Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Nelson

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,865 in Nelson, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 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
90

Cost of Living Index in Nelson
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Nelson Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Nelson

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,865

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Nelson

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,865 in Nelson.

Phuket $1,278
Nelson $1,865

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,872 in Nelson.

Phuket $2,216
Nelson $2,872

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $3,879 in Nelson.

Phuket $3,154
Nelson $3,879

Living in Phuket costs roughly 31% less than in Nelson, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Nelson is 37% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$13.72 NZ$24.40

-67.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$64.8 NZ$115

-50.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$8.27 NZ$14.71

6.53%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$3.19 NZ$5.66

-11.29%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$1.82 NZ$3.23

-52.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$1.65 NZ$2.94

-70.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$7.61 NZ$13.52

-66.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$5.84 NZ$10.38

-36.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.93 NZ$3.43

-13.99%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$2.19 NZ$3.89

-33.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.96 NZ$3.48

-23.47%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$5.85 NZ$10.40

-64.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$9.13 NZ$16.22

108.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$7.62 NZ$13.54

-56.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$13.65 NZ$24.26

-20.07%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$3.15 NZ$5.61

-6.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.15 NZ$3.82

-21.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$3.00 NZ$5.33

-25.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$5.63 NZ$10.01

-63.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.07 NZ$3.68

-27.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$1.23 NZ$2.19

12.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$2.02 NZ$3.60

-47.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$1.08 NZ$1.92

-51.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$25.87 NZ$45.99

-83.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$9.94 NZ$17.66

89.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$3.14 NZ$5.58

-42.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.81 NZ$5.00

1.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

$2.20 NZ$3.92

-34.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.83 NZ$3.25

65.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

$1.79 NZ$3.18

-43.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$33.80 NZ$60.1

-89.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$1.56 NZ$2.77

-5.77%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$17.1K NZ$30.3K

56.97%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$22.4K NZ$39.7K

19.41%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$130 NZ$231

-25.99%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$32.93 NZ$58.5

-65.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$43.70 NZ$77.7

-61.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$101 NZ$179

-33.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$34.48 NZ$61.3

-68.88%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$11.14 NZ$19.81

-32.68%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$458 NZ$814

3.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

$13.1K NZ$23.3K

-14.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$52.9 NZ$94.1

17.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$28.57 NZ$50.8

-0.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$104 NZ$185

-9.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$143 NZ$254

-39.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$1,023 NZ$1,819

-30.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$813 NZ$1,445

-39.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,755 NZ$3,120

9.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,455 NZ$2,586

-1.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$1,396 NZ$2,482

199.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$852 NZ$1,514

257.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$2,043 NZ$3,632

-75.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.39

3.34%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Nelson: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Nelson

$813 43.6% 65.5% $322

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Nelson

$319 17.1% 19.7% $52

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Nelson

$207 11.1% 66.2% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Nelson

$148 7.9% 21.1% $26

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Nelson

$236 12.7% 94.3% $115

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Nelson

$123 6.6% 49.4% $41

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Nelson

$20 * 1.1% 72.2% $51

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 $1,023 in Nelson. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nelson pays about 4.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $65 in Nelson for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $319 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇳🇿 Nelson

🕒 Local time

09:22 9:22 AM

15:22 3:22 PM

6 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

51,100

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, 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 = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.563 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Nelson 9,350 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Nelson

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 Nelson: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 31% lower than in Nelson. 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 $1,023 in Nelson. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $458 in Nelson. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $65 in Nelson. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,865 in Nelson, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Nelson. 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 Nelson are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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