Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Richmond Hill

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,769 in Richmond Hill, rent and utilities included – about $17,900 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
134

Cost of Living Index in Richmond Hill
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Richmond Hill Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Richmond Hill

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,769

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Richmond Hill

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,769 in Richmond Hill.

Phuket $1,278
Richmond Hill $2,769

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $3,844 in Richmond Hill.

Phuket $2,216
Richmond Hill $3,844

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $4,920 in Richmond Hill.

Phuket $3,154
Richmond Hill $4,920

Living in Phuket costs roughly 54% less than in Richmond Hill, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Richmond Hill is 103% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$18.10 CA$25.40

-75.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$70.1 CA$98.4

-53.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$10.56 CA$14.82

-16.57%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$3.69 CA$5.18

-23.31%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$1.79 CA$2.51

-51.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$1.47 CA$2.06

-66.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$5.87 CA$8.24

-56.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$5.58 CA$7.84

-34.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$2.74 CA$3.84

-39.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$2.71 CA$3.80

-46.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$2.16 CA$3.03

-30.56%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$4.46 CA$6.26

-53.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$10.95 CA$15.36

74.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$11.09 CA$15.57

-70.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$12.85 CA$18.04

-15.10%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$3.63 CA$5.10

-19.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.34 CA$1.89

26.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$3.42 CA$4.80

-34.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$4.00 CA$5.61

-48.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.04 CA$2.87

-25.98%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$2.03 CA$2.85

-32.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$2.33 CA$3.26

-54.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$1.47 CA$2.07

-64.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$13.36 CA$18.75

-68.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$12.80 CA$17.96

46.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.83 CA$2.57

-0.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.23 CA$3.14

27.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$3.38 CA$4.75

-57.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$157 CA$220

-63.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$2.97 CA$4.17

1.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$1.08 CA$1.52

-5.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$18.89 CA$26.51

-80.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.23 CA$1.72

19.51%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$27.5K CA$38.5K

-2.48%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$21.4K CA$30.0K

24.75%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$137 CA$192

-29.59%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$34.31 CA$48.15

-67.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$46.63 CA$65.5

-63.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$45.55 CA$63.9

47.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$17.78 CA$24.96

-39.65%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$10.78 CA$15.13

-30.43%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$342 CA$480

39.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$10.8K CA$15.1K

4.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$44.38 CA$62.3

40.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$38.78 CA$54.4

-26.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$93.6 CA$131

0.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$103 CA$145

-16.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$1,769 CA$2,483

-59.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$1,560 CA$2,190

-68.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$2,550 CA$3,579

-24.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$2,169 CA$3,045

-34.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$6,499 CA$9,120

-35.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$5,341 CA$7,496

-43.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$3,159 CA$4,433

-84.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.55

22.42%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Richmond Hill: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Richmond Hill

$1.6K 56.4% 218% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Richmond Hill

$344 12.4% 29.2% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Richmond Hill

$218 7.9% 75% $93

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Richmond Hill

$126 4.6% 3.3% $4.1

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Richmond Hill

$274 9.9% 125% $153

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Richmond Hill

$67 2.4% 18.4% $15

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Richmond Hill

$179 6.5% 154% $108

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $1,769 in Richmond Hill. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Richmond Hill pays about 6.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $70 in Richmond Hill for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $344 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇦 Richmond Hill

🕒 Local time

04:50 4:50 AM

17:50 5:50 PM

11 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

202,022

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 CAD = 0.713 USD

1 CAD = 0.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.713 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.64 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Richmond Hill 14,250 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Richmond Hill

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 Richmond Hill: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 54% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, transport, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 84% 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 $1,769 in Richmond Hill. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $342 in Richmond Hill. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 29% higher in Richmond Hill. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,769 in Richmond Hill, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Richmond Hill. 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.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Richmond Hill. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.