Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Palmerston North

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,598 in Palmerston North, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Palmerston North
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Palmerston North Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Palmerston North

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,598

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Palmerston North

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,598 in Palmerston North.

Phuket $1,278
Palmerston North $1,598

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,662 in Palmerston North.

Phuket $2,216
Palmerston North $2,662

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $3,726 in Palmerston North.

Phuket $3,154
Palmerston North $3,726

Living in Phuket costs roughly 20% less than in Palmerston North, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Palmerston North is 17% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$14.14 NZ$25.13

-68.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$64.5 NZ$115

-49.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$8.93 NZ$15.87

-1.34%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$3.30 NZ$5.87

-14.24%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$2.29 NZ$4.08

-62.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$1.77 NZ$3.15

-72.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$6.56 NZ$11.66

-60.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$7.01 NZ$12.46

-47.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.82 NZ$3.23

-8.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$2.17 NZ$3.85

-32.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.37 NZ$2.44

9.49%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$5.06 NZ$9.00

-58.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$6.67 NZ$11.85

185.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$9.54 NZ$16.96

-65.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$10.59 NZ$18.83

3.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$2.62 NZ$4.66

11.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.24 NZ$3.97

-24.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.34 NZ$4.16

-3.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$5.55 NZ$9.87

-62.52%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.46 NZ$2.59

3.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$0.87 NZ$1.55

58.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$1.74 NZ$3.10

-38.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$0.76 NZ$1.35

-31.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$22.42 NZ$39.86

-81.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$8.07 NZ$14.35

132.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$2.69 NZ$4.77

-32.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.93 NZ$5.21

-3.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

$2.01 NZ$3.56

-27.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$117 NZ$209

-51.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.89 NZ$3.36

59.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

$1.78 NZ$3.17

-42.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$17.19 NZ$30.55

-78.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$1.68 NZ$2.99

-12.50%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$27.3K NZ$48.5K

-1.85%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$24.0K NZ$42.6K

11.24%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$69.0 NZ$123

39.68%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$33.60 NZ$59.7

-66.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$35.32 NZ$62.8

-52.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$24.91 NZ$44.28

169.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$14.01 NZ$24.90

-23.41%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$11.66 NZ$20.73

-35.68%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$1,058 NZ$1,881

-55.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

$8,589 NZ$15.3K

31.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$69.7 NZ$124

-10.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$28.83 NZ$51.3

-1.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$84.3 NZ$150

11.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$84.6 NZ$150

1.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$914 NZ$1,625

-21.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$627 NZ$1,114

-21.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,618 NZ$2,876

19.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,428 NZ$2,539

0.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$2,058 NZ$3,658

102.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$1,907 NZ$3,389

59.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$2,521 NZ$4,481

-80.07%

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 Palmerston North: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Palmerston North

$627 39.2% 27.7% $136

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Palmerston North

$286 17.9% 7.6% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Palmerston North

$138 8.6% 10.8% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Palmerston North

$120 7.5% 1.3% $1.6

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Palmerston North

$243 15.2% 99.3% $121

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Palmerston North

$48 3% 41.3% $34

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Palmerston North

$136 8.5% 93% $66

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $914 in Palmerston North. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Palmerston North pays about 5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $64 in Palmerston North for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $286 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇳🇿 Palmerston North

🕒 Local time

08:00 8:00 AM

14:00 2:00 PM

6 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

90,500

💱 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 Palmerston North 9,510 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Palmerston North

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 Palmerston North: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,278 in Phuket and $1,598 in Palmerston North, so Phuket is about 20% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 80% 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 $914 in Palmerston North. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $1,058 in Palmerston North. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 8% higher in Palmerston North. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,598 in Palmerston North, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Palmerston North. 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 Palmerston North 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 20% less than in Palmerston North. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.