Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Mount Isa

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,294 a month against $2,519 in Mount Isa, rent and utilities included – about $14,700 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
121

Cost of Living Index in Mount Isa
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Mount Isa Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Mount Isa

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,519

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Mount Isa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $2,519 in Mount Isa.

Phuket $1,294
Mount Isa $2,519

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $3,619 in Mount Isa.

Phuket $2,204
Mount Isa $3,619

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $4,719 in Mount Isa.

Phuket $3,115
Mount Isa $4,719

Living in Phuket costs roughly 49% less than in Mount Isa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 4% below, Mount Isa is 86% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿147

$17.36 A$24.74

-74.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,078

$84.2 A$120

-61.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿290

$10.65 A$15.18

-18.31%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿90.9

$3.91 A$5.58

-30.43%

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

$0.93 ฿31.06

$2.80 A$3.99

-66.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.67

$2.25 A$3.21

-77.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿84.5

$7.83 A$11.15

-67.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿121

$7.71 A$10.98

-52.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$1.52 A$2.16

14.47%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.42

$2.65 A$3.78

-45.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.1

$2.21 A$3.15

-32.13%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.5

$4.82 A$6.87

-54.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿637

$9.18 A$13.08

107.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿113

$9.09 A$12.96

-62.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿364

$14.97 A$21.34

-27.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿98.2

$3.85 A$5.49

-23.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.5

$3.09 A$4.40

-45.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.2

$3.24 A$4.61

-32.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿70.9

$4.70 A$6.69

-54.89%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿48.68

$2.72 A$3.88

-46.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.66

$2.38 A$3.39

-42.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿35.91

$2.40 A$3.42

-55.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.21

$1.55 A$2.20

-64.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿148

$42.83 A$61.0

-89.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿609

$14.25 A$20.30

28.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.2

$4.76 A$6.78

-62.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿96.2

$5.29 A$7.54

-45.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.32

$2.70 A$3.85

-46.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,832

$84.1 A$120

-34.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿50.5

$3.59 A$5.11

-57.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿25.90

$1.65 A$2.35

-52.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿128

$40.77 A$58.1

-90.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.65

$1.32 A$1.88

12.88%

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

$26.9K ฿897.3K

$29.7K A$42.4K

-9.58%

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

$26.3K ฿879.4K

$25.9K A$36.9K

1.70%

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

$97.8 ฿3,265

$205 A$292

-52.29%

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

$11.29 ฿377

$27.82 A$39.65

-59.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿574

$57.0 A$81.3

-69.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,281

$55.6 A$79.2

23.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿365

$18.03 A$25.69

-39.43%

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿248

$13.96 A$19.90

-46.78%

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

$530 ฿17.7K

$2,165 A$3,085

-75.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿626.9K

$20.2K A$28.7K

-6.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,059

$77.7 A$111

-20.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿943

$54.8 A$78.1

-48.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,204

$109 A$156

-12.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,898

$123 A$176

-29.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.1K

$1,416 A$2,018

-49.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.0K

$1,217 A$1,734

-58.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.1K

$2,259 A$3,218

-13.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿46.6K

$1,798 A$2,562

-22.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿139.9K

$5,881 A$8,380

-28.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.1K

$5,029 A$7,167

-34.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.4K

$4,453 A$6,346

-88.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.9

-5.59%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Mount Isa: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Mount Isa

$1.2K 48.3% 139% $708

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Mount Isa

$366 14.5% 37.1% $99

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Mount Isa

$290 11.5% 130% $164

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Mount Isa

$164 6.5% 33.9% $42

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Mount Isa

$293 11.6% 145% $173

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Mount Isa

$83 3.3% 0.4% $0.3

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Mount Isa

$107 4.2% 61.5% $41

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Phuket and $1,416 in Mount Isa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mount Isa pays about 9.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $84 in Mount Isa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $366 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇦🇺 Mount Isa

🕒 Local time

08:06 8:06 AM

11:06 11:06 AM

3 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

17,936

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 3 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

1 AUD = 0.702 USD

1 AUD = 0.625 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 33.38 THB (100 THB = 3 USD). 1 EUR = 37.47 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.702 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.625 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Mount Isa 5,500 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Mount Isa

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 Mount Isa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 49% lower than in Mount Isa. 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 89% 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 $1,416 in Mount Isa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $530 in Phuket versus $2,165 in Mount Isa. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 37% higher in Mount Isa. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,294 in Phuket versus $2,519 in Mount Isa, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Mount Isa. 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 Mount Isa 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 49% less than in Mount Isa. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.