Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Taichung

For one person, living is cheaper in Taichung: $1,112 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 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
54

Cost of Living Index in Taichung
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Taichung Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Taichung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,112

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Taichung

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,112 in Taichung.

Phuket $1,278
Taichung $1,112

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,856 in Taichung.

Phuket $2,216
Taichung $1,856

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,601 in Taichung.

Phuket $3,154
Taichung $2,601

Living in Phuket is roughly 15% more expensive than in Taichung, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Taichung 18% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$4.69 NT$152

-4.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$31.30 NT$1,014

3.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$4.64 NT$150

89.87%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$2.89 NT$93.8

-2.08%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$1.03 NT$33.31

-15.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.76 NT$24.47

-35.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$1.50 NT$48.52

70.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.66 NT$86.3

38.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$3.08 NT$99.9

-46.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$1.65 NT$53.4

-11.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$2.59 NT$83.8

-42.08%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.54 NT$82.4

-17.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$28.53 NT$924

-33.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$7.76 NT$251

-57.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$16.59 NT$537

-34.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$4.21 NT$137

-30.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.94 NT$62.8

-12.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$3.01 NT$97.6

-25.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$2.13 NT$69.1

-2.35%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.21 NT$39.28

24.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$1.93 NT$62.6

-28.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$2.25 NT$73.1

-52.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$0.89 NT$28.87

-41.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.79 NT$123

10.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$15.10 NT$489

24.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.60 NT$51.7

13.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.43 NT$78.6

16.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$0.63 NT$20.46

130.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$18.67 NT$605

203.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$2.58 NT$83.5

17.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$0.90 NT$29.11

13.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$9.19 NT$298

-59.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.04 NT$33.71

41.35%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$35.3K NT$1.1M

-24.11%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$22.2K NT$720.4K

20.04%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$122 NT$3,956

-21.10%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$14.52 NT$470

-22.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$20.46 NT$663

-17.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$31.28 NT$1,013

114.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$11.39 NT$369

-5.79%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$10.22 NT$331

-26.61%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$326 NT$10.6K

45.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$16.5K NT$533.0K

-31.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$71.8 NT$2,325

-13.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$35.78 NT$1,159

-20.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$81.7 NT$2,645

15.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$111 NT$3,587

-22.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$382 NT$12.4K

87.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$266 NT$8,612

84.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$1,188 NT$38.5K

62.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$739 NT$23.9K

93.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$5,811 NT$188.3K

-28.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$4,266 NT$138.2K

-28.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$1,400 NT$45.3K

-64.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

2.27

145.37%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Taichung: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Taichung

$266 23.9% 45.9% $225

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Taichung

$368 33.1% 38.1% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Taichung

$157 14.1% 26.2% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Taichung

$135 12.1% 10.7% $13

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Taichung

$106 9.6% 12.8% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Taichung

$52 4.7% 37.1% $31

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Taichung

$28 2.5% 59.9% $42

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $382 in Taichung. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Taichung pays about 2.8 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 $31 in Taichung. Groceries flip the comparison at $266 vs $368, with Phuket cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇹🇼 Taichung

🕒 Local time

03:32 3:32 AM

04:32 4:32 AM

1 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

2,767,239

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 TWD = 3.09 USD

100 TWD = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, 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).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 32.4 TWD (100 TWD = 3.09 USD). 1 EUR = 36.07 TWD (100 TWD = 2.77 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Taichung 2,980 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Taichung

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 Taichung: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Taichung is about 13% cheaper overall, especially in transport, leisure, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 64% 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 $382 in Taichung. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $326 in Taichung. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Phuket pay roughly 28% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Taichung 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 Taichung are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.