Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Okayama

For one person, living is cheaper in Okayama: $979 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 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
47

Cost of Living Index in Okayama
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Okayama Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Okayama

🇯🇵 Japan

$979

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Okayama

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $979 in Okayama.

Phuket $1,278
Okayama $979

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,575 in Okayama.

Phuket $2,216
Okayama $1,575

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,171 in Okayama.

Phuket $3,154
Okayama $2,171

Living in Phuket is roughly 31% more expensive than in Okayama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Okayama 28% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$5.97 ¥943

-25.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$25.17 ¥3,976

28.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$5.04 ¥796

74.80%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$1.74 ¥275

62.64%

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

$0.87 ฿29.40

$0.69 ¥109

26.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$0.69 ¥109

-28.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$1.94 ¥306

31.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$1.93 ¥305

90.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.36 ¥216

22.06%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.29

$0.62 ¥97.6

135.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$4.09 ¥646

-63.33%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.55 ¥245

34.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$15.16 ¥2,394

25.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$6.43 ¥1,015

-48.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$17.03 ¥2,690

-35.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.8

$5.05 ¥798

-41.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$3.10 ¥489

-45.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.7

$5.02 ¥792

-55.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$4.38 ¥691

-52.51%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.17 ¥342

-30.41%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.51

$1.93 ¥304

-28.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.95

$1.18 ¥186

-9.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.50

$0.67 ¥106

-22.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.77 ¥596

11.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$9.29 ¥1,467

102.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.4

$1.89 ¥298

-3.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$1.86 ¥294

52.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.97

$1.42 ¥224

2.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,911

$57.3 ¥9,050

-1.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.20 ¥505

-5.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.32

$2.60 ¥410

-60.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿124

$21.53 ¥3,400

-82.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.75

$1.00 ¥158

47.00%

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

$26.8K ฿903.2K

$21.9K ¥3.5M

22.19%

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

$26.7K ฿900.3K

$15.4K ¥2.4M

73.37%

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

$96.4 ฿3,250

$71.5 ¥11.3K

34.70%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$13.73 ¥2,168

-17.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$25.75 ¥4,066

-34.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$52.2 ¥8,247

28.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$11.29 ¥1,783

-33.57%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$708 ¥111.8K

-32.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿379.9K

$14.5K ¥2.3M

-22.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,103

$50.2 ¥7,930

24.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$35.57 ¥5,618

-20.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,180

$61.0 ¥9,636

54.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,894

$97.0 ¥15.3K

-11.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.1K

$332 ¥52.4K

115.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$190 ¥30.0K

158.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$641 ¥101.2K

200.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$430 ¥67.9K

232.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.8K

$3,651 ¥576.6K

14.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$2,539 ¥401.0K

19.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$1,366 ¥215.7K

-63.23%

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 Okayama: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Okayama

$190 19.4% 61.3% $301

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Okayama

$312 31.8% 17.1% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Okayama

$111 11.3% 10.8% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Okayama

$110 11.2% 10% $12

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Okayama

$103 10.5% 15.5% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Okayama

$75 7.6% 9% $7.4

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Okayama

$79 8.1% 12.2% $8.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $332 in Okayama. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Okayama 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 $25 in Okayama. Groceries flip the comparison at $266 vs $312, with Phuket cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇯🇵 Okayama

🕒 Local time

21:15 9:15 PM

23:15 11:15 PM

2 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

719,474

💱 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 = 5.67 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.64 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.67 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

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Phuket Okayama 4,690 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Okayama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,278 in Phuket and $979 in Okayama, so Okayama is about 23% 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 $332 in Okayama. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $708 in Okayama. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Okayama – a meal for two runs $25 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $979 in Okayama versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Okayama but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Okayama 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 Okayama are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.