Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Tanjung Pinang

For one person, living is cheaper in Tanjung Pinang: $639 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 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
30

Cost of Living Index in Tanjung Pinang
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Tanjung Pinang Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Tanjung Pinang

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Tanjung Pinang

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $639 in Tanjung Pinang.

Phuket $1,208
Tanjung Pinang $639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $987 in Tanjung Pinang.

Phuket $2,027
Tanjung Pinang $987

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $1,335 in Tanjung Pinang.

Phuket $2,845
Tanjung Pinang $1,335

Living in Phuket is roughly 89% more expensive than in Tanjung Pinang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Tanjung Pinang 53% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$3.42 Rp 61.5K

28.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$13.81 Rp 248.6K

133.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$3.52 Rp 63.3K

148.86%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$1.65 Rp 29.7K

71.52%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$0.40 Rp 7,163

125.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$0.25 Rp 4,530

88.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$2.42 Rp 43.6K

5.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$3.39 Rp 61.1K

12.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$1.17 Rp 21.1K

47.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$1.09 Rp 19.6K

34.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$0.83 Rp 14.9K

81.93%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$1.42 Rp 25.5K

52.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$7.56 Rp 136.0K

160.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$2.83 Rp 51.0K

18.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$7.40 Rp 133.1K

50.81%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$2.05 Rp 36.8K

39.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$1.24 Rp 22.3K

37.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$1.86 Rp 33.5K

17.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$1.28 Rp 23.1K

60.16%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$1.16 Rp 20.9K

25.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$1.78 Rp 32.0K

-22.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$0.76 Rp 13.6K

40.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$0.40 Rp 7,277

27.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$2.68 Rp 48.3K

58.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$20.87 Rp 375.7K

-10.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$1.76 Rp 31.7K

1.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$3.36 Rp 60.6K

-15.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$0.28 Rp 5,028

707.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$0.54 Rp 9,797

457.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$0.37 Rp 6,649

186.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$2.74 Rp 49.2K

40.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$0.63 Rp 11.4K

130.16%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$25.1K Rp 451.9M

4.88%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$35.7K Rp 642.7M

-24.54%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$65.9 Rp 1.2M

46.19%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$4.46 Rp 80.3K

147.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$19.46 Rp 350.3K

-11.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$19.32 Rp 347.8K

170.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

$7.96 Rp 143.3K

40.20%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$2.70 Rp 48.6K

189.26%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$91.3 Rp 1.6M

509.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$7,140 Rp 128.5M

62.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$45.61 Rp 821.0K

40.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$26.21 Rp 471.7K

9.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$77.2 Rp 1.4M

23.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$64.2 Rp 1.2M

37.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$252 Rp 4.5M

192.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$152 Rp 2.7M

204.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$576 Rp 10.4M

263.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$314 Rp 5.6M

282.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$1,270 Rp 22.9M

174.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$901 Rp 16.2M

179.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

$198 Rp 3.6M

152.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

9.46

-41.12%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Tanjung Pinang: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Tanjung Pinang

$152 23.7% 67.2% $311

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Tanjung Pinang

$194 30.4% 27.7% $74

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Tanjung Pinang

$90 14.1% 27.9% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Tanjung Pinang

$96 15% 22.8% $28

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Tanjung Pinang

$79 12.4% 34.7% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Tanjung Pinang

$25 3.9% 63.5% $43

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Tanjung Pinang

$3.5 * 0.6% 91.1% $36

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $737 in Phuket and $252 in Tanjung Pinang. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 153% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $14.00 in Tanjung Pinang for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $194 per month, with Tanjung Pinang cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇮🇩 Tanjung Pinang

🕒 Local time

18:39 6:39 PM

Same time as Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

239,854

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Tanjung Pinang 1,020 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Tanjung Pinang

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 Tanjung Pinang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tanjung Pinang is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 89% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 153% higher in Phuket, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $737 in Phuket versus $252 in Tanjung Pinang. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $556 in Phuket versus $91.3 in Tanjung Pinang. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Tanjung Pinang – a meal for two runs $14.00 versus $32.00 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $639 in Tanjung Pinang versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Tanjung Pinang but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Tanjung Pinang the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Tanjung Pinang 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 Tanjung Pinang 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 Tanjung Pinang gentler on the wallet – expenses run 89% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.