Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Port Macquarie

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,530 in Port Macquarie, rent and utilities included – about $15,000 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
121

Cost of Living Index in Port Macquarie
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Port Macquarie Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Port Macquarie

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,530

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Port Macquarie

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,530 in Port Macquarie.

Phuket $1,278
Port Macquarie $2,530

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $3,581 in Port Macquarie.

Phuket $2,216
Port Macquarie $3,581

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $4,633 in Port Macquarie.

Phuket $3,154
Port Macquarie $4,633

Living in Phuket costs roughly 49% less than in Port Macquarie, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Port Macquarie is 86% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$17.41 A$24.85

-74.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$87.9 A$126

-63.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$10.45 A$14.92

-15.69%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$3.96 A$5.66

-28.54%

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

$0.87 ฿29.40

$2.48 A$3.54

-64.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$1.62 A$2.32

-69.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$6.16 A$8.79

-58.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$6.22 A$8.88

-40.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$2.16 A$3.08

-23.15%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.29

$3.12 A$4.46

-53.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$2.87 A$4.10

-47.74%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$5.24 A$7.48

-60.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$5.33 A$7.60

257.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$10.33 A$14.74

-68.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$12.17 A$17.37

-10.35%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.8

$3.15 A$4.50

-6.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$4.21 A$6.02

-59.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.7

$2.41 A$3.44

-6.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$4.86 A$6.94

-57.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.43 A$3.48

-37.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.51

$2.38 A$3.40

-42.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.95

$1.60 A$2.28

-33.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.50

$1.53 A$2.19

-66.01%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$42.83 A$61.1

-90.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$10.32 A$14.73

82.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.4

$4.34 A$6.19

-58.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$5.38 A$7.67

-47.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.97

$2.82 A$4.03

-48.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,911

$92.2 A$132

-38.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.37 A$4.82

-10.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.32

$1.71 A$2.44

-40.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿124

$36.86 A$52.6

-89.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.75

$1.26 A$1.79

16.67%

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

$26.8K ฿903.2K

$26.4K A$37.7K

1.43%

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

$26.7K ฿900.3K

$22.1K A$31.5K

20.94%

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

$96.4 ฿3,250

$210 A$300

-54.10%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$30.48 A$43.50

-63.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$59.8 A$85.4

-71.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$51.9 A$74.1

29.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$9.97 A$14.23

7.62%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$10.79 A$15.39

-30.49%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$2,172 A$3,100

-78.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿379.9K

$21.6K A$30.8K

-47.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,103

$86.7 A$124

-28.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$54.9 A$78.3

-48.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,180

$104 A$149

-9.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,894

$111 A$158

-22.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.1K

$1,379 A$1,969

-48.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$1,248 A$1,782

-60.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$2,153 A$3,073

-10.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,740 A$2,484

-17.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.8K

$5,822 A$8,309

-28.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$4,964 A$7,085

-38.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$2,785 A$3,975

-81.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.33

4.50%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Port Macquarie: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Port Macquarie

$1.2K 49.3% 154% $758

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Port Macquarie

$354 14% 33.1% $88

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Port Macquarie

$300 11.9% 141% $176

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Port Macquarie

$161 6.4% 31.7% $39

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Port Macquarie

$278 11% 128% $156

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Port Macquarie

$73 2.9% 10.6% $8.7

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Port Macquarie

$115 4.6% 63.6% $45

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $1,379 in Port Macquarie. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Port Macquarie pays about 5.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $88 in Port Macquarie for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $354 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇦🇺 Port Macquarie

🕒 Local time

19:28 7:28 PM

23:28 11:28 PM

4 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

47,793

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 AUD = 0.701 USD

1 AUD = 0.628 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.64 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.701 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 AUD (1 AUD = 0.628 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Port Macquarie 7,250 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Port Macquarie

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 Port Macquarie: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 49% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 82% 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 $1,379 in Port Macquarie. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $2,172 in Port Macquarie. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 33% higher in Port Macquarie. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,530 in Port Macquarie, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Port Macquarie. 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 Port Macquarie 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 49% less than in Port Macquarie. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.