7,251

105.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$65.6 ¥10.3K

30.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$691 ¥108.9K

3.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$463 ¥73.0K

6.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,100 ¥173.5K

75.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$737 ¥116.2K

94.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$4,325 ¥682.0K

-3.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$2,894 ¥456.3K

5.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$1,975 ¥311.4K

-74.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

2.02

175.74%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Kobe: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Kobe

$463 33.3% 5.7% $28

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Kobe

$355 25.5% 33.4% $89

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Kobe

$202 14.5% 62.5% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Kobe

$84 6.1% 30.9% $38

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Kobe

$127 9.1% 4.4% $5.4

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Kobe

$73 5.2% 11.7% $9.6

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Kobe

$88 6.3% 24% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $691 in Kobe. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kobe pays about 3.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $32 in Kobe for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $355 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇯🇵 Kobe

🕒 Local time

17:18 5:18 PM

19:18 7:18 PM

2 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

1,537,272

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.68 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Kobe 4,790 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Kobe

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 Kobe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 8% lower than in Kobe. 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 75% 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 $691 in Kobe. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $321 in Kobe. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 9% less than in Kobe. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your 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 Kobe are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Kobe on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.