Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Linyi

For one person, living is cheaper in Linyi: $589 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $8,300 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
28

Cost of Living Index in Linyi
Learn more

Linyi Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Linyi

🇨🇳 China

$589

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Linyi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $589 in Linyi.

Phuket $1,278
Linyi $589

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $940 in Linyi.

Phuket $2,216
Linyi $940

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $1,291 in Linyi.

Phuket $3,154
Linyi $1,291

Living in Phuket is roughly 117% more expensive than in Linyi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Linyi 57% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$2.34 ¥15.55

91.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$24.86 ¥165

30.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$4.81 ¥32.04

83.16%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$2.65 ¥17.62

6.79%

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

$0.87 ฿29.41

$0.47 ¥3.10

85.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$0.21 ¥1.39

133.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$0.91 ¥6.08

181.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.03 ¥13.48

81.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.51 ¥10.08

9.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.31

$1.45 ¥9.63

0.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$0.43 ¥2.84

248.84%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.06 ¥7.06

97.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$8.97 ¥59.7

112.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$1.81 ¥12.07

82.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$11.21 ¥74.6

-2.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$1.14 ¥7.57

157.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$1.01 ¥6.74

67.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$1.01 ¥6.75

122.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$0.94 ¥6.25

121.28%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.44 ¥2.92

243.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.52

$0.38 ¥2.55

263.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.96

$0.57 ¥3.76

87.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$0.61 ¥4.09

-14.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$4.48 ¥29.78

-6.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$9.95 ¥66.2

88.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$0.71 ¥4.75

156.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$1.33 ¥8.84

113.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

$0.31 ¥2.06

367.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.03 ¥6.82

193.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.33

$0.25 ¥1.66

308.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$4.44 ¥29.54

-16.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.76

$1.17 ¥7.76

25.64%

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

$26.8K ฿903.4K

$16.5K ¥109.6K

62.62%

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

$26.7K ฿900.5K

$15.1K ¥100.6K

76.47%

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

$96.4 ฿3,251

$72.2 ¥480

33.47%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$4.70 ¥31.25

139.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$5.05 ¥33.61

233.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$53.7 ¥357

25.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$26.38 ¥176

-59.33%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$5.13 ¥34.12

46.20%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$213 ¥1,417

123.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

$10.7K ¥71.1K

5.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,104

$22.15 ¥147

181.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$22.68 ¥151

25.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,181

$69.8 ¥464

35.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,895

$70.8 ¥471

21.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$212 ¥1,409

238.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$116 ¥774

321.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$499 ¥3,322

286.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$209 ¥1,392

584.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$1,501 ¥9,985

178.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$980 ¥6,519

210.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$785 ¥5,222

-36.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.13

77.96%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Linyi: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Linyi

$116 19.8% 76.3% $375

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Linyi

$164 27.8% 38.6% $103

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Linyi

$82 13.9% 34.2% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Linyi

$83 14.2% 31.5% $38

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Linyi

$76 12.9% 37.4% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Linyi

$64 10.9% 22.3% $18

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Linyi

$3.5 * 0.6% 95% $67

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $212 in Linyi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Linyi pays 56% 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 $25 in Linyi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $164 per month, with Linyi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇳 Linyi

🕒 Local time

21:23 9:23 PM

22:23 10:23 PM

1 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

2,710,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, 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).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.43 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Linyi 3,650 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Linyi

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 Linyi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Linyi wins on cost – living expenses run 54% lower than in Phuket. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Linyi the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 36% 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 $212 in Linyi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 63% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,278 per month in Phuket versus $589 in Linyi – Linyi is about 54% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $589 in Linyi versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $800 budget is realistic in Linyi but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Linyi 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.