Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Oamaru

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,809 in Oamaru, rent and utilities included – about $6,400 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
93

Cost of Living Index in Oamaru
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Oamaru Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Oamaru

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,809

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Oamaru

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,809 in Oamaru.

Phuket $1,278
Oamaru $1,809

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,753 in Oamaru.

Phuket $2,216
Oamaru $2,753

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $3,698 in Oamaru.

Phuket $3,154
Oamaru $3,698

Living in Phuket costs roughly 29% less than in Oamaru, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Oamaru is 33% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$14.46 NZ$25.67

-69.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$68.4 NZ$121

-52.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$9.20 NZ$16.33

-4.24%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$3.35 NZ$5.94

-15.52%

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

$0.87 ฿29.41

$2.30 NZ$4.09

-62.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$1.78 NZ$3.15

-72.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$6.64 NZ$11.79

-61.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$6.97 NZ$12.37

-47.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.73 NZ$3.08

-4.05%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.31

$1.32 NZ$2.34

10.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.47 NZ$2.60

2.04%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$5.53 NZ$9.82

-62.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$7.53 NZ$13.36

153.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$8.85 NZ$15.72

-62.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$13.64 NZ$24.21

-20.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$2.39 NZ$4.25

22.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.10 NZ$3.73

-19.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.65 NZ$4.70

-15.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$2.91 NZ$5.17

-28.52%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.50 NZ$2.67

0.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.52

$1.39 NZ$2.47

-0.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.96

$2.07 NZ$3.68

-48.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$0.65 NZ$1.16

-20.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$24.01 NZ$42.63

-82.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$5.66 NZ$10.05

231.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$3.42 NZ$6.08

-46.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$4.44 NZ$7.89

-36.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

$2.05 NZ$3.63

-29.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$108 NZ$191

-47.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$2.58 NZ$4.58

17.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.33

$1.72 NZ$3.06

-40.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$28.67 NZ$50.9

-87.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.76

$1.62 NZ$2.88

-9.26%

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

$26.8K ฿903.4K

$28.8K NZ$51.2K

-7.13%

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

$26.7K ฿900.5K

$23.7K NZ$42.1K

12.44%

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

$96.4 ฿3,251

$157 NZ$279

-38.66%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$20.20 NZ$35.86

-44.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$44.97 NZ$79.8

-62.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$39.17 NZ$69.6

71.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$10.03 NZ$17.81

-25.22%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$677 NZ$1,202

-29.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

$22.4K NZ$39.7K

-49.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,104

$57.6 NZ$102

8.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$17.36 NZ$30.83

63.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,181

$45.93 NZ$81.6

105.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,895

$51.0 NZ$90.6

68.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$1,042 NZ$1,850

-31.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$799 NZ$1,419

-38.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,588 NZ$2,820

21.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,426 NZ$2,531

0.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$4,866 NZ$8,638

-14.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$3,783 NZ$6,716

-19.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$1,950 NZ$3,462

-74.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.91

-5.75%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Oamaru: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Oamaru

$799 44.2% 62.8% $308

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Oamaru

$277 15.3% 3.9% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Oamaru

$222 12.3% 78.6% $98

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Oamaru

$77 4.3% 36.5% $45

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Oamaru

$247 13.7% 103% $125

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Oamaru

$59 3.3% 28% $23

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Oamaru

$127 7% 79.8% $56

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $1,042 in Oamaru. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Oamaru pays about 3.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $68 in Oamaru for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $277 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇳🇿 Oamaru

🕒 Local time

21:23 9:23 PM

03:23 3:23 AM

6 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

13,850

💱 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 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of November 1, 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

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Oamaru 9,290 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Oamaru

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 Oamaru: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 29% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, transport, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 74% 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 $1,042 in Oamaru. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 4% higher in Oamaru. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $68 in Oamaru. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,809 in Oamaru, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Oamaru. 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 Oamaru 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 29% less than in Oamaru. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.