Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Suzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Suzhou: $876 a month against $1,190 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
42

Cost of Living Index in Suzhou
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Suzhou Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,190

/mo nomad

Suzhou

🇨🇳 China

$876

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Suzhou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,190 in Phuket versus $876 in Suzhou.

Phuket $1,190
Suzhou $876

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,006 in Phuket versus $1,504 in Suzhou.

Phuket $2,006
Suzhou $1,504

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,822 in Phuket versus $2,132 in Suzhou.

Phuket $2,822
Suzhou $2,132

Living in Phuket is roughly 36% more expensive than in Suzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Suzhou 35% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.35 ฿146

$4.26 ¥28.48

2.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.45 ฿1,087

$29.42 ¥197

10.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.42 ฿282

$5.29 ¥35.36

59.17%

Cappuccino

$2.81 ฿94.0

$3.38 ¥22.58

-16.86%

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

$0.87 ฿29.29

$0.73 ¥4.86

19.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.46 ฿15.39

$0.39 ¥2.59

17.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$2.25 ¥15.05

15.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.64 ฿122

$4.60 ¥30.71

-20.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 ฿57.2

$1.89 ¥12.61

-9.52%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.42

$2.04 ¥13.63

-28.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.56 ฿52.3

$1.29 ¥8.63

20.93%

Eggs

$2.10 ฿70.3

$1.82 ¥12.19

15.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.53 ฿654

$17.80 ¥119

9.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$3.50 ¥23.36

-2.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿373

$8.57 ¥57.3

29.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.83 ฿94.8

$2.03 ¥13.58

39.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 ฿54.3

$1.28 ¥8.54

26.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 ฿74.5

$1.39 ¥9.27

59.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.15 ฿71.9

$1.50 ¥10.03

43.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.49 ฿49.95

$0.63 ¥4.21

136.51%

Onion (1kg)

$1.33 ฿44.40

$1.17 ¥7.79

13.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.72

$0.83 ¥5.56

28.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.01

$0.55 ¥3.69

-7.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 ฿147

$4.56 ¥30.50

-3.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.77 ฿629

$9.01 ¥60.2

108.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.3

$1.06 ¥7.11

64.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿92.9

$2.06 ¥13.77

34.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.17 ฿72.6

$0.39 ¥2.59

456.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.28 ฿746

$43.93 ¥294

-49.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿101

$1.73 ¥11.59

74.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.43

$0.36 ¥2.38

194.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.71 ฿124

$10.20 ¥68.2

-63.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 ฿47.88

$1.28 ¥8.58

11.72%

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

$26.3K ฿882.1K

$19.6K ¥131.3K

34.08%

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

$26.2K ฿877.3K

$17.7K ¥118.6K

47.65%

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

$96.7 ฿3,236

$99.4 ¥664

-2.76%

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

$11.41 ฿382

$12.81 ¥85.6

-10.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.11 ฿573

$11.12 ¥74.4

53.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.8 ฿1,768

$33.16 ¥222

59.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.07 ฿371

$18.47 ¥123

-40.06%

Cinema Ticket

$7.65 ฿256

$5.85 ¥39.09

30.77%

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

$555 ฿18.6K

$1,213 ¥8,105

-54.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿377.7K

$21.4K ¥143.0K

-47.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.4 ฿2,123

$52.4 ¥350

21.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.61 ฿958

$41.14 ¥275

-30.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.7 ฿3,238

$83.3 ¥557

16.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 ฿2,967

$86.6 ¥578

2.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$735 ฿24.6K

$457 ¥3,057

60.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$458 ฿15.3K

$193 ¥1,292

136.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,102 ฿70.4K

$1,033 ¥6,902

103.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 ฿39.7K

$594 ¥3,971

99.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,493 ฿116.9K

$5,329 ¥35.6K

-34.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,491 ฿83.4K

$2,773 ¥18.5K

-10.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.8K

$1,381 ¥9,231

-63.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.53

57.79%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 4, 2026

Last update for Suzhou: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$458 38.1%

Suzhou

$193 22.3% 57.8% $265

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.3%

Suzhou

$221 25.5% 17.6% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.4%

Suzhou

$123 14.3% 1.5% $1.8

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$125 10.4%

Suzhou

$119 13.7% 5% $6.3

Eating Out

Phuket

$119 9.9%

Suzhou

$115 13.3% 3.2% $3.8

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.7%

Suzhou

$45 5.2% 34.1% $23

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Suzhou

$49 5.7% 24.8% $9.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $735 in Phuket and $457 in Suzhou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Suzhou pays 176% 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 $29.00 in Suzhou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $221 per month, with Suzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇳 Suzhou

🕒 Local time

15:30 3:30 PM

16:30 4:30 PM

1 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

12,748,262

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.55 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.5 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Suzhou 3,480 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Suzhou

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 Suzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Suzhou is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 36% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 176% lower in Suzhou. 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: $735 in Phuket versus $457 in Suzhou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $555 in Phuket versus $1,213 in Suzhou. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 21% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $876 in Suzhou versus $1,190 in Phuket, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Suzhou but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Suzhou the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Suzhou 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 Suzhou 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 Suzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 36% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.