Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Timika

For one person, living is cheaper in Timika: $623 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
30

Cost of Living Index in Timika
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Timika Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Timika

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$623

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Timika

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $623 in Timika.

Phuket $1,278
Timika $623

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,011 in Timika.

Phuket $2,216
Timika $1,011

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $1,398 in Timika.

Phuket $3,154
Timika $1,398

Living in Phuket is roughly 105% more expensive than in Timika, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Timika 54% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$1.60 Rp 29.1K

179.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$13.94 Rp 253.3K

132.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$3.00 Rp 54.5K

193.67%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

89.93%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$0.43 Rp 7,890

102.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.26 Rp 4,689

88.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$2.18 Rp 39.7K

17.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$3.14 Rp 57.1K

17.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.29 Rp 23.5K

28.68%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$1.16 Rp 21.0K

25.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$0.88 Rp 16.0K

70.45%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.42 Rp 25.9K

47.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$7.02 Rp 127.6K

171.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$2.61 Rp 47.5K

26.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$7.41 Rp 134.6K

47.23%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$2.49 Rp 45.3K

17.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.10 Rp 20.0K

53.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$1.54 Rp 28.0K

46.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$1.35 Rp 24.6K

54.07%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.32 Rp 24.0K

14.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$2.06 Rp 37.5K

-33.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$0.86 Rp 15.6K

24.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$0.40 Rp 7,272

30.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$2.72 Rp 49.4K

54.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$18.19 Rp 330.6K

3.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.66 Rp 30.1K

9.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.94 Rp 53.4K

-3.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$0.24 Rp 4,446

504.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$10.84 Rp 197.1K

422.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$0.47 Rp 8,629

542.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$0.30 Rp 5,366

240.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$2.55 Rp 46.4K

44.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$0.80 Rp 14.6K

83.75%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$25.5K Rp 462.6M

5.21%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$35.6K Rp 646.4M

-24.95%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$60.6 Rp 1.1M

58.99%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$3.93 Rp 71.4K

186.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$16.61 Rp 301.9K

1.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$18.97 Rp 344.8K

254.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$8.64 Rp 157.0K

24.19%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$2.68 Rp 48.8K

179.85%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$91.9 Rp 1.7M

418.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$8,848 Rp 160.8M

27.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$44.34 Rp 805.8K

40.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$25.46 Rp 462.7K

11.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$76.4 Rp 1.4M

23.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$78.1 Rp 1.4M

9.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$237 Rp 4.3M

202.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$155 Rp 2.8M

217.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$609 Rp 11.1M

216.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$403 Rp 7.3M

255.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$1,199 Rp 21.8M

248.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$784 Rp 14.2M

288.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

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 26, 2026

Last update for Timika: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Timika

$155 24.8% 68.5% $336

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Timika

$189 30.3% 29% $77

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Timika

$81 13% 34.8% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Timika

$101 16.2% 17.2% $21

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Timika

$60 9.6% 51% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Timika

$24 3.9% 70.4% $58

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Timika

$14 2.2% 80.5% $57

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $237 in Timika. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $14 in Timika for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $189 per month, with Timika cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇮🇩 Timika

🕒 Local time

01:39 1:39 AM

03:39 3:39 AM

2 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

142,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.5 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18,175 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20,233 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Timika 4,490 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Timika

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 Timika: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Timika is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 105% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,917 in Phuket and $935 in Timika to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $716 in Phuket versus $237 in Timika. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $92 in Timika. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 41% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $623 in Timika versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Timika but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Timika 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.

Expats usually find Timika gentler on the wallet – expenses run 51% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.