Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Suginami-ku

For one person, living is cheaper in Suginami-ku: $1,245 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $400 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
59

Cost of Living Index in Suginami-ku
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Suginami-ku Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Suginami-ku

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,245

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Suginami-ku

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 Suginami-ku actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,245 in Suginami-ku.

Phuket $1,278
Suginami-ku $1,245

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,938 in Suginami-ku.

Phuket $2,216
Suginami-ku $1,938

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,630 in Suginami-ku.

Phuket $3,154
Suginami-ku $2,630

Living in Phuket is roughly 3% more expensive than in Suginami-ku, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Suginami-ku 9% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$6.53 ¥1,031

-31.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$40.78 ¥6,438

-20.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$5.06 ¥798

74.11%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$3.54 ¥559

-20.06%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$1.07 ¥169

-18.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.80 ¥126

-38.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$2.56 ¥404

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$3.14 ¥496

17.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.44 ¥227

15.28%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$1.73 ¥273

-15.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$3.73 ¥588

-59.79%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.02 ¥319

3.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$10.42 ¥1,646

83.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$6.14 ¥970

-46.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$14.38 ¥2,270

-24.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$5.65 ¥892

-48.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$2.72 ¥429

-37.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.86 ¥452

-21.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$4.16 ¥657

-50.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.56 ¥404

-41.02%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$2.57 ¥406

-46.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$1.24 ¥196

-13.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$0.81 ¥128

-35.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.77 ¥595

11.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$6.46 ¥1,020

190.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.80 ¥285

1.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.05 ¥323

38.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$1.48 ¥234

-2.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$60.8 ¥9,602

-6.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.09 ¥487

-2.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$2.64 ¥417

-61.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$20.90 ¥3,299

-82.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.07 ¥170

37.38%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$21.7K ¥3.4M

23.22%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$16.0K ¥2.5M

66.59%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$133 ¥21.0K

-27.62%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$23.94 ¥3,780

-52.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$32.31 ¥5,102

-47.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$54.4 ¥8,591

23.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$12.82 ¥2,023

-41.50%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$835 ¥131.9K

-43.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$14.9K ¥2.3M

-24.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$62.6 ¥9,883

-0.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$37.77 ¥5,964

-24.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$60.7 ¥9,576

55.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$104 ¥16.5K

-17.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$562 ¥88.8K

27.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$347 ¥54.8K

41.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$1,113 ¥175.7K

73.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$664 ¥104.9K

115.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$4,687 ¥740.0K

-10.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$2,017 ¥318.5K

50.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$2,787 ¥440.0K

-81.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

178.50%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Suginami-ku: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Suginami-ku

$347 27.9% 29.3% $144

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Suginami-ku

$290 23.3% 9% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Suginami-ku

$189 15.2% 52.1% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Suginami-ku

$119 9.6% 2% $2.5

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Suginami-ku

$136 11% 12.1% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Suginami-ku

$80 6.4% 2.7% $2.2

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Suginami-ku

$83 6.7% 17.6% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $562 in Suginami-ku. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Suginami-ku pays about 5.5 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 $41 in Suginami-ku for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $290 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇯🇵 Suginami-ku

🕒 Local time

06:47 6:47 AM

08:47 8:47 AM

2 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

540,180

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 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 Suginami-ku 5,200 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Suginami-ku

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 Suginami-ku: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Suginami-ku is about 3% cheaper overall, especially in leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 82% 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 $562 in Suginami-ku. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $835 in Suginami-ku. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Phuket pay roughly 8% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Suginami-ku is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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