Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Sendai

For one person, living costs are similar in Phuket and in Sendai: $1,208 and $1,161 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
56

Cost of Living Index in Sendai
Learn more

Sendai Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Sendai

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,161

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Sendai

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,161 in Sendai.

Phuket $1,208
Sendai $1,161

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $1,835 in Sendai.

Phuket $2,027
Sendai $1,835

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $2,510 in Sendai.

Phuket $2,845
Sendai $2,510

Living in Phuket is roughly 4% more expensive than in Sendai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Sendai 14% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$6.23 ¥984

-29.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$34.65 ¥5,474

-6.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$4.50 ¥711

94.67%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$3.62 ¥571

-21.82%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$0.94 ¥149

-4.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$0.78 ¥124

-39.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$1.87 ¥295

36.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$3.20 ¥505

19.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$1.45 ¥229

19.31%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$1.44 ¥227

2.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$6.64 ¥1,048

-77.26%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$2.09 ¥330

3.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$10.89 ¥1,721

80.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$11.91 ¥1,881

-71.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$9.00 ¥1,422

24.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$3.55 ¥560

-19.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$2.20 ¥348

-22.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$4.47 ¥707

-51.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$3.24 ¥512

-36.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$2.58 ¥407

-43.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$2.27 ¥358

-39.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$1.41 ¥222

-24.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$1.25 ¥198

-59.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$4.44 ¥701

-4.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$7.01 ¥1,107

165.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$1.57 ¥248

13.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$2.61 ¥413

9.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$1.47 ¥232

53.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

$37.26 ¥5,886

-40.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$5.23 ¥826

-42.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$18.42 ¥2,910

-79.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$1.06 ¥168

36.79%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$15.8K ¥2.5M

66.30%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$24.8K ¥3.9M

8.54%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$138 ¥21.8K

-30.13%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$30.52 ¥4,822

-63.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$34.78 ¥5,495

-50.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$44.60 ¥7,046

17.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

$12.84 ¥2,029

-13.08%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$10.07 ¥1,590

-22.44%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$229 ¥36.2K

142.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$3,792 ¥599.0K

205.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$56.1 ¥8,868

14.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$33.92 ¥5,359

-15.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$35.34 ¥5,583

169.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$53.5 ¥8,455

64.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$560 ¥88.4K

31.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$327 ¥51.7K

41.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$692 ¥109.4K

202.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$715 ¥112.9K

68.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$2,638 ¥416.8K

32.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$1,424 ¥225.0K

77.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

$996 ¥157.3K

-49.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

2.73

104.03%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Sendai: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Sendai

$327 28.2% 29.3% $135

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Sendai

$308 26.5% 14.7% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Sendai

$203 17.5% 63.2% $79

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Sendai

$81 6.9% 35.2% $44

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Sendai

$129 11.1% 6.7% $8.1

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Sendai

$65 5.6% 4.5% $3.1

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Sendai

$48 * 4.2% 22.6% $8.9

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 $737 in Phuket and $560 in Sendai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sendai pays 99% 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 $35.00 in Sendai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $308 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇯🇵 Sendai

🕒 Local time

03:33 3:33 AM

05:33 5:33 AM

2 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

1,082,159

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Sendai 5,430 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Sendai

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 Sendai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sendai is cheaper overall, especially in clothing and leisure. The 4% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 99% lower in Sendai. 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: $737 in Phuket versus $560 in Sendai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $556 in Phuket versus $229 in Sendai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Phuket pay roughly 15% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,161 in Sendai versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sendai but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Sendai the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Sendai 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 Sendai 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 Sendai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 4% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.