Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Takamatsu

For one person, living costs are similar in Phuket and in Takamatsu: $1,208 and $1,191 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Takamatsu
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Takamatsu Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Takamatsu

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,191

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Takamatsu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,191 in Takamatsu.

Phuket $1,208
Takamatsu $1,191

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $1,881 in Takamatsu.

Phuket $2,027
Takamatsu $1,881

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $2,571 in Takamatsu.

Phuket $2,845
Takamatsu $2,571

Living in Phuket is roughly 1% more expensive than in Takamatsu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Takamatsu 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$6.20 ¥980

-29.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$31.99 ¥5,054

0.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$5.12 ¥809

71.09%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$3.13 ¥495

-9.58%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$1.19 ¥189

-24.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$0.80 ¥126

-41.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$2.60 ¥410

-1.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$3.22 ¥508

18.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$1.50 ¥238

15.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$1.60 ¥252

-8.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$1.76 ¥278

-14.20%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$2.29 ¥361

-5.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$10.37 ¥1,639

89.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$6.60 ¥1,043

-49.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$16.83 ¥2,659

-33.69%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$3.69 ¥583

-22.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$2.28 ¥360

-25.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$2.90 ¥458

-24.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$4.24 ¥671

-51.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$2.48 ¥391

-41.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$2.46 ¥389

-43.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$1.27 ¥201

-15.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$0.79 ¥124

-35.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$3.67 ¥580

16.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$6.63 ¥1,048

180.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$1.88 ¥298

-5.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$2.11 ¥333

35.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$1.46 ¥231

54.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

$53.3 ¥8,414

-58.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$3.18 ¥503

-5.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$2.79 ¥442

-62.01%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$18.60 ¥2,938

-79.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$1.06 ¥168

36.79%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$21.5K ¥3.4M

22.50%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$15.1K ¥2.4M

78.52%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$137 ¥21.6K

-29.52%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$23.78 ¥3,757

-53.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$30.79 ¥4,865

-44.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$51.7 ¥8,161

1.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

$3.11 ¥491

258.84%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$11.79 ¥1,862

-33.76%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$521 ¥82.3K

6.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$12.7K ¥2.0M

-8.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$48.96 ¥7,736

31.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$31.24 ¥4,936

-8.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$60.1 ¥9,499

58.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$90.5 ¥14.3K

-2.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$529 ¥83.6K

39.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$334 ¥52.8K

38.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$1,089 ¥172.0K

92.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$735 ¥116.1K

63.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$4,144 ¥654.7K

-15.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$1,783 ¥281.6K

41.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

$1,761 ¥278.1K

-71.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

2.21

152.04%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Takamatsu: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Takamatsu

$334 28.1% 27.7% $128

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Takamatsu

$280 23.5% 4.4% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Takamatsu

$191 16.1% 53.6% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Takamatsu

$104 8.7% 16.4% $20

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Takamatsu

$130 10.9% 7.2% $8.7

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Takamatsu

$75 6.3% 11% $7.4

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Takamatsu

$76 6.4% 93.4% $37

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $737 in Phuket and $529 in Takamatsu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Takamatsu pays 252% 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 $32.00 in Takamatsu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $280 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇯🇵 Takamatsu

🕒 Local time

07:35 7:35 AM

09:35 9:35 AM

2 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

426,514

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 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 21, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Takamatsu 4,680 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Takamatsu

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 Takamatsu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Takamatsu is cheaper overall, especially in clothing. The 1% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 252% lower in Takamatsu. 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: $737 in Phuket versus $529 in Takamatsu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $556 in Phuket versus $521 in Takamatsu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Phuket pay roughly 4% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,191 in Takamatsu versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Takamatsu but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Takamatsu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Takamatsu 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 Takamatsu 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 Takamatsu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.