Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Salatiga

For one person, living is cheaper in Salatiga: $456 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
22

Cost of Living Index in Salatiga
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Salatiga Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Salatiga

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$456

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Salatiga

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Phuket versus $456 in Salatiga.

Phuket $1,207
Salatiga $456

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $675 in Salatiga.

Phuket $2,037
Salatiga $675

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $893 in Salatiga.

Phuket $2,867
Salatiga $893

Living in Phuket is roughly 165% more expensive than in Salatiga, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Salatiga 66% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ฿153

$0.87 Rp 15.7K

426.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.48 ฿1,086

$8.95 Rp 161.1K

262.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿286

$2.73 Rp 49.1K

213.19%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.0

$1.43 Rp 25.7K

90.21%

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

$0.94 ฿31.25

$0.30 Rp 5,485

213.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.39

$0.19 Rp 3,381

157.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$1.90 Rp 34.2K

36.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$4.23 Rp 76.1K

-9.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$1.21 Rp 21.8K

43.80%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿47.82

$1.33 Rp 24.0K

7.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.0

$0.85 Rp 15.4K

80.00%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$1.20 Rp 21.6K

80.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.15 ฿640

$7.70 Rp 138.6K

148.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿110

$3.09 Rp 55.7K

6.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿372

$7.64 Rp 137.6K

45.81%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ฿98.5

$2.01 Rp 36.2K

46.77%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.1

$1.27 Rp 22.8K

32.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 ฿76.8

$1.83 Rp 32.9K

25.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ฿71.3

$1.51 Rp 27.2K

41.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.1

$1.31 Rp 23.6K

16.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.55

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

-28.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.44

$0.35 Rp 6,213

220.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$0.36 Rp 6,413

52.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$1.98 Rp 35.7K

115.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿608

$24.70 Rp 444.6K

-26.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$1.67 Rp 30.0K

4.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.3

$2.97 Rp 53.5K

-6.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

$0.21 Rp 3,744

957.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 ฿97.3

$0.44 Rp 7,900

561.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.79

$0.43 Rp 7,736

134.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

$2.73 Rp 49.1K

40.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.85

$0.67 Rp 12.0K

122.39%

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

$26.7K ฿891.6K

$24.6K Rp 443.5M

8.29%

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

$26.7K ฿892.7K

$32.2K Rp 579.2M

-16.99%

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

$99.4 ฿3,321

$87.8 Rp 1.6M

13.24%

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

$11.28 ฿377

$4.59 Rp 82.7K

145.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.36 ฿580

$19.52 Rp 351.3K

-11.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,747

$11.25 Rp 202.4K

364.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ฿253

$2.00 Rp 36.0K

278.50%

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

$558 ฿18.7K

$283 Rp 5.1M

97.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

$9,389 Rp 169.0M

22.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,102

$22.60 Rp 406.8K

178.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿955

$11.36 Rp 204.4K

151.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 ฿3,213

$44.96 Rp 809.2K

113.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,943

$73.3 Rp 1.3M

20.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

$165 Rp 3.0M

341.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

$148 Rp 2.7M

232.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

7.5

-25.73%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Last update for Salatiga: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$460 38.1%

Salatiga

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.2%

Salatiga

$205 44.9% 23.5% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$128 10.6%

Salatiga

$112 24.5% 12.6% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Salatiga

$69 15% 44.8% $56

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10.1%

Salatiga

$52 11.4% 57% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$67 5.6%

Salatiga

$15 3.3% 77.4% $52

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.2%

Salatiga

$3.4 * 0.8% 91.2% $35

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $729 in Phuket and $165 in Salatiga. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 232% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $9.00 in Salatiga for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $205 per month, with Salatiga cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇮🇩 Salatiga

🕒 Local time

21:24 9:24 PM

Same time as Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

190,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Salatiga 2,160 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Salatiga

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 Salatiga: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Salatiga is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 165% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 232% 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: $729 in Phuket versus $165 in Salatiga. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $558 in Phuket versus $283 in Salatiga. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Salatiga – a meal for two runs $9.00 versus $32.00 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $456 in Salatiga versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Salatiga but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Salatiga the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Phuket and Salatiga 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 Salatiga gentler on the wallet – expenses run 165% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.