Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Tongi

For one person, living is cheaper in Tongi: $330 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $11,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
16

Cost of Living Index in Tongi
Learn more

Tongi Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Tongi

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$330

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Tongi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $330 in Tongi.

Phuket $1,278
Tongi $330

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $535 in Tongi.

Phuket $2,216
Tongi $535

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $740 in Tongi.

Phuket $3,154
Tongi $740

Living in Phuket is roughly 288% more expensive than in Tongi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Tongi 76% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$2.07 ৳256

115.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$9.47 ৳1,175

242.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$4.64 ৳576

89.87%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.32 ৳287

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 ৳472

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$1.91 ৳237

48.17%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$0.30 ৳36.83

190.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.13 ৳16.11

276.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$0.75 ৳93.0

121.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$0.52 ৳64.0

180.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$0.61 ৳76.2

145.90%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.11 ৳137

88.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$7.46 ৳925

155.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$1.95 ৳242

69.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$6.13 ৳760

77.98%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$2.40 ৳298

22.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$0.73 ৳91.0

131.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.27 ৳282

-0.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$0.71 ৳88.3

192.96%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.23 ৳28.09

556.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$0.48 ৳59.9

187.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$0.50 ৳61.9

114.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$0.25 ৳31.10

108.00%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$8.00 ৳992

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.41 ৳299

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.80 ৳595

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$2.90 ৳360

44.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$0.41 ৳50.9

253.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$0.79 ৳98.6

282.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$0.44 ৳54.3

131.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$2.79 ৳346

32.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.18 ৳147

24.58%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$32.4K ৳4.0M

-17.44%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$36.5K ৳4.5M

-26.88%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$30.11 ৳3,735

219.99%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$4.39 ৳544

156.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$7.94 ৳984

112.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$13.75 ৳1,705

388.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$3.62 ৳449

107.18%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$25.80 ৳3,201

1744.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$1,531 ৳190.0K

635.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$21.41 ৳2,656

191.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$23.90 ৳2,964

18.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$32.41 ৳4,020

190.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$33.08 ৳4,104

159.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$87.5 ৳10.8K

718.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$50.9 ৳6,314

864.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$171 ৳21.2K

1029.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$114 ৳14.1K

1157.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$644 ৳79.9K

548.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$100 ৳12.4K

400.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

10.67

-47.80%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Tongi: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Tongi

$51 15.4% 89.6% $440

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Tongi

$106 32.1% 60.3% $161

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Tongi

$42 12.9% 65.9% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Tongi

$50 15.1% 59.1% $72

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Tongi

$55 16.7% 54.7% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Tongi

$21 6.4% 74.5% $61

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Tongi

$4.6 * 1.4% 93.5% $66

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 $716 in Phuket and $87 in Tongi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays about 5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $9 in Tongi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $106 per month, with Tongi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇧🇩 Tongi

🕒 Local time

02:01 2:01 AM

01:01 1:01 AM

1 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

406,420

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1,000 BDT = 8.06 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.24 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BDT, 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).

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 124 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.06 USD). 1 EUR = 138 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.24 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Tongi 1,970 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Tongi

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 Tongi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tongi is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 288% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Phuket is about 5 times higher, 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: $716 in Phuket versus $87 in Tongi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $26 in Tongi. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Tongi – a meal for two runs $9 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $330 in Tongi versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Tongi but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Tongi 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 – Tongi wins on affordability, Phuket on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.