Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Summerland

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,079 in Summerland, rent and utilities included – about $9,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Summerland
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Summerland Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Summerland

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,079

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Summerland

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,079 in Summerland.

Phuket $1,278
Summerland $2,079

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $3,092 in Summerland.

Phuket $2,216
Summerland $3,092

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $4,106 in Summerland.

Phuket $3,154
Summerland $4,106

Living in Phuket costs roughly 39% less than in Summerland, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Summerland is 53% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$10.89 CA$15.22

-58.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$51.0 CA$71.2

-36.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$10.46 CA$14.62

-15.77%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$3.43 CA$4.79

-17.49%

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

$0.87 ฿29.41

$1.86 CA$2.59

-53.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$1.59 CA$2.22

-69.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$6.18 CA$8.64

-58.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$5.79 CA$8.09

-36.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.81 CA$2.53

-8.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.31

$2.21 CA$3.09

-33.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$4.25 CA$5.94

-64.71%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$3.09 CA$4.32

-32.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$12.71 CA$17.76

50.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$18.32 CA$25.59

-81.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$18.86 CA$26.36

-42.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$4.75 CA$6.64

-38.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$1.08 CA$1.50

56.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$4.83 CA$6.75

-53.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$3.53 CA$4.93

-41.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.59 CA$2.22

-5.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.52

$2.53 CA$3.54

-45.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.96

$2.65 CA$3.70

-59.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$1.90 CA$2.66

-72.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$15.06 CA$21.04

-72.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$10.89 CA$15.22

72.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$4.15 CA$5.79

-56.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$3.85 CA$5.38

-26.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

$2.27 CA$3.17

-36.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$62.9 CA$87.9

-9.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.50 CA$4.89

-13.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.33

$1.46 CA$2.04

-30.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$24.48 CA$34.20

-84.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.76

$1.13 CA$1.58

30.09%

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

$26.8K ฿903.4K

$26.3K CA$36.8K

1.71%

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

$26.7K ฿900.5K

$18.9K CA$26.3K

41.58%

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

$96.4 ฿3,251

$115 CA$161

-16.48%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$35.92 CA$50.2

-68.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$55.3 CA$77.2

-69.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$38.23 CA$53.4

75.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$20.50 CA$28.65

-47.66%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$7.20 CA$10.05

4.17%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$369 CA$516

28.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

$8,494 CA$11.9K

32.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,104

$53.3 CA$74.5

16.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$41.59 CA$58.1

-31.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,181

$81.5 CA$114

15.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,895

$98.5 CA$138

-12.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$1,374 CA$1,919

-47.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$980 CA$1,370

-49.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$2,001 CA$2,796

-3.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,662 CA$2,322

-13.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$4,037 CA$5,641

3.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$3,657 CA$5,110

-16.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$3,460 CA$4,834

-85.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.72

18.01%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Summerland: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Summerland

$980 47.2% 99.7% $490

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Summerland

$417 20% 56.5% $150

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Summerland

$207 9.9% 65.9% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Summerland

$124 6% 1.5% $1.8

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Summerland

$216 10.4% 77.4% $94

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Summerland

$53 2.5% 36% $30

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Summerland

$83 4% 17.3% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $1,374 in Summerland. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Summerland pays about 6.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $51 in Summerland for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $417 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇦 Summerland

🕒 Local time

06:22 6:22 AM

16:22 4:22 PM

14 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

11,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 CAD = 0.716 USD

1 CAD = 0.641 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.716 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.641 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Summerland 12,640 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Summerland

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 Summerland: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 39% 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 85% 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 $1,374 in Summerland. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $369 in Summerland. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 56% higher in Summerland. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,079 in Summerland, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Summerland. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 39% less than in Summerland. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.