Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Thompson

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,806 in Thompson, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
87

Cost of Living Index in Thompson
Learn more

Thompson Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Thompson

🇨🇦 Canada

$1,806

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Thompson

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,806 in Thompson.

Phuket $1,278
Thompson $1,806

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,737 in Thompson.

Phuket $2,216
Thompson $2,737

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $3,669 in Thompson.

Phuket $3,154
Thompson $3,669

Living in Phuket costs roughly 29% less than in Thompson, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Thompson is 33% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$18.00 CA$25.16

-75.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$64.4 CA$90.0

-49.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$10.52 CA$14.70

-16.25%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$3.72 CA$5.20

-23.92%

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

$0.87 ฿29.40

$1.97 CA$2.75

-55.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$1.60 CA$2.24

-69.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$5.16 CA$7.21

-50.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$5.75 CA$8.03

-36.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$2.09 CA$2.93

-20.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.29

$2.56 CA$3.58

-42.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$3.51 CA$4.91

-57.26%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$3.49 CA$4.88

-40.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$10.29 CA$14.38

85.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$11.63 CA$16.26

-71.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$14.89 CA$20.80

-26.73%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.8

$3.93 CA$5.49

-25.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$1.37 CA$1.91

23.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.7

$3.98 CA$5.56

-43.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$3.82 CA$5.34

-45.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.35 CA$3.29

-35.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.51

$2.21 CA$3.09

-37.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.95

$2.49 CA$3.48

-57.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.50

$1.66 CA$2.32

-68.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$14.00 CA$19.56

-70.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$12.62 CA$17.64

48.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.4

$2.83 CA$3.96

-35.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$3.18 CA$4.44

-10.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.97

$2.30 CA$3.22

-36.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,911

$66.9 CA$93.5

-15.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.01 CA$4.21

0.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.32

$1.38 CA$1.93

-26.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿124

$23.88 CA$33.37

-84.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.75

$1.10 CA$1.53

33.64%

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

$26.8K ฿903.2K

$28.2K CA$39.4K

-5.04%

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

$26.7K ฿900.3K

$23.6K CA$33.0K

13.19%

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

$96.4 ฿3,250

$136 CA$190

-29.31%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$39.10 CA$54.7

-71.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$54.9 CA$76.7

-69.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$37.46 CA$52.3

79.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$17.81 CA$24.88

-39.75%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$10.46 CA$14.61

-28.30%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$664 CA$927

-28.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿379.9K

$11.4K CA$16.0K

-1.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,103

$54.4 CA$76.0

14.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$39.02 CA$54.5

-27.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,180

$87.4 CA$122

7.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,894

$103 CA$144

-16.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.1K

$687 CA$960

4.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$674 CA$941

-27.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,109 CA$1,550

73.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,114 CA$1,556

28.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.8K

$4,361 CA$6,094

-4.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$3,358 CA$4,693

-9.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$1,567 CA$2,190

-67.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.68

19.02%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Thompson: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Thompson

$674 37.3% 37.2% $183

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Thompson

$358 19.8% 34.5% $92

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Thompson

$230 12.8% 85% $106

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Thompson

$128 7.1% 4.7% $5.7

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Thompson

$272 15.1% 123% $150

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Thompson

$58 3.2% 29% $24

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Thompson

$86 4.8% 21.8% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $687 in Thompson. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Thompson pays about 3.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $64 in Thompson for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $358 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇦 Thompson

🕒 Local time

21:10 9:10 PM

09:10 9:10 AM

12 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

12,829

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 CAD = 0.716 USD

1 CAD = 0.641 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.64 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.716 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.641 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Thompson 12,780 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Thompson

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 Thompson: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 29% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 68% 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 $687 in Thompson. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $664 in Thompson. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 35% higher in Thompson. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,806 in Thompson, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Thompson. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Thompson on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.