Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and New Taipei City

For one person, living is cheaper in New Taipei City: $1,185 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,100 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
57

Cost of Living Index in New Taipei City
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New Taipei City Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

New Taipei City

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,185

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in New Taipei City

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 New Taipei City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,185 in New Taipei City.

Phuket $1,278
New Taipei City $1,185

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,998 in New Taipei City.

Phuket $2,216
New Taipei City $1,998

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,810 in New Taipei City.

Phuket $3,154
New Taipei City $2,810

Living in Phuket is roughly 8% more expensive than in New Taipei City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, New Taipei City 13% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$4.67 NT$152

-4.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$30.83 NT$1,005

5.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$5.18 NT$169

70.08%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$2.31 NT$75.4

22.51%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$0.82 NT$26.80

6.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$0.53 NT$17.19

-7.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$1.58 NT$51.7

62.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.43 NT$79.3

51.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$3.13 NT$102

-46.96%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$1.85 NT$60.4

-21.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$2.13 NT$69.6

-29.58%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.15 NT$70.1

-2.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$24.36 NT$794

-21.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$10.65 NT$347

-69.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$18.90 NT$616

-42.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$4.01 NT$131

-26.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.49 NT$81.2

-32.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.76 NT$89.9

-18.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$4.01 NT$131

-48.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$3.96 NT$129

-61.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$2.08 NT$67.8

-33.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$1.59 NT$51.9

-32.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$1.01 NT$32.93

-48.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$4.30 NT$140

-2.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$9.16 NT$299

105.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.36 NT$44.40

33.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.28 NT$74.3

24.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

$0.63 NT$20.66

130.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$37.16 NT$1,212

52.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$2.66 NT$86.7

13.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

$0.94 NT$30.71

8.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$9.35 NT$305

-60.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$0.99 NT$32.28

48.48%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$33.2K NT$1.1M

-19.26%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$23.6K NT$768.0K

13.32%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$112 NT$3,650

-13.93%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$16.63 NT$542

-32.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$23.01 NT$750

-26.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$37.65 NT$1,227

78.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$7.72 NT$252

38.99%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$10.65 NT$347

-29.58%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$634 NT$20.7K

-24.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

$21.0K NT$683.8K

-46.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$35.02 NT$1,142

78.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$31.03 NT$1,012

-8.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$89.3 NT$2,910

5.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$98.2 NT$3,202

-12.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$613 NT$20.0K

16.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$335 NT$10.9K

46.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,377 NT$44.9K

39.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$920 NT$30.0K

55.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$10.2K NT$331.8K

-58.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$5,980 NT$195.0K

-49.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$1,359 NT$44.3K

-63.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

2.81

98.22%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for New Taipei City: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

New Taipei City

$335 28.2% 31.8% $156

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

New Taipei City

$380 32.1% 42.8% $114

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

New Taipei City

$152 12.8% 21.8% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

New Taipei City

$114 9.6% 6.4% $7.8

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

New Taipei City

$99 8.3% 18.8% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

New Taipei City

$59 5% 28.3% $23

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

New Taipei City

$47 4% 33.3% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $613 in New Taipei City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

New Taipei City pays about 2.7 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 $31 in New Taipei City. Groceries flip the comparison at $266 vs $380, with Phuket cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇹🇼 New Taipei City

🕒 Local time

16:24 4:24 PM

17:24 5:24 PM

1 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

4,004,367

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 TWD = 3.07 USD

100 TWD = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, 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 = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 32.61 TWD (100 TWD = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 36.39 TWD (100 TWD = 2.75 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket New Taipei City 3,090 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
New Taipei City

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 New Taipei City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,278 in Phuket and $1,185 in New Taipei City, so New Taipei City is about 7% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 63% 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 $613 in New Taipei City. 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 $1,185 in New Taipei City – New Taipei City is about 7% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in New Taipei City runs roughly 34% less than in Phuket. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though New Taipei City 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.

Safety-wise, Phuket and New Taipei City are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.