Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Qingdao, Shandong

For one person, living is cheaper in Qingdao, Shandong: $773 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 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
37

Cost of Living Index in Qingdao, Shandong
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Qingdao, Shandong Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Qingdao, Shandong

🇨🇳 China

$773

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Qingdao, Shandong

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $773 in Qingdao, Shandong.

Phuket $1,278
Qingdao, Shandong $773

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,221 in Qingdao, Shandong.

Phuket $2,216
Qingdao, Shandong $1,221

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $1,669 in Qingdao, Shandong.

Phuket $3,154
Qingdao, Shandong $1,669

Living in Phuket is roughly 65% more expensive than in Qingdao, Shandong, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Qingdao, Shandong 43% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$3.04 ¥20.18

47.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$18.01 ¥120

79.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$4.41 ¥29.29

99.77%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$2.71 ¥17.96

4.43%

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

$0.87 ฿29.40

$0.54 ¥3.58

61.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$0.32 ¥2.13

53.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$1.05 ¥6.96

143.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.63 ¥17.46

39.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.92 ¥12.74

-13.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.29

$1.41 ¥9.38

3.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.00 ¥6.62

50.00%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.33 ¥8.85

57.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$16.57 ¥110

15.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$4.24 ¥28.12

-22.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$9.62 ¥63.8

13.41%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.8

$1.40 ¥9.30

109.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$1.14 ¥7.55

48.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.7

$1.71 ¥11.38

31.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$1.26 ¥8.39

65.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.68 ¥4.53

122.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.51

$0.98 ¥6.48

40.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.95

$1.00 ¥6.66

7.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.50

$0.61 ¥4.03

-14.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.85 ¥25.53

9.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$14.83 ¥98.5

26.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.4

$1.03 ¥6.85

76.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$1.56 ¥10.37

82.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.97

$0.29 ¥1.90

400.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,911

$17.97 ¥119

215.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.46 ¥9.68

106.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.32

$0.41 ¥2.74

148.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿124

$9.14 ¥60.6

-59.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.75

$1.26 ¥8.39

16.67%

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

$26.8K ฿903.2K

$19.6K ¥129.8K

36.86%

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

$26.7K ฿900.3K

$17.4K ¥115.2K

53.70%

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

$96.4 ฿3,250

$69.3 ¥460

39.07%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$6.65 ¥44.16

69.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$7.64 ¥50.7

120.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$21.14 ¥140

218.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$17.67 ¥117

-39.28%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$6.29 ¥41.77

19.24%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$364 ¥2,416

30.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿379.9K

$17.9K ¥118.9K

-37.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,103

$52.8 ¥350

18.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$48.91 ¥325

-41.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,180

$94.5 ¥627

-0.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,894

$90.6 ¥601

-5.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.1K

$340 ¥2,253

110.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$197 ¥1,308

149.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$769 ¥5,104

150.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$401 ¥2,663

256.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.8K

$3,272 ¥21.7K

27.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$2,096 ¥13.9K

45.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$1,220 ¥8,099

-58.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.37

65.28%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Qingdao, Shandong: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Qingdao, Shandong

$197 25.5% 59.9% $294

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Qingdao, Shandong

$223 28.8% 16.4% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Qingdao, Shandong

$84 10.8% 32.9% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Qingdao, Shandong

$129 16.7% 5.9% $7.2

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Qingdao, Shandong

$84 10.9% 31% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Qingdao, Shandong

$34 4.4% 59% $49

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Qingdao, Shandong

$23 2.9% 67.9% $48

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $340 in Qingdao, Shandong. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Qingdao, Shandong pays about 2.4 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 $18 in Qingdao, Shandong for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $223 per month, with Qingdao, Shandong cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇳 Qingdao, Shandong

🕒 Local time

04:01 4:01 AM

05:01 5:01 AM

1 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

10,071,722

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 CNY = 0.151 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, 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 = 37.81 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 6.64 CNY (1 CNY = 0.151 USD). 1 EUR = 7.44 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Qingdao, Shandong 3,850 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Qingdao, Shandong

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 Qingdao, Shandong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Qingdao, Shandong is about 40% cheaper overall, especially in leisure, transport, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 59% 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 $340 in Qingdao, Shandong. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $364 in Qingdao, Shandong. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 20% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $773 in Qingdao, Shandong versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Qingdao, Shandong but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Qingdao, Shandong 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.

Expats usually find Qingdao, Shandong gentler on the wallet – expenses run 40% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.