Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Port Moresby

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,190 a month against $1,532 in Port Moresby, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Port Moresby
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Port Moresby Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,190

/mo nomad

Port Moresby

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

$1,532

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,190 in Phuket versus $1,532 in Port Moresby.

Phuket $1,190
Port Moresby $1,532

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,006 in Phuket versus $2,418 in Port Moresby.

Phuket $2,006
Port Moresby $2,418

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,822 in Phuket versus $3,305 in Port Moresby.

Phuket $2,822
Port Moresby $3,305

Living in Phuket costs roughly 22% less than in Port Moresby, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Port Moresby is 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.35 ฿146

$7.76 PGK 33.99

-43.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.45 ฿1,087

$43.89 PGK 192

-26.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.42 ฿282

$5.38 PGK 23.59

56.51%

Cappuccino

$2.81 ฿94.0

$2.44 PGK 10.69

15.16%

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

$0.87 ฿29.29

$0.77 PGK 3.38

12.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.46 ฿15.39

$0.67 PGK 2.95

-31.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$2.91 PGK 12.74

-11.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.64 ฿122

$3.56 PGK 15.60

2.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 ฿57.2

$1.82 PGK 7.97

-6.04%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.42

$1.54 PGK 6.74

-5.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.56 ฿52.3

$1.39 PGK 6.09

12.23%

Eggs

$2.10 ฿70.3

$3.62 PGK 15.86

-41.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.53 ฿654

$8.64 PGK 37.85

126.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$5.60 PGK 24.56

-39.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿373

$9.92 PGK 43.47

12.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.83 ฿94.8

$4.21 PGK 18.45

-32.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 ฿54.3

$3.12 PGK 13.67

-48.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 ฿74.5

$7.01 PGK 30.72

-68.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.15 ฿71.9

$6.56 PGK 28.75

-67.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.49 ฿49.95

$3.40 PGK 14.92

-56.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.33 ฿44.40

$2.92 PGK 12.79

-54.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.72

$2.33 PGK 10.21

-54.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.01

$1.29 PGK 5.64

-60.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 ฿147

$6.26 PGK 27.45

-30.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.77 ฿629

$10.73 PGK 47.05

74.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.3

$2.54 PGK 11.11

-31.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿92.9

$3.51 PGK 15.39

-20.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.17 ฿72.6

$0.42 PGK 1.86

416.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.28 ฿746

$21.95 PGK 96.2

1.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿101

$5.43 PGK 23.79

-44.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.43

$2.25 PGK 9.87

-52.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.71 ฿124

$15.47 PGK 67.8

-76.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 ฿47.88

$0.94 PGK 4.13

52.13%

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

$26.3K ฿882.1K

$49.2K PGK 215.6K

-46.44%

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

$26.2K ฿877.3K

$17.3K PGK 75.6K

51.87%

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

$96.7 ฿3,236

$117 PGK 513

-17.47%

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

$11.41 ฿382

$22.67 PGK 99.4

-49.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.11 ฿573

$91.2 PGK 400

-81.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.8 ฿1,768

$60.2 PGK 264

-12.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.07 ฿371

$22.04 PGK 96.6

-49.77%

Cinema Ticket

$7.65 ฿256

$8.74 PGK 38.31

-12.47%

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

$555 ฿18.6K

$836 PGK 3,665

-33.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿377.7K

$6,242 PGK 27.4K

80.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.4 ฿2,123

$32.86 PGK 144

93.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.61 ฿958

$31.67 PGK 139

-9.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.7 ฿3,238

$136 PGK 595

-28.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 ฿2,967

$160 PGK 702

-44.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$735 ฿24.6K

$1,577 PGK 6,912

-53.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$458 ฿15.3K

$551 PGK 2,414

-16.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,102 ฿70.4K

$3,049 PGK 13.4K

-31.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 ฿39.7K

$1,129 PGK 4,946

5.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,493 ฿116.9K

$2,035 PGK 8,918

71.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,491 ฿83.4K

$3,755 PGK 16.5K

-33.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.8K

$429 PGK 1,882

16.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

12.17

-54.23%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 4, 2026

Last update for Port Moresby: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$458 38.1%

Port Moresby

$551 36.3% 20.3% $93

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.3%

Port Moresby

$320 21.1% 19.4% $52

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.4%

Port Moresby

$231 15.2% 84.5% $106

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$125 10.4%

Port Moresby

$162 10.7% 29.9% $37

Eating Out

Phuket

$119 9.9%

Port Moresby

$135 8.9% 13.1% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.7%

Port Moresby

$78 5.1% 14.1% $9.6

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Port Moresby

$40 2.7% 2.8% $1.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $735 in Phuket and $1,577 in Port Moresby. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 17% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $44.00 in Port Moresby for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $320 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇵🇬 Port Moresby

🕒 Local time

17:40 5:40 PM

20:40 8:40 PM

3 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

364,145 Capital

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Papua New Guinean Kina PGK K

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

1 PGK = 0.228 USD

1 PGK = 0.204 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PGK, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

Papua New Guinean Kina exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.38 PGK (1 PGK = 0.228 USD). 1 EUR = 4.91 PGK (1 PGK = 0.204 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Port Moresby 5,740 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Port Moresby

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 Moresby: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 29% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 17% higher in Phuket, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $735 in Phuket versus $1,577 in Port Moresby. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $555 in Phuket versus $836 in Port Moresby. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 19% higher in Port Moresby. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,190 in Phuket versus $1,532 in Port Moresby, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Port Moresby. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Phuket is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Port Moresby, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Port Moresby are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Port Moresby. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.