Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Tsukuba

For one person, living is cheaper in Tsukuba: $1,111 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
54

Cost of Living Index in Tsukuba
Learn more

Tsukuba Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Tsukuba

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,111

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Tsukuba

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,111 in Tsukuba.

Phuket $1,278
Tsukuba $1,111

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,773 in Tsukuba.

Phuket $2,216
Tsukuba $1,773

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,434 in Tsukuba.

Phuket $3,154
Tsukuba $2,434

Living in Phuket is roughly 15% more expensive than in Tsukuba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Tsukuba 18% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$6.49 ¥1,023

-31.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$33.75 ¥5,316

-3.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$5.13 ¥808

71.73%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$2.63 ¥415

7.60%

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

$0.87 ฿29.41

$0.96 ¥151

-9.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$0.80 ¥126

-38.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$2.11 ¥332

21.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$3.13 ¥493

17.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.39 ¥219

19.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.31

$1.67 ¥264

-12.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$3.25 ¥511

-53.85%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.09 ¥329

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$10.46 ¥1,648

82.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$6.03 ¥949

-45.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$14.40 ¥2,268

-24.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$5.63 ¥887

-47.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.75 ¥433

-38.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.83 ¥445

-20.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$4.23 ¥666

-50.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.52 ¥396

-40.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.52

$2.67 ¥420

-48.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.96

$0.82 ¥129

30.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$0.76 ¥119

-31.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.71 ¥584

13.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$6.52 ¥1,027

188.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.74 ¥274

4.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$2.08 ¥327

36.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

$1.43 ¥225

1.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$55.8 ¥8,788

1.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.20 ¥503

-5.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.33

$2.76 ¥435

-63.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$20.77 ¥3,271

-82.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.76

$1.11 ¥174

32.43%

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

$26.8K ฿903.4K

$22.2K ¥3.5M

20.50%

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

$26.7K ฿900.5K

$15.7K ¥2.5M

70.49%

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

$96.4 ฿3,251

$131 ¥20.7K

-26.71%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$24.64 ¥3,881

-54.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$31.74 ¥5,000

-46.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$56.0 ¥8,827

19.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$13.27 ¥2,091

-43.48%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$96.3 ¥15.2K

394.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

$15.1K ¥2.4M

-25.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,104

$47.58 ¥7,494

31.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$36.56 ¥5,759

-22.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,181

$38.69 ¥6,095

143.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,895

$41.36 ¥6,515

107.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$465 ¥73.3K

53.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$280 ¥44.2K

75.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,086 ¥171.1K

77.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$645 ¥101.6K

121.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$4,791 ¥754.7K

-12.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$2,181 ¥343.5K

39.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$1,458 ¥229.7K

-65.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

178.50%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Tsukuba: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Tsukuba

$280 25.3% 42.9% $210

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Tsukuba

$285 25.6% 7% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Tsukuba

$188 16.9% 50.9% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Tsukuba

$74 6.7% 39.4% $48

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Tsukuba

$123 11.1% 0.9% $1

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Tsukuba

$83 7.4% 0.4% $0.3

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Tsukuba

$79 7.1% 11.2% $7.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $465 in Tsukuba. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tsukuba pays about 2.9 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $34 in Tsukuba for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $285 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇯🇵 Tsukuba

🕒 Local time

19:40 7:40 PM

21:40 9:40 PM

2 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

230,398

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.69 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 November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Tsukuba 5,260 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Tsukuba

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 Tsukuba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tsukuba is about 13% cheaper overall, especially in clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 66% 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 $465 in Tsukuba. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $96 in Tsukuba. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $34 in Tsukuba. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Tsukuba gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Tsukuba 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 Tsukuba are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.