Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Tainan

For one person, living is cheaper in Tainan: $1,148 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 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
56

Cost of Living Index in Tainan
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Tainan Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Tainan

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,148

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Tainan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,148 in Tainan.

Phuket $1,278
Tainan $1,148

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,985 in Tainan.

Phuket $2,216
Tainan $1,985

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,822 in Tainan.

Phuket $3,154
Tainan $2,822

Living in Phuket is roughly 11% more expensive than in Tainan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Tainan 16% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$3.63 NT$118

23.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$25.03 NT$811

29.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$4.72 NT$153

86.65%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$3.09 NT$100.0

-8.41%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$1.35 NT$43.73

-35.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.82 NT$26.52

-40.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$3.06 NT$99.0

-16.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$3.33 NT$108

10.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$3.00 NT$97.1

-44.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$1.75 NT$56.7

-16.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$3.97 NT$129

-62.22%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.90 NT$93.9

-27.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$21.70 NT$703

-12.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$12.55 NT$406

-73.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$20.38 NT$660

-46.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$5.30 NT$172

-44.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$2.71 NT$87.8

-37.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$4.94 NT$160

-54.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$7.03 NT$228

-70.41%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$4.50 NT$146

-66.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$4.48 NT$145

-69.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$2.91 NT$94.1

-63.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$1.43 NT$46.36

-63.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.93 NT$127

6.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$18.61 NT$603

0.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.96 NT$63.5

-7.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.26 NT$73.3

25.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$0.54 NT$17.45

168.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$19.90 NT$645

184.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$2.58 NT$83.6

17.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$0.93 NT$30.25

9.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$5.67 NT$184

-34.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.01 NT$32.71

45.54%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$35.9K NT$1.2M

-25.49%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$23.0K NT$744.0K

16.23%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$85.9 NT$2,782

12.20%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$17.17 NT$556

-34.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$20.75 NT$672

-18.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$44.23 NT$1,433

52.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$9.31 NT$302

-19.44%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$430 NT$13.9K

10.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$5,382 NT$174.4K

109.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$90.7 NT$2,939

-31.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$44.43 NT$1,440

-36.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$116 NT$3,749

-18.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$121 NT$3,917

-29.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$324 NT$10.5K

120.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$190 NT$6,144

158.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$826 NT$26.8K

133.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$707 NT$22.9K

102.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$3,122 NT$101.2K

33.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$2,148 NT$69.6K

41.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$1,350 NT$43.7K

-62.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

2.5

122.80%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Tainan: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Tainan

$190 16.5% 61.4% $301

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Tainan

$464 40.5% 74.4% $198

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Tainan

$124 10.8% 0.5% $0.7

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Tainan

$167 14.6% 37.2% $45

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Tainan

$111 9.7% 8.9% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Tainan

$63 5.5% 23.6% $19

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Tainan

$29 2.6% 58.5% $41

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $324 in Tainan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tainan pays about 2.7 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 $25 in Tainan. Groceries flip the comparison at $266 vs $464, with Phuket cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇹🇼 Tainan

🕒 Local time

13:27 1:27 PM

14:27 2:27 PM

1 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

1,886,033

💱 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 29, 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 29, 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 Tainan 2,870 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Tainan

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 Tainan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tainan is about 10% 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 63% 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 $324 in Tainan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $430 in Tainan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Phuket pay roughly 43% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Tainan 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 Tainan are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.