Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Nara, Japan

For one person, living is cheaper in Nara: $1,233 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $540 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Nara
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Nara Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Nara

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,233

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Nara

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,233 in Nara.

Phuket $1,278
Nara $1,233

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,851 in Nara.

Phuket $2,216
Nara $1,851

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,468 in Nara.

Phuket $3,154
Nara $2,468

Living in Phuket is roughly 4% more expensive than in Nara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Nara 9% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$6.33 ¥999

-29.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$32.27 ¥5,095

0.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$4.99 ¥787

76.55%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$2.50 ¥395

13.20%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$1.26 ¥199

-30.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.71 ¥112

-30.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$3.21 ¥507

-20.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$3.10 ¥490

18.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.57 ¥248

5.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$1.30 ¥205

12.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$4.12 ¥650

-63.59%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.23 ¥353

-6.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$9.75 ¥1,540

95.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$7.07 ¥1,117

-53.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$18.13 ¥2,862

-39.82%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$3.30 ¥522

-11.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.93 ¥305

-12.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.12 ¥334

6.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$4.08 ¥644

-49.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.50 ¥236

0.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$1.14 ¥179

21.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$1.13 ¥179

-5.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$0.88 ¥139

-40.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.88 ¥613

8.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$9.54 ¥1,505

96.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.87 ¥295

-2.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.15 ¥339

32.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$1.48 ¥234

-2.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$74.3 ¥11.7K

-23.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.15 ¥498

-4.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$2.92 ¥462

-65.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$15.66 ¥2,472

-76.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.08 ¥170

36.11%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$21.8K ¥3.4M

23.04%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$15.3K ¥2.4M

74.27%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$118 ¥18.6K

-18.28%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$24.81 ¥3,918

-54.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$30.74 ¥4,854

-45.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$83.2 ¥13.1K

-19.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$7.58 ¥1,197

41.56%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$12.57 ¥1,985

-40.33%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$693 ¥109.4K

-31.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$13.3K ¥2.1M

-15.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$47.11 ¥7,437

32.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$30.96 ¥4,888

-8.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$61.8 ¥9,751

52.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$89.9 ¥14.2K

-4.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$411 ¥64.9K

74.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$340 ¥53.7K

44.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$832 ¥131.4K

131.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$547 ¥86.3K

161.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$2,671 ¥421.6K

56.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$2,040 ¥322.1K

49.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$1,123 ¥177.2K

-55.26%

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 Nara: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Nara

$340 27.6% 30.8% $151

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Nara

$285 23.1% 6.9% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Nara

$173 14.1% 39.4% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Nara

$103 8.4% 15.2% $19

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Nara

$126 10.2% 3.3% $4

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Nara

$108 8.8% 31.7% $26

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Nara

$98 8% 38.9% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $411 in Nara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nara pays about 2.2 times 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 $32 in Nara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $285 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇯🇵 Nara

🕒 Local time

04:12 4:12 AM

06:12 6:12 AM

2 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

355,280

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.69 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Nara 4,840 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Nara

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 Nara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nara is about 3% cheaper overall, especially in clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 55% 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 $411 in Nara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Phuket pay roughly 6% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,278 per month in Phuket versus $1,233 in Nara – Nara is about 3% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Nara gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.