Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Shiga

For one person, living is cheaper in Shiga: $1,207 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $850 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Shiga
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Shiga Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Shiga

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Shiga

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,207 in Shiga.

Phuket $1,278
Shiga $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,897 in Shiga.

Phuket $2,216
Shiga $1,897

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,588 in Shiga.

Phuket $3,154
Shiga $2,588

Living in Phuket is roughly 6% more expensive than in Shiga, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Shiga 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$6.19 ¥975

-27.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$31.73 ¥4,998

2.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$4.96 ¥781

77.62%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$2.95 ¥465

-4.07%

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

$0.87 ฿29.41

$1.31 ¥206

-33.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$0.70 ¥110

-30.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$2.76 ¥435

-7.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$3.53 ¥556

4.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.28 ¥202

29.69%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.31

$1.24 ¥195

17.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$3.89 ¥613

-61.44%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.04 ¥321

2.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$9.45 ¥1,488

101.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$9.19 ¥1,448

-64.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$18.48 ¥2,911

-40.96%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$3.44 ¥541

-14.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.03 ¥320

-16.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.04 ¥322

10.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$3.97 ¥625

-47.61%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.52 ¥239

-0.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.52

$1.14 ¥179

21.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.96

$1.36 ¥215

-21.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$0.87 ¥137

-40.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.97 ¥625

5.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$9.77 ¥1,539

92.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.90 ¥300

-4.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$3.13 ¥492

-9.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

$1.16 ¥183

25.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$56.2 ¥8,854

0.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.86 ¥609

-21.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.33

$3.20 ¥504

-68.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$21.98 ¥3,463

-83.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.76

$1.09 ¥172

34.86%

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

$26.8K ฿903.4K

$22.7K ¥3.6M

18.07%

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

$26.7K ฿900.5K

$15.3K ¥2.4M

74.93%

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

$96.4 ฿3,251

$137 ¥21.6K

-29.72%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$24.58 ¥3,872

-54.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$18.76 ¥2,954

-10.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$52.0 ¥8,194

29.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$12.55 ¥1,977

-40.24%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$697 ¥109.9K

-31.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

$13.4K ¥2.1M

-15.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,104

$48.59 ¥7,654

28.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$30.84 ¥4,858

-7.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,181

$73.3 ¥11.6K

28.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,895

$90.1 ¥14.2K

-4.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$551 ¥86.8K

29.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$337 ¥53.0K

45.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$998 ¥157.1K

93.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$727 ¥114.5K

96.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$4,617 ¥727.2K

-9.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$2,022 ¥318.4K

50.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$1,210 ¥190.7K

-58.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

2.21

152.04%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Shiga: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Shiga

$337 27.9% 31.4% $154

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Shiga

$294 24.4% 10.5% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Shiga

$180 15% 45% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Shiga

$109 9.1% 10.3% $13

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Shiga

$129 10.7% 5.7% $7

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Shiga

$77 6.4% 6.2% $5.1

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Shiga

$81 6.7% 14.4% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $551 in Shiga. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shiga pays about 2.4 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $32 in Shiga for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $294 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇯🇵 Shiga

🕒 Local time

17:18 5:18 PM

19:18 7:18 PM

2 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

23,836

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.69 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.65 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Shiga 4,880 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Shiga

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 Shiga: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Shiga is about 6% cheaper overall, especially in clothing and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 59% 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 $551 in Shiga. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Phuket pay roughly 9% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $697 in Shiga. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Shiga gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 Shiga are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.