Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Pakenham

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,643 in Pakenham, rent and utilities included – about $16,400 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
125

Cost of Living Index in Pakenham
Learn more

Pakenham Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Pakenham

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,643

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Pakenham

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,643 in Pakenham.

Phuket $1,278
Pakenham $2,643

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $3,761 in Pakenham.

Phuket $2,216
Pakenham $3,761

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $4,880 in Pakenham.

Phuket $3,154
Pakenham $4,880

Living in Phuket costs roughly 52% less than in Pakenham, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Pakenham is 94% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$17.34 A$24.64

-74.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$83.4 A$118

-61.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$12.08 A$17.16

-27.07%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$4.02 A$5.71

-29.60%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$3.21 A$4.56

-72.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$2.47 A$3.50

-80.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$9.56 A$13.59

-73.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$8.47 A$12.04

-56.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.21 A$1.71

37.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$2.87 A$4.07

-49.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$2.61 A$3.70

-42.53%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$5.61 A$7.97

-62.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$8.49 A$12.07

124.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$9.78 A$13.90

-66.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$15.29 A$21.72

-28.65%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$3.98 A$5.66

-26.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$2.62 A$3.73

-35.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$3.13 A$4.45

-28.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$4.74 A$6.74

-56.12%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.99 A$4.25

-49.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$2.57 A$3.65

-46.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$2.43 A$3.45

-55.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$1.63 A$2.32

-68.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$25.16 A$35.75

-83.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$12.63 A$17.95

48.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$5.48 A$7.78

-66.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$5.17 A$7.35

-45.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$3.08 A$4.37

-52.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$73.7 A$105

-23.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$4.36 A$6.19

-30.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$1.43 A$2.03

-28.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$30.36 A$43.14

-87.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.43 A$2.04

2.80%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$29.1K A$41.3K

-7.91%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$26.4K A$37.6K

0.95%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$236 A$335

-59.16%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$28.14 A$39.99

-59.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$57.8 A$82.2

-70.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$64.3 A$91.4

4.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$19.50 A$27.71

-44.97%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$17.55 A$24.94

-57.26%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$2,515 A$3,573

-81.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$30.4K A$43.2K

-62.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$80.5 A$114

-22.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$49.90 A$70.9

-43.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$119 A$169

-20.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$133 A$189

-35.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$1,463 A$2,078

-51.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$1,269 A$1,804

-61.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$2,148 A$3,052

-10.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,855 A$2,635

-22.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$5,533 A$7,862

-24.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$5,458 A$7,756

-44.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.9

-5.59%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Pakenham: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Pakenham

$1.3K 48% 159% $778

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Pakenham

$372 14.1% 39.8% $106

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Pakenham

$322 12.2% 159% $197

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Pakenham

$172 6.5% 41.1% $50

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Pakenham

$311 11.8% 155% $189

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Pakenham

$99 3.8% 20.9% $17

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Pakenham

$98 3.7% 38.2% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $1,463 in Pakenham. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $83 in Pakenham for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $372 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇦🇺 Pakenham

🕒 Local time

03:32 3:32 AM

07:32 7:32 AM

4 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

54,118

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 AUD = 0.704 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, 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).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.704 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.632 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Pakenham 7,060 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Pakenham

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 Pakenham: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 52% lower than in Pakenham. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,917 in Phuket and $3,964 in Pakenham to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $716 in Phuket versus $1,463 in Pakenham. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $2,515 in Pakenham. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 40% higher in Pakenham. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,643 in Pakenham, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Pakenham. 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 Pakenham 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 52% less than in Pakenham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.