Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Mount Victoria

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,706 in Mount Victoria, rent and utilities included – about $17,100 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
125

Cost of Living Index in Mount Victoria
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Mount Victoria Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Mount Victoria

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,706

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,706 in Mount Victoria.

Phuket $1,278
Mount Victoria $2,706

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $3,821 in Mount Victoria.

Phuket $2,216
Mount Victoria $3,821

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $4,935 in Mount Victoria.

Phuket $3,154
Mount Victoria $4,935

Living in Phuket costs roughly 53% less than in Mount Victoria, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Mount Victoria is 99% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$21.07 A$30.10

-78.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,092

$89.1 A$127

-63.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$10.62 A$15.16

-17.04%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.3

$4.04 A$5.77

-29.95%

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

$0.87 ฿29.37

$3.06 A$4.37

-71.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.64

$2.59 A$3.70

-81.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.2

$8.56 A$12.23

-70.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$10.09 A$14.41

-63.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.53 A$2.19

8.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.25

$3.26 A$4.65

-55.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.4

$2.62 A$3.74

-42.75%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.4

$5.18 A$7.39

-59.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿642

$12.87 A$18.38

48.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$10.13 A$14.47

-67.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$15.62 A$22.31

-30.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.7

$3.95 A$5.64

-25.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.9

$3.25 A$4.65

-48.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.7

$3.61 A$5.16

-37.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$4.98 A$7.11

-58.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.9

$3.09 A$4.41

-51.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.47

$2.74 A$3.92

-49.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.91

$2.58 A$3.68

-58.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.49

$1.34 A$1.91

-61.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$45.43 A$64.9

-90.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿633

$14.05 A$20.06

33.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.4

$4.71 A$6.72

-61.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.7

$5.64 A$8.05

-49.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.93

$2.84 A$4.06

-48.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,909

$81.6 A$117

-30.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$4.10 A$5.85

-26.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.29

$1.58 A$2.26

-35.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿124

$43.03 A$61.5

-91.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.70

$1.36 A$1.94

8.09%

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

$26.8K ฿902.4K

$27.7K A$39.5K

-3.26%

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

$26.7K ฿899.5K

$26.7K A$38.1K

0.13%

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

$96.4 ฿3,247

$180 A$257

-46.46%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$26.84 A$38.33

-58.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$55.2 A$78.8

-69.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,266

$53.7 A$76.7

25.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿361

$16.52 A$23.59

-35.05%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$15.50 A$22.13

-51.61%

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

$476 ฿16.0K

$2,500 A$3,570

-80.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿379.6K

$20.7K A$29.5K

-45.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,102

$76.8 A$110

-18.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿957

$57.5 A$82.1

-50.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,178

$106 A$152

-11.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,892

$134 A$191

-35.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.1K

$1,304 A$1,863

-45.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.5K

$1,354 A$1,934

-63.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿64.9K

$2,438 A$3,481

-20.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.2K

$1,845 A$2,635

-22.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.7K

$6,693 A$9,559

-37.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.6K

$5,498 A$7,852

-44.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$4,184 A$5,976

-88.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.95

-6.39%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Mount Victoria: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Mount Victoria

$1.4K 50% 176% $863

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Mount Victoria

$398 14.7% 49.4% $132

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Mount Victoria

$262 9.7% 111% $138

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Mount Victoria

$168 6.2% 38.2% $47

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Mount Victoria

$334 12.4% 175% $213

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Mount Victoria

$85 3.1% 3% $2.4

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Mount Victoria

$105 3.9% 48.8% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $1,304 in Mount Victoria. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mount Victoria pays about 8.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $89 in Mount Victoria for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $398 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇦🇺 Mount Victoria

🕒 Local time

17:37 5:37 PM

21:37 9:37 PM

4 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

989

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 AUD = 0.7 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 3, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.73 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.7 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 Victoria 7,150 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Mount Victoria

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 Victoria: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 53% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 88% 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 $1,304 in Mount Victoria. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,278 per month in Phuket versus $2,706 in Mount Victoria – Phuket is about 53% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 31% less than in Mount Victoria. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,706 in Mount Victoria, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Mount Victoria. 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 Victoria 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 53% less than in Mount Victoria. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.