Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Rarotonga Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Rarotonga

🙂 Solo nomad: Phuket is 12.3% cheaper than Rarotonga without rent, and 4.5% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Phuket is 7.6% cheaper than Rarotonga without rent, and 26.2% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Phuket
Rarotonga
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$4.73 ฿153
$12.11 NZ$19.97
-60.94%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$45.92 ฿1,486
$59.3 NZ$97.8
-22.58%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$8.59 ฿278
$7.45 NZ$12.29
15.30%
Cappuccino
$2.92 ฿94.6
$4.43 NZ$7.3
-34.09%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.69 ฿22.42
$3.27 NZ$5.4
-78.90%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.4 ฿12.81
$2.85 NZ$4.7
-85.96%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.41 ฿78
$6.55 NZ$10.8
-63.21%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.8 ฿123
$5.35 NZ$8.83
-28.97%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Phuket
Rarotonga
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$2.25 ฿72.7
$2.25 NZ$3.71
-
White Bread (500g)
$1.79 ฿58.1
$3 NZ$4.95
-40.33%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.18 ฿70.6
$1.47 NZ$2.42
48.30%
Eggs
$2.29 ฿74.3
$6.41 NZ$10.57
-64.27%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$19.52 ฿632
$8.76 NZ$14.45
122.83%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.68 ฿119
$7.33 NZ$12.09
-49.80%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$13.18 ฿427
$7.29 NZ$12.03
80.80%
Apples (1kg)
$3.24 ฿105
$3.04 NZ$5.02
6.58%
Banana (1kg)
$1.62 ฿52.5
$2.96 NZ$4.87
-45.27%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.41 ฿78
$3.64 NZ$6.01
-33.79%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.03 ฿65.6
$2.99 NZ$4.93
-32.11%
Potato (1kg)
$1.52 ฿49.3
$1.78 NZ$2.94
-14.61%
Onion (1kg)
$1.51 ฿48.86
$1.41 NZ$2.33
7.09%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.97 ฿31.45
$1.78 NZ$2.93
-45.51%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.52 ฿16.68
$3.55 NZ$5.85
-85.35%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.49 ฿145
$14.93 NZ$24.63
-69.93%
Wine (Bottle)
$21.36 ฿691
$8.6 NZ$14.18
148.37%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.78 ฿57.5
$3.57 NZ$5.89
-50.14%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.79 ฿90.3
$5.33 NZ$8.8
-47.65%
🚌 Getting Around
Phuket
Rarotonga
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.36 ฿44.15
$3.03 NZ$5
-55.12%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$11.51 ฿372
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.17 ฿103
$20.78 NZ$34.27
-84.74%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.04 ฿33.64
-
-
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$14.03 ฿454
$36.68 NZ$60.5
-61.75%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.32 ฿42.59
$1.79 NZ$2.96
-26.26%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$28K ฿904.8K
$11.9K NZ$19.6K
135.74%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$33.2K ฿1.1M
-
-
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Phuket
Rarotonga
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$120 ฿3,899
$92 NZ$152
30.92%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$13.55 ฿438
$30.75 NZ$50.7
-55.93%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$18.62 ฿603
$105 NZ$174
-82.31%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Phuket
Rarotonga
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$61.4 ฿1,987
$25.44 NZ$41.95
141.35%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$16.68 ฿540
$23.85 NZ$39.33
-30.06%
Cinema Ticket
$8.76 ฿283
$6.89 NZ$11.36
27.14%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Phuket
Rarotonga
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$703 ฿22.7K
-
-
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$15.7K ฿507.5K
$1,458 NZ$2,404
975.74%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Phuket
Rarotonga
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$57.9 ฿1,873
-
-
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$35.4 ฿1,145
-
-
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$113 ฿3,659
-
-
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$83.2 ฿2,691
-
-
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Phuket
Rarotonga
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$604 ฿19.5K
$480 NZ$791
25.86%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$441 ฿14.3K
$479 NZ$791
-7.94%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,027 ฿65.6K
$718 NZ$1,185
182.26%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,492 ฿48.3K
$736 NZ$1,213
102.81%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,195 ฿135.7K
-
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,909 ฿94.1K
-
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Phuket
Rarotonga
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$706 ฿22.8K
-
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
5.33
8
-33.38%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 4, 2025

Last update for Rarotonga: November 3, 2025

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