Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Seogwipo

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,294 a month against $1,435 in Seogwipo, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. The total is higher in Seogwipo despite lower rent and utilities.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
68

Cost of Living Index in Seogwipo
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Seogwipo Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Seogwipo

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,435

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Seogwipo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $1,435 in Seogwipo.

Phuket $1,294
Seogwipo $1,435

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $2,282 in Seogwipo.

Phuket $2,204
Seogwipo $2,282

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $3,129 in Seogwipo.

Phuket $3,115
Seogwipo $3,129

Living in Phuket costs roughly 10% less than in Seogwipo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 4% below, Seogwipo is 6% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿147

$7.30 ₩9,900

-39.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,080

$37.72 ₩51.2K

-14.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿291

$6.69 ₩9,078

30.04%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.1

$3.67 ₩4,980

-25.89%

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

$0.93 ฿31.11

$1.54 ₩2,091

-39.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.70

$0.74 ₩997

-32.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿84.6

$3.49 ₩4,739

-27.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿121

$4.28 ₩5,804

-15.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$2.18 ₩2,953

-20.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.51

$3.02 ₩4,100

-51.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.2

$2.67 ₩3,628

-43.82%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.6

$2.32 ₩3,153

-6.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿638

$10.23 ₩13.9K

86.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$9.65 ₩13.1K

-64.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿364

$22.92 ₩31.1K

-52.44%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿98.3

$7.58 ₩10.3K

-61.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.6

$3.23 ₩4,386

-47.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.4

$5.71 ₩7,754

-61.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿71.0

$5.76 ₩7,810

-63.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿48.77

$3.80 ₩5,157

-61.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.74

$2.42 ₩3,286

-43.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿35.98

$2.96 ₩4,023

-63.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$1.20 ₩1,623

-54.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿148

$2.93 ₩3,977

51.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿610

$13.48 ₩18.3K

35.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.3

$2.39 ₩3,239

-25.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿96.3

$3.67 ₩4,984

-21.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.40

$1.24 ₩1,687

16.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,835

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$3.95 ₩5,366

-61.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿25.94

$0.57 ₩775

36.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿128

$8.93 ₩12.1K

-57.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.74

$1.37 ₩1,865

8.76%

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

$26.9K ฿898.9K

$29.6K ₩40.2M

-9.17%

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

$26.3K ฿881.0K

$30.2K ₩41.0M

-12.82%

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

$97.8 ฿3,271

$185 ₩250.9K

-47.10%

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

$11.29 ฿378

$38.67 ₩52.5K

-70.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿575

$18.90 ₩25.6K

-9.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,285

$47.13 ₩64.0K

44.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿365

$12.06 ₩16.4K

-9.45%

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿248

$11.65 ₩15.8K

-36.22%

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

$530 ฿17.7K

$456 ₩618.9K

16.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿628.1K

$21.5K ₩29.2M

-12.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,062

$53.1 ₩72.0K

16.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿945

$65.1 ₩88.3K

-56.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,210

$84.8 ₩115.1K

13.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,903

$91.5 ₩124.2K

-5.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.1K

$524 ₩711.6K

37.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.0K

$402 ₩546.1K

26.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.2K

$1,397 ₩1.9M

39.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿46.7K

$899 ₩1.2M

55.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿140.2K

$7,846 ₩10.6M

-46.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.3K

$5,101 ₩6.9M

-35.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.4K

$1,134 ₩1.5M

-56.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.1

35.85%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Seogwipo: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Seogwipo

$402 28.1% 20.9% $106

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Seogwipo

$417 29.1% 56.4% $150

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Seogwipo

$242 16.9% 92% $116

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Seogwipo

$133 9.2% 8% $9.8

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Seogwipo

$158 11% 31.8% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Seogwipo

$70 4.9% 15.3% $13

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Seogwipo

$12 * 0.8% 82.2% $54

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 $721 in Phuket and $524 in Seogwipo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Seogwipo pays about 2.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $38 in Seogwipo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $417 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇰🇷 Seogwipo

🕒 Local time

11:39 11:39 AM

13:39 1:39 PM

2 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

155,641

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.37 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.56 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 33.44 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.54 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1,357 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.37 USD). 1 EUR = 1,523 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.56 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Seogwipo 4,040 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Seogwipo

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 Seogwipo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 10% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 57% 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: $721 in Phuket versus $524 in Seogwipo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $530 in Phuket versus $456 in Seogwipo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $38 in Seogwipo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Seogwipo are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Seogwipo on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.